Japan, 5 Central Asian Nations Adopt Joint Declaration at 1st Summit

Tokyo, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan and five Central Asian nations adopted a joint declaration at their first summit, held in Tokyo for two days through Saturday. The declaration identifies transportation infrastructure development, decarbonization, and people-to-people exchanges as three priority areas. “The current rapidly changing environment surrounding Central Asia, due to recent changes in the international situation, is making regional and global cooperation more important,” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said at the summit. The summit was also attended by the presidents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It was the first under the Central Asia plus Japan Dialogue, or CAJAD, framework, established in 2004. At the summit, Japan offered to assist the development of a trade route connecting Central Asia and Europe via the Caspian Sea and support the Central Asian countries in the field of artificial intelligence. The five Central Asian countries are former members of the Soviet Union and have strong ties to Russia. In recent years, they have strengthened trade relations with China, which is advancing its Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. Meanwhile, the five countries are seeking to diversify their diplomatic relations. Japan aims to increase its influence in the region by developing ties with the countries, which are rich in resources such as natural gas and critical minerals. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]