Tajik President Advocates Green Transition, AI and Regional Connectivity at Awaza Summit
Dushanbe, The Gulf Observer: President of Tajikistan, Leader of the Nation Emomali Rahmon, participated in and addressed the meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and the Republic of Azerbaijan held on October 8 in Awaza, Turkmenistan.
At the outset of his remarks, President Rahmon expressed gratitude to President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov for the warm hospitality and excellent organization of the meeting. He also congratulated Turkmenistan on its successful chairmanship of the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan.
In his address, President Rahmon highlighted the significant potential of Central Asia and Azerbaijan for expanding economic, transport, energy and industrial cooperation, stressing that the region possesses substantial resources and opportunities for closer interaction.
He noted that these resources create broad opportunities for establishing joint ventures, developing industrial complexes and expanding the processing of products.
The Tajik President also emphasized the importance of actively introducing digital and green technologies, promoting innovation and utilizing artificial intelligence in industrial development.
He called for greater attention to expanding cooperation in the services sector, advancing joint production and export projects, strengthening the resilience of regional supply chains and exchanging experience in adapting products to the environmental, carbon and technical requirements of foreign markets.
Addressing energy cooperation, President Rahmon stressed its importance for ensuring sustainable agricultural production and strengthening food security. In this context, he proposed considering the preparation of a list of priority energy projects and identifying possible mechanisms for their joint financing.
He also underscored the importance of developing and implementing a major oil-processing plant project based on advanced technologies, taking into account the needs of the entire region.
The Tajik leader further proposed developing a regional “green” transition strategy focused on expanding renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency.
President Rahmon stressed that further development of multimodal transport routes linking Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan with other regions of the world would play an important role in strengthening regional connectivity.
In this regard, he emphasized the need for effective efforts to remove administrative, infrastructural and organizational barriers, simplify transport procedures and accelerate digitalization in the transport sector.
Continuing on the issue of digitalization, President Rahmon highlighted the importance of establishing a Regional Artificial Intelligence Centre in Dushanbe. He expressed confidence that the centre would help consolidate the innovative potential of regional countries and accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies across various sectors of the economy and social life.
The President also called for enhanced regional cooperation in addressing climate change, glacier melting, declining water resources and dust storms, which have a direct impact on the environment and food security of the countries concerned.
President Rahmon placed particular emphasis on strengthening cooperation in security, education, culture, tourism, sports and youth policy.
Concluding his remarks, the Tajik President reaffirmed Tajikistan’s readiness to support constructive initiatives put forward by countries of the region and contribute to the practical implementation of agreements reached.
President Emomali Rahmon expressed confidence that mutual trust and a spirit of partnership would enable the countries of the region to steadily advance toward their common goals.
