STRATEGIC VISIT

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a two-day visit to Uzbekistan.

Given the status of officials in the Turkish delegation, we can assume the visit was a significant one for Ankara. In addition to his wife Emine Erdogan, the Turkish leader was accompanied by Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, National Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, Labour and Social Security Minister Vedat Bilgin, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, Trade Minister Mehmet Mus and Fahrettin Altun, head of the Presidential Liaison Office.

Uzbekistan also attached significance to the visit of such a large and impressive Turkish delegation to the country. 

According to Uzbek media, President Erdogan was the first foreign leader who visited the Independence Monument in the Yangi Uzbekiston (New Uzbekistan) Park. The ceremony will now become a tradition for all heads of state visiting Uzbekistan. Earlier, according to protocol, the high-ranking guests laid flowers at the Monument of Independence and Humanism at Mustakillik (Independence) Square in the centre of the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.

Raising the status

During the visit, the leaders of two Turkic states conversed in private, held a meeting of the Strategic Cooperation Council, joined the signing ceremony of intergovernmental agreements, launched a thermal power plant in the Tashkent region and another one in Syr-Darya. Both of the energy projects are being implemented by the Turkish company Cengiz Enerji.

The central event of the visit was the second meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between Uzbekistan and Turkey. After the meeting, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a joint statement. According to the Uzbek president, he and Mr. Erdogan agreed to raise the status of relations between the two countries to a "comprehensive strategic partnership". The Turkish leader suggested holding meetings of the council not once every two years, but annually. At the end of the talks, Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Turkey to attend the next meeting of the Strategic Cooperation Council.

Certainly, the joint statement of presidents was not the only document signed between the countries. Nine more documents that will take the relations between Uzbekistan and Turkey to a new level have been signed between the governments, ministries and agencies of Uzbekistan and Turkey. These include documents on cooperation in trade, logistics, labour and employment, forensics, construction, healthcare and media.

The framework military agreement between the two countries signed by the defence ministers of Turkey and Uzbekistan deserves special attention. According to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the agreement includes cooperation between the two countries in the defence industry. Given the sharply increased popularity of Turkish military equipment after the Second Garabagh War in Azerbaijan and amid the military crisis between Russia and Ukraine, the agreement on military cooperation between Turkey and Ukraine has sparked active discussions in expert circles in the region.

"Comprehensive strategic partnership"

But this is not a complete list of areas that the sides intend to strengthen mutual relations. For example, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made a noteworthy statement drawing attention to Uzbekistan's interest in building multifaceted relations with Turkey.

According to Erdogan, the volume of mutual trade between Turkey and Uzbekistan exceeded $3.6 billion in 2021 (+72%). During the year, the parties aim to bring this indicator to $5bn, then to $10bn.

Notably, the trade balance between Uzbekistan and Turkey shows a zero balance, i.e. exports and imports are almost equal and neither dominates the structure of trade turnover.

It is also noteworthy that the volume of Turkish investments in the Uzbek economy doubled over the past three years reaching $1.2bn by the end of 2021. Turkey has also become the third country after Russia and China in the number of joint ventures opened in Uzbekistan. More than 1,500 Turkish companies are operating in the country, including Çalık Holding, Cengiz Energy, Aksa Energy, Akaya İnşaat, Varnet and so on. Negotiations on new investment projects with Anadolu Group, Eczacıbaşı, Medicana and Acıbadem are underway.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Uzbekistan and Turkey. Ankara was the first to recognise Uzbekistan's independence after the collapse of the USSR. However, the statistics show that the two Turkic states have seen a tangible increase in mutual cooperation in recent years, during Shavkat Mirziyoyev's presidency. The Uzbek president opted for increased cooperation with Turkey back in 2017 during his first visit to Turkey. In addition to Uzbekistan's rich natural and economic potential, opportunities to access regional markets, the absence of a language barrier and many other favourable factors, as well as extensive reforms initiated by the Shavkat Mirziyoyev administration to improve the investment climate in the country have sent important signals to Turkish investors. This has also been confirmed by President Erdogan's statement that Ankara is following with interest the progress of reforms successfully implemented under the leadership of President Mirziyoyev.

For Ankara, Uzbekistan is an important partner in terms of access to Central Asian markets and transport routes. Remarkably, a few days before Erdogan’s official visit, Binali Yıldırım, chairman of the Council of Elders of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) and deputy chairman of the ruling party of Turkey, visited Tashkent.

It is reported that representatives of OTS and Uzbekistan discussed strengthening transport and logistics ties and creation of new mutually beneficial logistics routes, as well as agreed to accelerate development of the concept of transport and infrastructure development of the Turkic states up until 2026. The parties also agreed to develop a separate road map for this sphere covering the period of 2022-2023.

A separate item on the agenda is the integration of the Turkic world. "The doors to your ancestral homeland are always open for you and all our Turkish brothers," the Uzbek president said to his Turkish counterpart. The Turkish president also spoke about relations "based on kinship ties". These statements can be considered important messages made on the eve of the next summit of the Organisation of Turkic States slated for this autumn in Tashkent.

It is no coincidence that the presidents of Turkey and Uzbekistan visited Khiva with their spouses. For many years, this ancient city has been the centre of many Turkic states. In 2020, the international organisation TURKSOY declared Khiva the cultural capital of the Turkic world.

Thus, the Turkish president's visit to Uzbekistan was a landmark event in terms of opening of a new stage in bilateral relations between the two countries and Tashkent's increasing role in regional processes. Last but not least, analysts assess the visit in the context of Ankara's rapidly rising international profile. In particular, almost all observers noted that the Turkish president visited Tashkent immediately after his personal participation in the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul.

In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that the development of relations between Turkey and Uzbekistan is also important for Azerbaijan. First, Baku has fraternal and partnership relations with both states. Secondly, Azerbaijan plays an instrumental role in the integration process of the Turkic world. Thirdly, after the liberation of lands from the Armenian occupation, Azerbaijan has also strengthened its position as a transport hub at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Therefore, Baku shows genuine interest in the perspective establishment of land transport links between Turkey and Central Asian countries. In the future, bilateral cooperation formats between Baku and Ankara, Baku and Tashkent and Tashkent and Ankara can be extended to the trilateral Baku-Ankara-Tashkent format. In the meantime, Azerbaijan and Turkey already enjoy successful cooperation with various countries in the trilateral format.