TURKMENBASHI, Turkmenistan, October 8.
Azerbaijan and Central Asia have significant potential to move
toward closer economic, transport and energy cooperation, Tajik
President Emomali Rahmon said on Oct. 8 at the eighth Consultative
Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in
Avaza, Turkmenistan, Trend's
special correspondent reports.


“Today, we have an opportunity to take stock of the work carried
out and identify further prospects for our regional cooperation. At
the same time, priority should be given to the agreements reached
within this format as one of the main guidelines for further work.
This will enable us to effectively realize the potential of our
region in the interests of future generations.


“Central Asia and Azerbaijan have significant potential to move
toward closer economic, transport and energy cooperation. In this
regard, I would like to outline several areas that, in our view,
deserve particular attention.


“First and foremost, this concerns strengthening industrial
cooperation. Our countries have significant resource potential,
which opens up broad opportunities for creating joint ventures and
industrial complexes, as well as processing natural resources,” he
said.


Rahmon also stressed the importance of developing digital and
green technologies, promoting innovation and using artificial
intelligence in industry.


“I believe it is important to focus on supply chains, as well as
exchanging experience in adapting products to the environmental and
technical requirements of external markets.







“Cooperation in the agricultural sector is also becoming
increasingly important. In this regard, the issue of access to fuel
and lubricants should be objectively addressed. This is
particularly important for the sustainability of agricultural
production and strengthening food security in our countries,” he
said.


Rahmon noted that Tajikistan is interested in expanding
cooperation in the energy sector.


“I propose considering the possibility of developing a list of
priority energy projects and identifying potential mechanisms for
their joint financing. This includes developing and implementing a
project to build a large oil refinery based on the latest
technologies, taking into account the needs of the entire
region.


“Given the dynamic development of green energy and its
importance, we also propose developing a regional green transition
strategy,” he said.