Uzbekistan is banking on the upcoming China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway to break its heavy geographic isolation and reshape regional trade, a senior Uzbek lawmaker said.
Lying at the crossroads of Eastern and Western civilizations, Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked nation with no direct access to the sea, surrounded entirely by other landlocked countries.
Sodiq Safoyev, first deputy chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis (national parliament) of Uzbekistan, said that while the nation's severe geographic isolation places a heavy financial burden on its economy, its unique central location offers distinct strategic advantages that are being unlocked through the Belt and Road Initiative to drive regional development.
"Geographical isolation as a doubly landlocked country, of course, is a problem. According to estimates, up to 20 percent of the cost of our export or import goes to the cost of transportation. It's a burden, of course. At the same time, the location of Uzbekistan is unique. It's the only country that has a common border with all other Central Asian countries. It's located in proximity to the four major markets: Russia, the Middle East, South Asia, and China. And I think that the fact for our strategy is to transform Uzbekistan from a doubly landlocked to a land-linked country. And that's why the initiative of President Xi Jinping Belt and Road is strategically important for us. From the beginning, in 2012, Uzbekistan firmly supported this initiative," said Safoyev.
The practical rollout of the long-awaited railway connecting China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan -- a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative -- is expected to alter the economic landscape of Eurasia.
The route begins in Kashgar, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and passes through Kyrgyzstan's mountainous terrain to reach Uzbekistan.
"Today, the practical implementation of the project connecting China via Kyrgyzstan with Uzbekistan is on the way. It will transform the geoeconomics of the region. According to some estimates, the volume of trade or cargo brought via this railroad will be 15 million tons annually, and the time to reach Europe from China will be reduced to one week. It will be one week less," said Safoyev.
Acknowledging that the endeavor requires significant capital, Safoyev stressed that the transit route is designed to serve as a broader economic catalyst rather than a simple passage for goods, as it enables Uzbekistan to manufacture value-added goods and overcome its geographic isolation through cooperation with China
"It's not easy, of course. It will demand a lot of investment, but it will be easily regained. It is not just a transport corridor; it's a corridor of development. The point of Uzbekistan is that Uzbekistan should not only be the territory for transiting cargo, it must be territory for producing value-added products. And I'm sure that this transportation link will bring more forward-looking production in Uzbekistan as well. So our cooperation with China, summing up what I've just said, is one of the ways of overcoming the geographic isolation of Uzbekistan and transforming it from a landlocked to a land-linked country," Safoyev said.
Uzbekistan views China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway as key to overcoming landlocked isolation
As the world grapples with multiplying crises and a dangerous decline in international trust, a senior Uzbek lawmaker has called for greater unity and multilateral cooperation to tackle shared crises.
Sodiq Safoyev, first deputy chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis (national parliament) of Uzbekistan, said the world is navigating a complex era of "polycrisis" marked by wars, pandemics, and growing division, and that the response should not be to create new dividing lines, but to unite people and act collectively.
"Today we're living in a difficult time worldwide. Even some academicians defined the contemporary world as in a time of polycrisis or simultaneous occurrence of several catastrophic events, indeed, wars, pandemia, fragmentation of the world. And I think that it's a time not to create new division lines, but to unite the people and act together, vis-a-vis global challenges. I think that such an idea, proposed by his Excellency, Chairman [President] Xi Jinping, is very important, because it brings very clear idea that today we need to build cooperation and to think about the next generation's destiny, to save the earth from the challenges which we have," said Safoyev.
Safoyev also pushed back against the notion that deglobalization has taken hold, saying that international trade, information flows, and migration remain unstoppable. However, he warned that rising interconnectedness has been accompanied by a dangerous decline in mutual trust and understanding.
"Some people think that the process of deglobalization has started. I don't think so. I don't think that it's possible to stop international trade, flow of information, migration of people who want to study abroad, who want to work abroad. Globalization is not stopping and that's why interconnectedness of the nations only increases. But at the same time, simultaneously, we're absorbing diminishing of trust and understanding. It's a very dangerous combination. We connected, but we don't understand each other," said Safoyev.
Acknowledging that international organizations fail to meet public expectation in resolving conflicts, Safoyev said that regional mechanisms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and cooperation between China and Central Asian countries offer models for effective cooperation.
"And I think that international organizations today are not matching expectations of the people in the regard with preventing conflicts, preventing the problems and resolving them. And it's the most challenging issues of the contemporary world. And I think that's why the experience of Shanghai organizations [the Shanghai Cooperation Organization] and cooperation between China and Central Asian countries is very important to demonstrate that it's possible," said Safoyev.
He also said that Central Asia serves as a prime example of overcoming fragmentation and uniting, as the region has transformed from one plagued by border disputes, suspicion, and resource conflicts a decade ago into a cohesive, cooperating bloc.
"From the more positive side, I'd like to note that the situation in Central Asia is something which might give us some more optimism. Twenty years ago, even 10 years ago, Central Asia was divided, divided by suspicion, divided by unresolved issues like unresolved borders, many conflicts of interest in the regard with the using the water resources of the transnational water resources etc. Today, in a relatively short time, period of time, Central Asia became completely different, more and more consolidating, uniting, having joint approach to the regional problems. And that's why Central Asia started to lure more attention worldwide. We're seeing that [there are] more interests of the global actors with the Central Asia, and I think that it demonstrates to the whole world that it's possible today now to overcome fragmentation and to unite. And that's why we, as usual, have both some concerns. But at the same time, we must be optimists in looking ahead," said Safoyev.
He also said that wisdom of humanity and visionary leadership inspire optimism that building future of common shared destiny is possible.
Senior Uzbek lawmaker calls for regional unity, cooperation amid global "polycrisis"
