Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Deputy Director of the International Institute of Central Asia Bakhtiyor Mustafayev shared such an assessment of the current situation and prospects for regional cooperation in Central Asia at the international conference "Russia and Central Asia facing the challenges of the new world - a joint path to the future" -21 May of this year in Kazan by the international discussion club "Valdai" (RF).

I. The devastating impact of the new type of coronavirus in all respects has become a serious test of international importance.

According to the UN, in 2020 the world economy contracted by 4.3%. Global debt, as noted by the US Institute of International Finance, has grown to a record 281 trillion dollars - this is 3.5 times the size of the world economy itself.

Describing the current situation, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guteris said that "we are experiencing the most severe crisis in the health and economy in the past 90 years."

The proliferation of Covid-19 has not only created an economic emergency, but also caused tensions around the world and affects the state of international relations. Without going deep into determining the degree of impact of coronavirus on international relations, we can say unequivocally that the pandemic has identified a number of global trends that are important for each state to take into account when implementing internal tasks and building foreign policy priorities.

First, strengthening the role of the state as the only institution capable of taking responsibility for the life and well-being of citizens. Whether we like it or not, in the near future, due to the persistence of the threat of an economic crisis, it is the state that is effective from a managerial point of view that will be able to ensure the minimum welfare for its citizens.

Second, systemic breaks in the production and supply chains associated with the suspension of transport links and the closure of borders, the growth of protectionism has strengthened the trend towards the localization of production, which will subsequently have a powerful impact on regional processes.

Third, the pandemic has once again confirmed the low level of solidarity at the global level and the need to create effective mechanisms for international cooperation. At the same time, the inability of states to ensure their own security only by preventing the threat of a pandemic on their territory once again actualizes the issues of consolidation and coordination through constant interaction, dialogue and the establishment of trust at the international level.

Fourth, limited access to vaccines and the desire to use vaccines as an instrument of influence on the part of individual states have become a catalyst for increasing technological competition in the world. Along with information and green technologies, from now on, rivalry between the world's leading powers is increasing in the field of health.

While the ultimate impact of the coronavirus on global politics and the economy is difficult to predict, the trends above indicate that the impact of Covid-19 will be long-term and manifold.

II. Currently, like all countries of the world, the states of Central Asia, as an integral part of world economic relations and the global market, are experiencing the negative consequences of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The first case of coronavirus in CA countries was recorded in mid-March 2020 (on 13 March in Kazakhstan, on 15 March in Uzbekistan, on 18 March  in Kyrgyzstan). At the same time, the widespread spread of coronavirus in other countries provided some time for the countries of the region to study foreign experience and draw appropriate conclusions.

In particular, the countries of Central Asia in the fight against the pandemic have taken comprehensive measures at both the national and regional and international levels.

At the national level, in order to curb the spread of coronavirus, the Central Asian countries established a state of emergency, improved the health care system, provided benefits to the business sector, and created anti-crisis funds.

At the regional level, since the early days of the coronavirus, countries in the region have joined forces in the health sector, coordinating their actions in the areas of transport, food security and border crossing. While the world has witnessed an increase in restrictive measures, the states of the region have demonstrated a high level of cooperation, solidarity and mutual support.

Despite the difficult epidemiological situation, the countries of Central Asia provided each other with humanitarian assistance, which included medicines, ventilators and personal protective equipment.

Without exaggeration, all this became possible thanks to the new political atmosphere in Central Asia, due to the intensification of the regional course of the Republic of Uzbekistan under the leadership of the President of the country Sh.Mirziyoyev.

At the international level, in order to study the best practices in combating the pandemic, as well as to obtain the necessary medicines and medicines, the CA countries have intensified work in the field of medicine with international organizations, as well as with such foreign partners as Russia, China, the Republic of Korea, and Germany.

Interaction with Russia deserves special attention. Being firmly committed to the further development of strategic partnership and allied relations, Russia has rendered and to this day renders all possible assistance to the countries of the region in the field of medicine and economy.

As a result of the strategic decisions taken, the CA countries managed to avoid an explosive and uncontrolled increase in the incidence of diseases and socio-economic shocks. In particular, today the number of infected and deaths from coronavirus in Central Asia is 0.3% (563 thousand people) of the total number of cases (163 million people) and 0.2% (6540 people) of the number of deaths ( 3.39 million people) from Covid in the world.

According to official data, a decrease in GDP was observed in Kazakhstan (by 2.6%) and in Kyrgyzstan (8.6%). In the rest of the countries, the growth rates remained unchanged (in Uzbekistan - 1.6%, Turkmenistan - 5.8%, Tajikistan - 5.4%).

In turn, the World Bank predicts that economic growth in Central Asia will recover to 3.7% in 2021.

According to the data of the national statistical offices of the states of the region, in 2020 in all countries the inflation growth was in the corridor of 7-11% (in Uzbekistan - 11.1%, Kazakhstan - 7.5%, Kyrgyzstan - 9.7%, Tajikistan - 9 , 4% and Turkmenistan - 10%).

 Nevertheless, it must be recognized that the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted a number of important areas of cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and Russia, which need to be focused on.

This is, first of all, the need to intensify cooperation in the field of emergency situations, including epidemiological ones. The creation of an early warning mechanism, joint response and system monitoring in the field of emergencies will allow in the future to effectively prevent various challenges and threats in this direction.

Cooperation in the field of healthcare is gaining particular relevance. As the analysis shows, given the insufficient level of qualifications of doctors, the countries of the region were forced to seek help from foreign countries.

It should also be noted the importance of developing cooperation in the field of transport, since in crisis situations it is necessary to ensure uninterrupted supplies of goods and food.

In turn, the preservation of restrictive measures for air and rail communications in the world for an indefinite period actualizes the issue of tourism development between the Central Asian countries and Russia, the potential of which is still completely unused.

The development of economic cooperation also has great opportunities. The disruption of global supply chains, a decrease in energy prices, taking into account the preservation of the raw materials orientation of the economies of individual countries of the region, as well as the actualization of the issue of achieving carbon neutrality, dictate the need to implement joint projects to expand the production of goods with high added value.

In the context of the persistence of the negative consequences of the pandemic, an equally important area of cooperation between the Central Asian countries and the Russian Federation is interaction in the field of digitalization. The countries of the region, against the backdrop of the lockdown, tried to activate distance learning and online trading, which "faced" a number of problems (poor Internet coverage, lack of gadgets and special programs for the majority of the population). In this regard, it is necessary to: a) consider the possibility of creating a single platform for online commerce and trade; b) to establish cooperation between educational institutions for the exchange of experience in the development of online training programs, as well as professional development of teachers.

Interaction in the field of labor migration also requires special attention. Against the background of restrictive measures, being deprived of financial resources, labor migrants from Central Asian countries found themselves in a difficult situation in the Russian Federation. In this context, it is important to develop effective mechanisms for the protection and support of labor migrants in emergencies, according to which the countries of Central Asia and the Russian Federation will bear joint responsibility. The priority task in this direction should be to ensure the stability of labor markets and high qualifications of labor migrants, which meets the general interests.

The pandemic makes a certain contribution to strengthening regional cooperation and building interaction with foreign countries, accelerating the process of forming a common approach in the fight against modern challenges and threats.