Japan, Central Asian states mull cooperation prospects
By Aynur Karimova
The delegations of Japan and five Central Asian countries have discussed prospects of cooperation in the fields of agriculture, transport and logistics, and the implementation of projects in these fields by using modern Japanese technologies.
The discussions were held within the framework of dialogue "Central Asia + Japan" in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry reported on November 24.
The 10th meeting of senior officials of the dialogue which was held at the level of deputy foreign ministers was attended by officials from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Japan.
The participants of the meeting stressed the importance of increasing cooperation in the fields such as regional security and sustainable development, trade and investment promotion, prevention of natural disasters, which were defined as the main priorities of cooperation at the previous meeting of foreign ministers of the participating countries of the dialogue.
Particular attention was also paid to building up trade and economic cooperation. The sides discussed the possibility of attracting Japanese investments in the national economies of Central Asian states, implementing new joint projects and investment programs.
Japan initiated the "Central Asia + Japan" dialogue in 2004 in order to enhance efforts to expand and strengthen closer ties with the countries of the region.
2004, a joint statement was signed by the Foreign Ministers of the members of the dialogue, which defined the basic principles of the dialogue.
Central Asian countries and Japan agreed in five main fields: political dialogue, intraregional cooperation, encouragement of business, intellectual dialogue, cultural and humanitarian dialogue.
The next meeting of senior officials of the "Central Asia + Japan" dialogue is scheduled to be held in 2016 in Tokyo.
The Central Asian nations are best known for their natural resources - not only oil and gas, but also uranium, rare metals, and gold. Due to decreasing prices for natural resources, these five nations are trying to diversify their industrial base. So, this region is a good place for Japan to step in thanks to its experience and know-how exporting social infrastructure.
The experts appraise the prospects of Japanese-Central Asian cooperation as 'very good'. Central Asian nations believe that more trade with and investment from Japan can reduce these countries' reliance on China and Russia.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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