Commentary of first deputy director of the Institute for strategic and regional studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the chairmanship of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the CIS in 2020

TASHKENT: On December 18 this year, under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan it was held the Summit of the Heads of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The summit was the final event during the chairmanship of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the CIS in 2020. The event was attended by the heads of state of Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan.

Evaluating the results of our country’s chairmanship in the CIS, we can say with confidence that despite the difficult epidemiological situation that complicated the work of many regional and international organizations, Uzbekistan has carried out very fruitful and effective work within the framework of the Commonwealth.

In accordance with the Concept of Uzbekistan’s chairmanship in the CIS, meetings of the Council of Heads of Government, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Economic Council of the CIS, about 60 meetings of sectoral cooperation bodies, including the Council for Cooperation in Healthcare, the Council for Humanitarian Cooperation, were held. More than a thousand issues were considered, over 70 important multilateral documents were adopted.

In 2020, Uzbekistan joined three CIS bodies: the Council for Youth Affairs, the Advisory Council for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Population, the Advisory Council for the Protection of Consumer Rights, expanding in general the range of its interaction with the member states of the Commonwealth within the framework of 39 sectoral cooperation bodies.

However, clear evidence of the effectiveness of Uzbekistan’s chairmanship is the approval and adoption in the outgoing year a solid package of conceptual and strategic documents that form a basis for long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation within the CIS in such priority areas as politics, economy, security, culture, tourism, adapted to new realities, sports, youth policy, innovative development.

In particular, strategies for the development of cooperation in tourism, physical culture and sports, youth policy, an agreement on interaction in the field of digital development of societyadopted for 2021-2030, as well as the concept of military cooperation until 2025, are of current importance for sustainable development in the CIS space and interregional and cross-border cooperation until 2030.

The CIS Economic Development Strategy for the period up to 2030 deserves special attention. It is aimed at consistently building up mutually beneficial cooperation between the CIS member states in more than 30 areas of economic interaction, increasing the competitiveness of national economies and the welfare of citizens of the Commonwealth countries, strengthening the positions of its member states in world economic relations.

A significant contribution to the practical implementation of this strategy was the approval by the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth in May this year of the Priority Areas of Cooperation of the CIS member states in the field of transport for the period up to 2030.

This program document, initiated by the President of Uzbekistan Sh.M. Mirziyoyev, provides for a coordinated policy to form a common transport space and increase the competitiveness of transport corridors in the CIS countries, their integration into the European and Asian transport systems.

The most important achievement of the chairmanship of Uzbekistan in the CIS was the adoption of the Concept for the further development of the CIS.This document provides for the implementation of agreed measures to improve the organizational and legal mechanisms of cooperation in political, economic, humanitarian, cultural and other fields and the formation in the long term of an integrated economic and political association that ensures effective development each of its participants.

The value of the concept lies in the fact that it was developed based on the objective interests of the CIS member states in creating favorable conditions for the further development of national economies and ensuring security. It is also oriented to strengthening the well-being of citizens, involvement in world political, socio-cultural and economic processes, envisages the adaptation of structures, forms and methods of work of the CIS to new tasks of the dynamically developing world.

In addition, in the year of its chairmanship, Uzbekistan carried out purposeful work to agree and adopt the Program of Cooperation of the CIS Member States in Strengthening Border Security at External Borders for 2021-2025, as well as the Interstate Program for the Development of Innovative Cooperation of the CIS Member States until 2030, aimed at strengthening the innovative component of economic growth based on the development of interstate innovation space.

Coordinated and coherent work on the development and adoption of the above mentioned conceptual and program documents of medium and long-term nature once again confirms the common strategic interests and development goals of the CIS member states, their interest in further expanding and deepening equal, mutually beneficial and multifaceted cooperation on a wide range of issues.

In this regard, the initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan Sh.M. Mirziyoyev, voiced during the Summit of the Heads of the CIS Member States held on December 18, such as the adoption within the framework of the Commonwealth the “Roadmap” on the digitalization of trade, the Comprehensive program of industrial cooperation.Deradicalization program, the Program of Cooperation on Labor Migration, holding the CIS “Health Marathon” and othersare of particular relevance.

The implementation of these initiatives aimed at the practical implementation of the adopted strategic and conceptual documents will make it possible to take full advantage of the huge potential of the CIS member states, consolidate common efforts to ensure sustainable and progressive development in the Commonwealth space in the post-crisis period.

This, in turn, will confirm the viability of the Commonwealth as an effective mechanism of multilateral cooperation, its readiness to adapt to new realities, the common desire of the CIS member states to steadily improve the welfare, level and quality of life of the people of our countries.

In general, Uzbekistan, having stepped up its participation in the Commonwealth, once again declared its firm commitment to the development of multilateral cooperation.The high results achieved under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan in the CIS reveal the full support of the participating states in combining our country’s efforts to deepen practical partnership in all areas of political, economic and humanitarian cooperation, ensuring stability and sustainable development in the space of the Commonwealth of Independent States.