Japan, 5 Central Asian Nations Agree to Strengthen Ties

Tokyo, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan and five Central Asian nations agreed at their first summit, held in Tokyo for two days through Saturday, to enhance their economic security cooperation to strengthen supply chains involving natural resources. They adopted a joint declaration identifying transportation infrastructure development, climate change mitigation, and people-to-people exchanges as three priority areas for cooperation. The Tokyo Declaration notes the importance of “the free and open international order based on the rule of law.” 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. As Japanese companies are strongly interested in Central Asia, the declaration includes a target of 3 trillion yen in private-sector investments in the fast-growing region. “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, referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other developments. The summit was 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. 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. After the summit, Takaichi told reporters at the prime minister’s office that she felt “strong trust and high expectations” from the Central Asian countries, and that she will use the summit to further bolster relations with them. The prime minister was asked if she explained to the Central Asian leaders about her parliamentary remark on a Taiwan contingency, which has drawn the ire of China. In response, she said only, “Generally speaking, it’s extremely important to gain understanding from other countries.” On the sidelines of the summit, Takaichi held a bilateral meeting with the leader of Kazakhstan on Friday and with each of the other four leaders on Saturday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]