Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The regional programme “Young Leaders of Central Asia and Azerbaijan” opened in Tashkent, bringing together more than 30 young representatives of government bodies, parliaments, research and analytical centres, and civil society organisations from six countries.
The programme, organised by the nationwide Yuksalish Movement in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, runs from 26 to 30 October in Tashkent and Bukhara. It aims to strengthen professional ties, exchange experience and develop practical cooperation on key regional development priorities.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Akramjon Ne’matov, First Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan (ISRS), said regional dialogue was becoming increasingly important as a strategic tool for sustainable development, stability and joint responses to shared challenges.
He said the world was undergoing profound changes affecting almost every area of international relations. Rapid advances in technology, artificial intelligence and the digital economy were creating unprecedented opportunities for growth and modernisation. At the same time, geopolitical competition was intensifying, climate and demographic changes were accelerating, and water, energy and food security concerns were becoming more pressing.
The current period is distinctive because these processes are unfolding simultaneously, overlapping and reinforcing one another. While they create new risks and uncertainty, they also offer opportunities for countries and regions capable of adapting to change in a timely manner.
The restructuring of the international order has also been accompanied by declining effectiveness of some traditional multilateral mechanisms, which increasingly face difficulties in resolving crises and reaching coordinated decisions.
“In these circumstances, cohesive regions that can independently determine common priorities, reconcile interests and pool efforts to address shared challenges are becoming particularly important,” Ne’matov said.
He stressed that no country could effectively address the full range of modern cross-border challenges on its own or fully capitalise on emerging opportunities. Regional cooperation makes it possible to combine resources, knowledge and technology, turning shared problems into drivers of joint development.
In this context, Ne’matov highlighted the significant changes in Central Asia in recent years.
Political will and joint efforts by regional leaders have helped strengthen mutual trust, resolve a number of sensitive issues, restore transport links and expand trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
Regional cooperation is now entering a new phase, with greater emphasis on aligning national strategies, implementing joint projects and creating a shared economic development space.
The outcomes of the eighth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan, held in Avaza on 8 October, provided further evidence of this trend and opened new prospects for cooperation in industry, transport, energy, digitalisation, the environment and human capital development.
Azerbaijan’s participation expands opportunities to strengthen connectivity between Central Asia, the Caspian region and the South Caucasus, while developing new transport routes and industrial cooperation links.
However, Ne’matov said regional rapprochement would need a strong intellectual, educational and social foundation to become sustainable and irreversible.
As technological change accelerates, countries’ competitiveness increasingly depends on the quality of their human capital, education systems, research capacity and ability to develop and implement innovations.
This makes it particularly important to prepare a new generation of specialists equipped with modern knowledge, competencies and international cooperation skills.
Ne’matov referred to initiatives put forward by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to expand youth and educational cooperation. These include holding a Central Asian Youth Forum, organising regional competitions for innovative ideas, promoting academic mobility, and developing joint educational programmes and research projects.
He also highlighted Mirziyoyev’s proposal at the Avaza meeting to develop a Regional Atlas of In-Demand Professions and Competencies.
The initiative is intended to bring education systems into closer alignment with the future needs of national economies, particularly in industry, energy, transport, digital technology, artificial intelligence and the green economy.
“We need to prepare young people not only for the professions of today, but also for those that will shape our economies over the next 10 to 20 years,” Ne’matov said.
He identified the creation of a shared space for education, science, knowledge and innovation between Central Asia and Azerbaijan as a strategic priority.
This would involve expanding links between universities, developing joint educational and research programmes, increasing academic exchanges, establishing networks of young researchers, and supporting technology startups and entrepreneurship.
Such cooperation could combine the countries’ intellectual resources to address common challenges, ranging from digital transformation and industrial modernisation to water conservation, climate adaptation and energy resilience.
Ne’matov also emphasised the importance of developing a shared information and cultural space and expanding contacts among researchers, public officials, entrepreneurs and civil society representatives.
He said fostering a sense of a shared future among the countries of the region was particularly important. The peoples of Central Asia and Azerbaijan are connected by centuries of historical, cultural and spiritual ties. Today, however, it is equally important to recognise that each country’s prosperity is increasingly linked to the stability and well-being of its neighbours.
Regional identity, he said, should not mean abandoning national distinctiveness. Instead, it should be built on mutual respect, preservation of cultural diversity and an understanding of shared long-term interests.
“It is important not only to remember our common past, but also to develop an awareness of our shared future,” Ne’matov said.
Regional exchange programmes offer a practical way to advance these goals by building trust through direct communication, joint learning and exposure to one another’s experience.
The programme in Uzbekistan includes visits to the chambers of the Oliy Majlis, government agencies and IT Park, as well as an introduction to national and local governance practices. In Bukhara, participants will examine industrial cooperation, textile production, entrepreneurship and tourism, and meet young members of parliament and representatives of the business community.
The programme therefore combines political and expert dialogue with first-hand exposure to governance, economic and social practices, creating opportunities for new professional connections and joint initiatives.
Concluding his remarks, Ne’matov said the strategic task was to turn the trust achieved between countries into a sustainable system of cooperation based not only on political agreements but also on strong links between societies, research and educational institutions, and businesses.
“The younger generation is precisely the force capable of making regional rapprochement truly sustainable and irreversible. The future of Central Asia and Azerbaijan is not something that awaits us, but something we are creating together today,” the ISRS First Deputy Director said.
