“Since Uzbekistan and Georgia are located in geostrategically vital regions – Central Asia and South Caucasus, efforts of both countries to implement major transport and communication projects will serve for interregional connectivity and for the benefit of all interested countries”, – notes Farrukh Khakimov (Uzbekistan), participant of the CABAR.asia School of Analysts 2021.
Relations between Georgia and Uzbekistan are developing both on a bilateral basis and within the framework of multilateral platforms. Georgia recognized the sovereignty of Uzbekistan on October 10, 1991, while diplomatic relations were established in 1994. In August 1997, the Embassy of Georgia was opened in Tashkent. Since May 1999, the Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan has been accredited in Georgia concurrently.
Additionally Uzbek-Georgian relations have been developing in the framework of different multilateral platforms, both in international organizations such as – UN, OSCE, OSCEPA, CIS (until 2009), international financial institutions – WB, IMF, EBRD, ADB and non-institutionalized mechanisms and projects of cooperation such as TRACECA, CAREC[1] and etc.
Sudden death of President of Uzbekistan I.Karimov on September
2, 2016 and transit of power did not affect bilateral relations; contrary condolence delivered by Georgi Kvirikashvili – the Prime Minister of Georgia (2015-2018), who among other foreign officials arrived in Uzbekistan to attend the farewell ceremony, in some extent demonstrated the level of interstate relations.In 2017 a delegation of Uzbekistan led by the First Deputy Chairperson of the Senate of Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan Sodiq Safaev paid a visit to Georgia. Within the negotiations, the sides discussed bilateral relations, including developing transport and infrastructure projects in the region. The Uzbek delegation held a meeting with the Minister of Economy of Georgia Georgy Gakharia. The sides agreed to expand export opportunities, help transit of the goods in free trade mode and improve legislative framework of bilateral cooperation.
Representatives of Uzbekistan and Georgia discussed perspectives of cooperation in tourism, communication and foreign trade, as well as outlined plans of new projects. The sides also considered cooperation in transport and transit of goods. The Uzbek side expressed interest in using transport-logistic opportunities of Georgia.
Moreover, the high level official meeting was on September 20, 2017 when new President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev had bilateral talks with Prime Minister of Georgia Georgi Kvirikashvili in New York during the UN General Assembly sessions. Issues of further increasing in volumes and expansion of the range of trade turnover, activation of relations between chambers of commerce and industry, organization of trading houses and conduction of joint exhibitions were discussed at the meeting.[2]
Meanwhile, at the highest level, the official exchanges of visits of heads of two countries have not been organized yet since 2017, however recently on July 18, 2022 Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili paid official visit to Uzbekistan.[3] At the airport, he was met by the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov and other high level officials which demonstrates Uzbek side’s special attitude toward Georgian counterparts and pragmatic foreign policy toward the country as a whole.
During his first official visit to Uzbekistan Irakli Garibashvili as Prime Minister of Georgia had very productive high-level bilateral meetings. Particularly, on 19 July, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev received the Prime Minister of Georgia. At the meeting, a special attention was paid to the issues of the effective use of transit potential, including the infrastructure at the seaports of Poti and Batumi. The opportunities for implementing the joint projects in textile, electro-technical, food, pharmaceutical and other industries, as well as the favorable conditions in the free industrial zones in Uzbekistan and Georgia have been indicated.[4] Taking into account the close political and economic relations, Georgia does not only deem Uzbekistan as a significant and reliable partner, but as a friend too.[5]
Moreover, Irakli Garibashvili had bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov during which it was noted that Georgia is one of the most significant transport corridors for Uzbekistan and economic relations are advancing between the two nations, especially the inflow of Uzbek tourists has particularly grown in Georgia. [6]
In addition, on July 19, 2022 a member of the Georgian official delegation the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Ilia Darchiashvili met with acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov.
During the talks, specific proposals were considered to intensify cooperation in politics, economics, transport, tourism and culture. In particular, the importance of the effective use of the logistics centers of Uzbekistan and the seaports of Georgia for the export and import of goods, the mutual provision of discounts and benefits for the transportation of goods, the creation of a system of transport corridors linking Central Asia and the South Caucasus was emphasized.[7]
At the end of negotiations, the Cooperation Program between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Georgia for 2022-2024 was signed which shows readiness of both sides for practical implementation of high level arrangements.
Priority areas of cooperation: economy and transport corridors
Growing dynamics are observed in the economic and trade relations between the two countries. According to the data provided by National Statistics Office of Georgia, the trade turnover in 2021 between Uzbekistan and Georgia amounted to $ 114.6 million (Chart 1).
Chart 1. Total trade between Georgia and Uzbekistan in 2017-2021, (million US dollar)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia. https://www.geostat.ge/en/modules/categories/35/external-trade
It should be noted that the largest volume of Georgian exports, among Central Asian countries, goes to Uzbekistan (Chart 2). There is an intergovernmental economic commission, which is an effective instrument of bilateral economic cooperation.
Chart 2. Export of Georgia to Central Asian countries in 2017-2020, (million US dollar)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia. External Trade Portal http://ex-trade.geostat.ge/en
The structure of Georgia’s exports to Uzbekistan has not been changed for years: mostly “pharmaceutical products” (60.9%), “optical, photo, technical, medical apparatus” (8.9%) and “beverages, spirits and vinegar” (5.8%) dominated according to “Trading economics” data.[8]
According to the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan supplies Georgia mainly with industrial goods, chemical products, beverages, cars and transport equipment. On the territory of Uzbekistan there are 69 enterprises with the participation of Georgian capital. In Georgia, there are 23 enterprises with the participation of Uzbek investments.[9]
The priority areas of cooperation between the two countries are transport, energy, agriculture and pharmaceuticals. The Uzbek side is actively using Georgia’s transit potential for the export of national products. Cooperation in the field of tourism is also gaining positive momentum.
Georgia is one of the most important transit countries of South Caucasus which also has free-trade agreements with leading economies and competitive market.[10] Therefore, it plays strategic role in connecting Uzbekistan with Western countries, including Turkey, which has become the fourth major foreign trade partner by the end of 2021 accounting almost $ 3.4 billion trade turnover with Uzbekistan.[11]
Currently Uzbekistan utilizes the following transport corridors which go through Georgia (Table 1).[12]
Table 1. Existing transport routs between Uzbekistan and Georgia
Source: Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan. “Transport corridors” https://mift.uz/en/menu/transportnye-koridory
In addition, over the past period a multimodal transport corridor “China – Central Asia – South Caucasus – Turkey” has been created and being established in larger extent, which connects Uzbekistan with the countries of the Pacific region from East and with countries of Western Asia, North Africa and Europe.
The first working meeting of the heads of the railway administrations of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia was held in Tashkent, in 2019. The growth of transit traffic was facilitated by agreements on tariff preferences concluded between the countries. The pilot shipment of cargo through Uzbekistan to Georgia (Batumi) from Kyrgyzstan (Karasu) was successfully completed already in January 2020.
On 16-17 March 2022, Tashkent hosted a six-party meeting of the heads of railway administrations (Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey) on the development of the international multimodal route “Asia-Pacific countries – China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Azerbaijan – Georgia – Turkey – Europe”.[13]
Regular cargo transportation has been launched along new alternative transport corridors, such as:
– “Uzbekistan – Kazakhstan – Russia – Georgia – Turkey”;
– “Uzbekistan – Kazakhstan – Azerbaijan – Georgia – Turkey”;
– “Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Azerbaijan – Georgia – Turkey”.
The interagency analysis shows that these transport corridors can significantly catalyze international trade, increase foreign investment and improve the living conditions of people.[14]
According to experts, the implementation of the international multimodal route “Asia-Pacific countries – China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Azerbaijan – Georgia – Turkey – Europe” reduces the time of transportation of goods from the Central Asian countries by three times. In addition, the implementation of this multimodal transport corridor through Uzbekistan and Georgia will allow countries to significantly increase the trade turnover of both, and can also significantly increase the volume of transit cargo through the territory of Uzbekistan and Georgia. Using the example of Uzbekistan, the multimodal transport corridor will contribute to the achievement of the task of increasing the volume of transit traffic through the territory of Uzbekistan from the current 7 million tons to 23 million tons in 2030.[15]
Obstacles for cooperation
Firstly, instability and the growth of intense geopolitical competition in Central Asia and the South Caucasus may negatively affect the dynamic development of bilateral cooperation between Uzbekistan and Georgia. In this regard, the two countries are actively trying to find a reasonable balance in the approaches to solving international issues, as well as in relation to local conflicts, respectively, are pursuing a balanced foreign policy, and are also trying not to be hostage to the interests of third countries, in the context of growing geopolitical competition and transforming the world order at this stage.
Secondly, socio-economic challenges followed by political instability subsequently may hinder sustainable cooperation between two countries. In this case, not only economic and trade relations of Uzbekistan and Georgia may suffer, but also investment attractiveness of these countries might decrease.
Thirdly, infrastructural problems, especially in the field of transport and communication, such as insufficient capacity of existing railway and highway routes, the absence of a deep-water ports on the Black and Caspian Seas. Moreover, deficiency of cargo vessels and ferries in the countries of Caspian Sea (Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan) that link Uzbekistan and Georgia through alternative transport routes. Since in alternative transport corridors bypassing Russia have to change modes of transport to cross the sea and several state borders, transit and transport infrastructure of involved countries should be modernized to reduce time, cost and other related issues.
In this regard, modernization current international transport infrastructure and construction of new transportation routes, optimizing transport and other costs in the contract value of export and import products, increasing the speed of delivery of goods, digitalization of the logistics chain, including the processes of cargo promotion and vehicles through border crossings, reducing physical and non-physical barriers to the movement of international goods are most essential not only for Uzbekistan but also for other Central Asian states, countries of South Caucasus and other interested parties.
Conclusion
Uzbekistan’s initiatives to strengthen regional interconnectivity are important components of countries new foreign policy strategy which aims at turning Central Asia into a region of sustainable development and integral part of the global economy.
Accordingly, by implementing wide range reforms, including in the sphere of liberalization of national economy, Uzbekistan has intensified regional economic and trade cooperation as a result the total trade turnover of the country with Central Asian states in the period between 2017 and 2021 grew more than two times and by the end of 2021 it exceeded 6.3 bln. US dollars. Moreover, Uzbekistan and countries of the region are extremely interested in expanding their geography of international trade, exploring new markets and developing new transport corridors, especially given the current situation on the world arena.
In this vein, diversification existing transport routes and creation of new international transport corridors that link Central Asia with West through South Caucasus are very important for all countries of the region, including Uzbekistan.
Therefore, the effective use of transit potential Georgia, including the infrastructure at the seaports of Poti and Batumi for gaining access to the EU consumer market and beyond were top issues during recent high level bilateral talks (July 18-19, 2022) between Uzbek and Georgian leadership.
Especially in the current crisis conditions and the growing challenges to food security, the issue of diversifying transport routes connecting Central Asia with the East and West via South Caucasus is becoming more urgent.
Since Uzbekistan and Georgia are located in geostrategically vital regions – Central Asia and South Caucasus, efforts of both countries to implement major transport and communication projects will serve for interregional connectivity and for the benefit of all interested countries.
Definitely, development of interregional connectivity through transport corridors will give a prevailing push to bilateral and regional cooperation between Uzbekistan and Georgia, and Central Asia and South Caucasus respectively. In addition, strengthening people to people and business to business (B2B) connections, public diplomacy, tourism, academic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation should be priority for both countries.
[1] CAREC – the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program has a membership of 11 states, with the original eight members being Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, People’s Republic of China (Xinjiang joined in 1997; Inner Mongolia in 2008), Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Pakistan and Turkmenistan joined in 2010; Georgia in 2016.
[2] President Shavkat Mirziyoyev received the Prime Minister of Georgia. 20.09.2017. https://president.uz/en/lists/view/1067
[3] Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia Arrives in Uzbekistan for an Official Visit. 18.07.2022.
https://www.gov.ge/en/news/339485?page=&year=
[4] President of Uzbekistan and Prime Minister of Georgia Discuss the Ways for Expanding a Practical Cooperation. 19.07.2022.
https://president.uz/en/lists/view/5351
[5] Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia Meets Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. 19.07.2022.
https://www.gov.ge/en/news/339710
[6] Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia Meets Abdulla Aripov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan. 19.07.2022.
https://www.gov.ge/en/news/339658?page=2&year=
[7] Vladimir Norov meets with Georgian Foreign Minister. 19.07.2022. https://mfa.uz/en/press/news/2022/vladimir-norov-meets-with-georgian-foreign-minister—31983
[8] Georgia Exports to Uzbekistan. https://tradingeconomics.com/georgia/exports/uzbekistan
[9] В Узбекистан с визитом прибыл Премьер-министр Грузии Ираклий Гарибашвили. 18.07.2022. https://mift.uz/ru/news/v-uzbekistan-s-vizitom-pribyl-premer-ministr-gruzii-iraklij-garibashvili
[10] Yilmaz, Serdar, and Murat Yorulmaz, eds. The Changing Perspectives and ‘New’ Geopolitics of the Caucasus in the 21st Century. Astana Yayınları, 2021. p. 258
[11] Foreign trade turnover of the Republic of Uzbekistan. 21.01.2022. https://stat.uz/images/uploads/reliz2021/tashqi-savdo_dekabr_210122en.pdf
[12] Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Transport corridors.
https://mift.uz/en/menu/transportnye-koridory
[13] International multimodal route: on the results of the six-party meeting in Tashkent. 19.03.2022.
https://uzdaily.uz/en/post/71931
[14] Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Transport and Foreign Trade: new perspectives and urgent tasks. https://mift.uz/en/menu/transportirovka
[15] Akramjon Nematov spoke about the prospects for Uzbek-Turkish cooperation in the transport and energy sectors. 13.04.2022.
https://isrs.uz/en/smti-ekspertlari-sharhlari/akramzon-nematov-rasskazal-o-perspektivah-uzbeksko-tureckogo-vzaimodejstvia-v-transportnoj-i-energeticeskoj-sferah