President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ’s working visit to Turkmenistan on October 8–9 brought together three tracks of Kazakhstan’s diplomacy: cooperation between the Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan, engagement within the CIS, and the preservation of the Caspian Sea.
The issues discussed in Awaza are difficult to consider in isolation: trade depends on transport infrastructure, industrial cooperation on technological partnership, and the prospects of trans-Caspian shipping on the state of the Caspian itself. Qazinform ’s analysis looks at what Kazakhstan proposed and the logic that ties its initiatives together.
From neighbors to shared economic interests On October 8, the 8th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia took place. President Tokayev outlined both the achievements of regional cooperation and its limitations. Last year, intraregional trade reached about $13 billion, roughly 8% of the countries’ total trade turnover.
Kazakhstan proposed raising this figure to $20 billion. President Tokayev linked the trade target to the development of cross-border trade and logistics hubs and industrial cooperation centers. This marks a shift from individual cross-border projects to an interconnected economic system, one that requires removing barriers, expanding industrial cooperation, and coordinating the work of transport and logistics hubs.
That is why Kazakhstan places particular importance on developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, whose growing demand is clearly reflected in the dynamics of recent years. The North-South route, developed in cooperation with Russia, and integration with the TRIPP initiative also remain highly relevant for Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan views its various transport corridors as parts of a broader, more extensive network of connections. Infrastructure development within the country gains regional significance when it gives neighboring economies access to additional routes and outlets to foreign markets.
At the Consultative Meeting, water issues were identified as one of the main challenges to stability in Central Asia. The Head of State proposed developing new approaches to trans-boundary resource management based on mutual respect, equality, and consideration of the interests of all states.
Tokayev named the Central Asian Framework Convention on Water Use as a starting point. He also proposed jointly promoting the initiative to establish an International Water Organization under the auspices of the UN, giving it, among other things, a Central Asian character.
According to Oriental studies scholar Zhanat Momynkulov, the countries of the region are moving from the logic of dividing water toward a more modern model of jointly managing risks and benefits. “This requires a constant exchange of hydrological data, coordinated reservoir operating regimes, transparent distribution of costs and compensation, and closer links between water, energy, and agricultural policy,” he said.
Technology occupied a prominent place among Kazakhstan’s proposals. At the Consultative Meeting, President Tokayev called for preparing a Central Asian Partnership Program on Artificial Intelligence, which would allow research centers, universities, and technology companies to share experience and information.