Viewing results 1 - 6 of 4

U.S. Think Tank Calls on American Politicians to Make Uzbekistan a Valued Partner

Daniel Runde, a senior vice-president at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), has called on American politicians to strengthen the U.S.'s relations with Uzbekistan. He believes that Uzbekistan, a key partner for the United States in Central Asia, deserves more attention from the West. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing competition with China, the U.S. could strengthen ties with Uzbekistan to promote regional stability and counterbalance Russian and Chinese influence. “Uzbekistan seeks more engagement with the United States through bilateral efforts and the “C5+1” (the five Central Asian countries plus the United States) diplomatic platform. We might never become Uzbekistan’s best friend. However, we could become better and more reliable friends. Uzbekistan has five bordering countries, and at one point in the early 2000s, it considered the United States its ‘sixth neighbor,’” Runde mentioned. “When the U.S. government was active in Afghanistan, we supported Uzbekistan’s efforts to develop its economy and invest in its security. With our disengagement from Afghanistan, we need to look at Uzbekistan as the valued partner that it could be and re-engage. We should work towards the day that Uzbekistan considers the United States its ‘sixth neighbor’ again.” According to Runde, there are several goals that the US could assist Uzbekistan in achieving. While some are significantly more difficult to handle, others are relatively straightforward: 1) Uzbekistan wants U.S. support to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), a goal it has pursued for almost 30 years. The U.S. has provided some technical help, and during a recent visit, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai reaffirmed America’s support. For further progress, Uzbekistan could benefit from greater involvement from U.S. institutions like the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Export-Import Bank (EXIM), and U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to strengthen trade ties with the U.S. 2) Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries want the U.S. to repeal the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, which restricts regular trade with them. This amendment, initially targeting Soviet-era policies, is now outdated and seen as disrespectful, as it treats these nations as if they are still part of the Soviet Union. Repealing it would show that the U.S. respects their independence and is ready to treat them as equal partners. “Jackson-Vanik now restricts normal trade relations with several existing and former nonmarket economies, including Uzbekistan. For countries like Uzbekistan, Jackson-Vanik is a sign of disrespect that encourages them to take their business to China, Russia, Turkey, or the Gulf,” Runde argues. 3) He notes that many developing countries, including Uzbekistan, would like to see Congress successfully renew the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a trade preference program. “The GSP benefited many developing countries by providing duty-free treatment for their products. With the absence of this program, trade volumes between Uzbekistan and the United States have not been as impressive as they might have been. Compare U.S. trade with Uzbekistan and Uzbekistan’s trade with China, Russia, or the EU. The lapse of the U.S. GSP has had a real impact on our influence...

Kazakhstan Promotes Investment Opportunities in South Korea

On June 4, Seoul hosted a seminar organized by Caspian Group Korea and several Korean organizations, on the development of bilateral economic cooperation and investment opportunities offered by Kazakhstan. Endorsed by Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry as a significant platform for promoting investment opportunities to the Korean business community, the seminar was attended by deputies of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Kim Song Won and Kim Seung Soo, and Korean companies including Samsung, Hyundai, KPMG Korea, KT, and CJ. In his address, Deputy of the National Assembly Kim Song Won referred to the important relationship between Kazakhstan and Korea, and emphasized the need to create synergy by combining advanced Korean technologies and rich Kazakh natural resources. Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Korea, Nurgali Arystanov, likewise welcomed strengthening cooperation between the two countries and particularly, the input of Korea’s experience in Kazakhstan's industrial development, smart city technologies, healthcare systems, as well as agriculture and smart farms. Focus then turned to the new Alatau City project, an ambitious centre in Kazakhstan which designed to attract for Korean advanced technologies, will play a significant role in strengthening bilateral investment cooperation and the development of sustainable urban infrastructure.    

Kazakhstan Seeks Investment from South Korea

Over the past ten years, South Korea's investments in Kazakhstan's economy have exceeded $6.8 billion and several joint Kazakh-Korean projects with investments of about $1 billion are currently under implementation. The potential to increase and diversify bilateral trade and expand investment cooperation was the focus of a meeting on 16 April between Gabidulla Ospankulov, Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Yerzhan Yelekeyev, Chairman of the Management Board of National Company Kazakh Invest, and Joe Tae-Ik, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Kazakhstan. During the meeting, Ospankulov spoke of the large number of Korean companies working in Kazakhstan and emphasizing that developing economic and investment relations with South Korea is a priority, pledged comprehensive support to companies implementing projects in the country. Kazakh Invest’s Yelekeyev gave thanks to Korean car brands for their input into the Kazakhstan’s successful development of the domestic automotive industry and reported on the high potential for strengthening partnerships in tourism, energy, and petrochemistry. Looking ahead, he stated, “South Korean entrepreneurs work in an export-oriented economy and create competitive, innovative products. We want to adopt this expertise and technology in developing priority sectors in Kazakhstan. In this regard, we are ready to provide a full range of support services, including an existing package of preferences." In return, Ambassador Joe Tae-Ik confirmed his intention to assist in implementing new joint investment projects.

President Rahmon Invites Qatari Business to Invest in Tajikistan

During his state visit to Qatar on January 22nd, the president of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, held negotiations in Doha with the emir of the state of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.  During the meeting, it was proposed to launch joint transport-transit projects in order to expand the logistics networks between the two countries. This will facilitate the transportation of cargo and passengers, as well as transit to other countries, Rahmon’s press service reported. Also on January 22nd, Rahmon met with Qatar’s business community, expressing his views on a broad scope of cooperation opportunities with leading Qatari companies in the fields of agriculture, transport infrastructure, logistics, civil aviation, and tourism. The president emphasized that the government of Tajikistan is ready to support the proposals of investors to establish cooperation in these priority areas. In his speech to the Qatari business community, Rahmon spoke about the current economic situation in Tajikistan and the macroeconomic stability ensured in the country. The president said that Tajikistan’s GDP growth rate in the last 20 years has been more than 7% on average, and in 2023 reached 8.3%, while inflation was 3.8%. “Today, more than 720 public investment projects worth more than USD 13.8 billion are under implementation in our country.” Rahmon said that attracting investments is a priority for the Tajik government, and in this context, vast opportunities for investment have been created, and tax and customs incentives and guarantees are widely applied.  According to Rahmon, Tajikistan’s aluminum production and lithium resources provide for favorable conditions for the production of electric vehicles. “That’s the two main types of materials for the production of electric cars available in our country,” he said. The president pointed out that industrial production can be another future direction of cooperation, adding that projects in the light industry, food, metallurgy, machine building, chemistry, production of construction materials and pharmaceuticals are a priority for Tajikistan. Rahmon also mentioned that Tajikistan is rich in mineral resources, with some 800 deposits of minerals, rare and precious metals, including copper, silver, gold, lead, lithium, antimony, nickel, tungsten, vanadium and other rare minerals having been discovered and partially prepared for mining in Tajikistan. The president added that the reserves of food salt in Tajikistan amount to more than 72 billion tons, which is sufficient to meet the consumption needs of all inhabitants of the planet for this product for more than 300 years.