Central Asia and Caucasus Launch Regional Investment Council Alliance

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Eight countries from Central Asia and the South Caucasus have established the Regional Alliance of Investment Councils, a platform designed to coordinate investment policy and develop cross-border projects across the region, participants announced at the Tashkent International Investment Forum.

Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and representatives of the broader Caucasus region are founding members. The alliance is intended to overcome the fragmentation of national investment frameworks and create a unified investment space.

The idea emerged from practical necessity. Aziz Gafurov, head of the secretariat of the Foreign Investors Council under the President of Uzbekistan, said investors are increasingly operating across several countries in the region simultaneously but encounter divergent regulatory frameworks and incompatible standards.

"Investment opportunities in Central Asia are becoming increasingly regional, while the constraints remain concentrated at the national level," Gafurov said.

Investment potential and obstacles

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has supported the initiative since its inception. Hussein Ozhan, the EBRD's managing director for Central Asia and Mongolia, outlined three reasons the alliance is needed.

First, the region faces a gap between potential and actual investment flows. Although Central Asia has attracted record volumes of foreign direct investment over the past two decades, most of that capital is concentrated in a small number of countries and sectors. Intra-regional investment volumes remain modest despite positive momentum.

Second, the region's principal investment opportunities — the green energy transition, logistics corridors, agribusiness and digital networks — are cross-border by nature, yet investors face divergent regulations, financing access constraints and inconsistent standards.

Third, the alliance is intended to help address regulatory complexity, limited legal predictability and financial constraints that hold back larger-scale regional investment.

The role of investment councils

The EBRD has supported national investment councils in the region for two decades. Ozhan said those platforms have evolved from advisory bodies into instruments for implementation and investment mobilisation.

Kazakhstan's Foreign Investors Council, established in 1998, is one of the most effective investor-government dialogue mechanisms in the region. It has facilitated key reforms in investment legislation, licensing and customs procedures. In 2025, Kazakhstan attracted US$20.5 billion in foreign direct investment, a 15% increase on the previous year, and has received more than US$480 billion in foreign investment since independence. The composition of that investment is also shifting, with growing shares going to manufacturing, financial technology, logistics and renewable energy.

Uzbekistan's Foreign Investors Council, established in 2019 with EBRD support and the direct backing of the country's president, held more than 50 working group sessions last year. It collected more than 300 proposals and substantiated initiatives, of which 120 were submitted to the government. More than 60 initiatives have been moved to implementation, including 22 strategic documents and one administrative measure.

Armenia's Investment Council covers more than 40,000 enterprises. According to council chairman Hovsep Patsaqanyan, around 30 reforms adopted annually through the council attract between US$800 million and US$900 million in investment from domestic and foreign sources.

Priorities for cooperation

Participants identified several areas of focus for the alliance: exchange of best practices in investment policy, joint promotion of the region to global markets, development of cross-border projects and the creation of a shared investment project database.

Infrastructure projects received particular attention. Georgia is developing the Middle Corridor — an alternative transit route through the Black Sea and South Caucasus countries that has gained relevance following disruptions to northern logistics routes. The country is constructing the deep-water port of Anaklia and completing its east-west highway.

Energy integration is also a priority. Plans include the implementation of a Black Sea underwater cable project connecting countries in the region through a shared electricity grid.

Veha Malikgulyev, director of Turkmenistan's market access centre, proposed starting with practical initiatives: organising trade missions among alliance member states, creating a unified database of private companies and establishing a shared investment project bank.

Representatives of the Asian Development Bank and the EBRD confirmed their readiness to support the alliance through financing and advisory services.

Next steps

Organisers said the memorandum establishing the alliance is scheduled for signing on 18 June during the plenary session of the Foreign Investors Council. A roadmap with clear timelines and implementation mechanisms for joint initiatives is to be developed.

Organisers expect the alliance to draw attention from international investment firms seeking to implement regional strategies across Central Asia and the South Caucasus.