Azernews.Az

By Leman Mammadova

The first Caspian Economic Forum will be held on August 12, 2019 at the AVAZA National Tourist Zone in Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan.

The agenda of the forum has already been announced. It will consist of three parts - in first, international conference, then Caspian Innovative Technologies Exhibition and finally, signing of documents, Attaché of Turkmenistan's Embassy in Azerbaijan Begmammed Keljayev told Trend.

He said that the conference will focus on the implementation of joint investment projects and programs, the creation of special free economic zones, cooperation in the field of digital economy, the development of cooperation between the coastal states, joint ventures.

He added that roundtables will be organized in parallel with the conference.

Keljayev noted that an exhibition of innovative technologies will be held on August 11-12, during which meetings and documents will be signed between the parties.

The forum will be attended by government members of the Caspian littoral states, heads of diplomatic missions, heads of the regions, heads of banks, industry associations, entrepreneurs, researchers and journalists.

An organizational committee was established for the preparation for the event in accordance with the decree of the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Earlier, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov underlined that developing effective cooperation with the Caspian region is one of the priority vectors of Turkmenistan's foreign policy course.

The initiative to hold the First Caspian Economic Forum in Turkmenistan was put forward by Pesident Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov at the 5th Summit of the Heads of the Caspian Littoral States in Aktau, Kazakhstan on August 12, 2018, when the littoral states have reached an agreement after 22 years of systematic talks and signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea.

Convention gives Caspian "a special legal status" - it was declared neither lake nor sea. According to the Convention, water surface remains in common use for all coastal countries, with states granted jurisdiction over 15 nautical miles of water from their coasts and fishing rights over an additional ten miles. The seabed, rich in natural resources, is divided between neighboring countries in accordance with international law, based on the agreement of the neighboring states.

The provision on the inadmissibility of third-party armed forces in the Caspian Sea can be regarded as one of the key points of the Convention.

The convention also permits the construction of pipelines, which only require the approval of the countries whose seabed they pass. At the same time, such projects should comply with environmental safety.

The signing of the Convention has been regarded as a triumph of multilateral diplomacy by the international community and the world media.

Today, the Caspian region is attracting the enormous interest of most of both regional and non-regional states, which is primarily due to the region’s rich oil reserves, as well as the important geopolitical position of the region.

The unique geographical position of the Caspian Sea has determined its geostrategic importance. Sea borders of five states, the most important ways of transporting energy resources, logistics chains between the four parts of the world, running through this sea.

At the same time, there are obvious or indirect hotbeds of tension connected with the interests of the largest political forces: the USA, Russia, the EU countries and China. The Caspian region can become the center of the most serious conflicts, or, as a result of a positive approach, communication, cooperation in the form of the same summits, become the center of intra-regional cooperation, which will develop and benefit all five neighboring states without regard to external players.

The strategic importance of the Caspian Sea in regional and interregional geopolitical and geo-economic processes, its role as a major transit and transport and logistics hub require the further integration of the Caspian littoral states in the main areas of cooperation.

The Caspian Sea, located at the intersection of North-South and East-West transport corridors, offers immersive transit-logistical opportunities to littoral states. In particular, the establishment of modern transport facilities will allow carrying out any cargo shipments in the Caspian Sea and to increase trade volumes.

Strengthening economic relations is of great importance today for the transformation of the Caspian into a sea of cooperation.

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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888

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