Integration progress: Uzbekistan is ready to join the EAEU as soon as possible
Uzbekistan can count on rapid accession to the EAEU. This was stated to Izvestia by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin during Mikhail Mishustin's visit to Tashkent. Full-fledged participation in the association will give a powerful impetus to the country's economy. However, Tashkent also receives trade preferences in the status of an observer state at the EAEU, and now it is largely focused on joining the WTO, experts believe. In Moscow, such a multi-vector approach is pragmatic, putting practical cooperation rather than formal status first. About how trade between the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan is growing, and when Tashkent will be ready to join the EAEU — in the material of Izvestia.
Why Uzbekistan is in no hurry to join the EAEU
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin arrived in Tashkent on June 16. During the two-day working visit, the head of the Cabinet of Ministers will discuss with colleagues joint projects and prospects for trade between the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan. On the very first day, he met with Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Abdullah Aripov, Head of the Presidential Administration Saida Mirziyoyeva and, of course, leader of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. On June 17, the Russian Prime Minister will participate in the plenary session of the Fifth Tashkent International Investment Forum.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin at Tashkent Airport
After Shavkat Mirziyoyev's participation in the plenary session of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Mishustin's current trip shows that Moscow and Tashkent are getting closer to each other. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin, one of the members of the Russian delegation, told Izvestia that the Eurasian Economic Union is ready to consider Uzbekistan's full membership in the organization as soon as possible.
"If Uzbekistan submits an application, of course, I think it will be satisfied in accordance with the procedure, as soon as possible," the diplomat said.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko was most active in favor of Uzbekistan's full membership in the EAEU, who directly called on Tashkent to make this decision and stressed that he would always be welcome in the union. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted the importance of deepening Tashkent's industrial cooperation with the EAEU Five, and Kyrgyz leader Sadyr Japarov stressed that the neighbor's participation would strengthen stability and simplify trade throughout Central Asia.
Alexander Pankin added that conditions must "mature" for the country to join the EAEU. Uzbek colleagues themselves weigh the pros and cons, including economic expediency. "This is not an automatic step," Pankin stressed.
So far, Uzbekistan is partially cooperating with the EAEU. In December 2020, the country received the status of an observer state. At the same time, Tashkent's priority at the moment is to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), Stanislav Pritchin, senior researcher at the Center for Post—Soviet Studies at the IMEMO RAS, explained to Izvestia.
— Despite the fact that the organization is actually already dead, integration into the global economy is important for Uzbekistan. Therefore, there is such a balancing approach: not to join the EAEU, but first to resolve the issues of access to the WTO. This is, first of all, the political will of the Uzbek leadership," the expert noted.
Tashkent has already received the necessary economic preferences by becoming an observer at the EAEU: first of all, it is access to a free trade zone that allows you to sell and purchase goods on the union market without duties and taxes. Otherwise, the leadership of Uzbekistan strives to maintain maximum freedom of maneuver by developing ties with Russia, China, Turkey, the Persian Gulf countries and the West, Said Gafurov, a member of the Central Council of the Independent Trade Union Novy Trud, associate professor at MGLU and RGSU.
"Such a multi—vector approach allows Uzbekistan to receive advantages from several partners at once and not bind itself to strict obligations," he told Izvestia.
However, the course towards the WTO does not necessarily contradict cooperation with the EAEU, notes Daria Saprynskaya, a researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. On the contrary, it can create a clearer regulatory framework for trade, investment, and technical regulation. Most of the EAEU countries are already members of the WTO, with the exception of Belarus, so Uzbekistan's convergence with world trade standards could potentially facilitate deeper cooperation with the EAEU, the expert told Izvestia.
How are relations between Russia and Uzbekistan developing?
Today, relations between Moscow and Tashkent are reaching a new level, including through personal contacts between the presidents of the two countries. Over the past few weeks, Vladimir Putin has met with Shavkat Mirziyoyev three times. On May 9, on his own initiative, he came to the Victory Day Parade, and in early June he visited the SPIEF. At the same time, together with the head of the Russian Federation, he launched the construction of a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan — the Russian state corporation Rosatom became the main contractor.
At a meeting with the President of Uzbekistan, the head of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Russian Federation recalled that, speaking at the St. Petersburg forum, Mirziyoyev put forward a number of important initiatives related to technological industrialization and digital ecosystems, as well as the creation of a "creative and tourist corridor from Samarkand to St. Petersburg."
Moscow is sincerely interested in deepening trade and economic cooperation with Tashkent, Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting with his counterpart Abdullah Aripov.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Uzbek Prime Minister Abdullah Aripov inspect the exhibition at the Fifth Tashkent International Investment Forum.
— Uzbekistan is a strategic partner and ally of Russia, our relations are time—tested. We have good opportunities to launch a large number of joint projects in the energy sector, industry, transport infrastructure, agriculture, and the digital economy," the Russian Prime Minister stressed.
Russia has been and remains Tashkent's key partner, ranking second in Uzbekistan's foreign trade turnover. In 10 years, the volume of mutual trade has more than tripled and exceeded $ 13 billion, and in January-April of this year this figure increased by another 20.5%, amounting to $4.5 billion, said Abdulla Aripov. Uzbekistan's rapidly developing economy attracts the special attention of Russian business, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said.
However, the economy is not the only thing that connects the two countries. Humanitarian contacts are developing, including the study of the Russian language in Uzbek schools and universities. Branches of Russian universities are successfully operating in the country, and students from Uzbekistan come to study in Russia.
Today, Tashkent has turned from a junior partner in regional politics into an independent center of power, and Moscow takes this into account, Said Gafurov believes. Therefore, Russia began to look at the situation with the EAEU more realistically, without resorting to excessive pressure on Tashkent on the issue of joining the union.
Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev during a meeting at the Kuksaroy residence in Tashkent
For the Russian Federation today, it is not the formal status of Uzbekistan in integration associations that is more important, but rather practical cooperation, which is confirmed at least by economic indicators and many joint projects.
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