On the initiative of the Embassy of Kazakhstan to the Kyrgyz Republic, the round-table on the topic "Perspectives for establishing a Central Asian Union" was held at the Institute for Public Policy on November 15, 2007. Leading specialists in the fields of international relations and economics, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomatic missions from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Belorussia in the Kyrgyz Republic, political scientists and independent experts participated in the round-table. The meeting was dedicated to discussing the draft of the concept of creating a Union of Central Asian states (UCAS).

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Muratbek Imanaliev, President of the Institute for Public Policy: Dear colleagues, I am pleased to welcome you to the Institute for Public Policy. It is my honor to present the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to our country, Umarzak Uzbekovich Uzbekov, who initiated this round-table, dedicated to the issue of creating integration in our region.

Anticipating our discussion, I would like to say few words on how globalization has caused a simultaneous tendency towards regionalization. The main issues, above all, are economic regionalization and the appearance of many other serious tendencies of a political and humanitarian character, and quite often of an ethnic character, characteristic to a number of regions including Africa and Asia.
There are many views on integration in various regions of the world. The motivations for integration are completely different, some historical and some recent. The emergence of ideas for integration in the post-Soviet space is a matter of fact. There is a variety of integration schemes: military-political, economic and so on. One has to say that one of the most active promoters of these processes is Kazakhstan. Personifying these processes is President Nursultan Nazarbaev. I believe this is a person who is not only the leader in the region, but a politician of world standing.
There was a third anniversary of the initiative of Nursultan Nazarbaev on the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building in Asia on October 15, and I have to say that such an important idea, proposed at the UN meeting to establish mechanisms of collective security and cooperation in the Asian continent, in those days was perceived with skepticism and even criticism. Nevertheless, this idea is alive and actively functional in my view. In this context, the idea of establishing the Central Asian states Union seems to be an old paradigm; there were efforts to create a similar union in the 90s. The point was to re-create the union. By the 21st century this prototype of the Eurasian Union has disappeared and yet the idea is alive. It is not because president Nazarbaev has advanced this idea again; it is alive because it is objectively justified from historical, economic and geographical viewpoints.

I think the position of President Nazarbaev as a leader not imply at a regional level has the benefit of foresight. Predicting developments for the coming two-three years and further ahead, he proposes to lay constructive foundations and approaches to realize this idea. Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbaev often talks of needing to create a new union of Central Asian states. We know that this is in various regions and countries of the Eurasian continent as well as the Central Asian region. I want to repeat that the idea is alive and being advanced. The aspirations of Kazakh friends resulted in the elaboration of the concept of such a union, which was proposed for consideration to regional countries and our friends in the CIS, Europe, Asia and elsewhere. Today we plan to discuss this Concept at the round-table, and I suppose it will be welcomed by participants trying to touch upon its many aspects. There are issues of regional security as well as economic integration, and some issues of humanitarian cooperation.
I will express my personal opinion that the Central Asian region simply has to unite, because it will contribute to the advancement of all Central Asian countries. And though it may seem strange and paradoxical it could improve the legal subjectivity of each country at the global level.
Now I would like to give the floor to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to the Kyrgyz Republic Umarzak Uzbekovich Uzbekov, who will elaborate on the Kazakh government's position pertaining to the concept of the union.

Umarzak Uzbekov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan: Dear ladies and gentlemen, participants of the round-table! First of all, I would like to greet all of you and thank you for your participation in today's event. Our meeting is to discuss the idea and perspectives on establishing the Union of Central Asian states initiated by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev. The region currently named Central Asia has for centuries been a citadel of nations interrelated by close historical roots. Our nations at all times have had mutually beneficial relations that contributed to the strengthening of cultural and economic interactions. However, the collapse of the USSR and the creation of new states in Central Asia have brought some changes in the relations between the region's republics. After gaining independence, the policies of our country's leadership was targeted at the immediate transition into market relations by undertaking cardinal economic reforms. The justification of this path is proved by the current achievements of Kazakhstan in the socio-economic and political spheres that positively affect the wellbeing of the population. In this context, one has to specifically emphasize the long-term strategic development program for 2030 proposed by president Nursultan Nazarbaev ten years ago. The conceptual milestones in the development of the country have been defined in this program. Based on a short but very intense and significant period of our development, one can speak with confidence on the prudence of the identified priorities.

During these years the position of the state in its international relations in important directions, particularly within Central Asia, has been strengthened. Kazakhstan is recognized by the world community as a respectable state with a sustainable economy, with systematic and predictable internal and external politics. The program of political modernization targeted at the democratization of all aspects of life and civil society building is being systematically and gradually realized. Today we are a dynamically developing country, and at this stage we are trying to accomplish the ambitious task of entering the fifty most competitive states in the world.

Definitely, the positive changes in the country's development seen at the international level indicate the timelessness of adopting the strategy ‘Kazakhstan-2030'. At the same time, Kazakhstan understands that further successful development of the country cannot take place in isolation, without the consequent improvement of neighboring states. In this view, Kazakhstan remains an active initiator and participant of integration processes aimed at the preservation of stability, progress, and the economic and military-political independence of regional states. The above factors explain the initiative of President Nazarbaev to establish the Union of Central Asian states. As noted by the leader of our state, the actively developing Central Asia has a strategic geopolitical importance for the global energy market and security and stability in much of Eurasia. The abundance of natural resources results in the keen interest of many countries to the region. The region is located at the crossroads of Eurasian transit corridors; it has a large transport-communication network, and represents a new market. This strong interest of large world powers has to be turned towards development, but not confrontation; it must serve the interests of our region's population. One needs to point out that in the past there were some efforts to activate integration processes that did not bring the expected results. Unlike those efforts, the Kazakh initiative intends to create a new model of cooperation of regional states. To establish such a union has never been done in the history of Central Asia. To realize the initiative of creating the Union of Central Asian states, the Kazakh side has developed and submitted, for the consideration of its counterparts, the Concept on establishing the Union of Central Asian states. As noted in the concept, the main goals and tasks are to provide peaceful development, to strengthen good relations and to improve the wellbeing of the people of the Central Asian states. It has to be noted that the majority of the existing integration institutions in the Central Asian space are consultative, and their decisions have only recommendation value for the subjects of inter-state formations. This is one reason why recommendations are only partially implemented by national bodies. Hence, there is a low effectiveness of post-Soviet regional organizations- it is proven by global experience as well. When there are regional economic organizations without common normative bodies, it has a limited effect on the member-states.

To effectively solve the problem of coordinating the activities of member-states of the Central Asian Union in their common interests, it is planned to establish the following bodies: A Council of the Central Asian States Union - the supreme body at the inter-state level of heads of state and heads of governments to provide coordination of member-states to achieve the Union's goals; A council of permanent representatives- a permanently functioning consultative body of the Union to provide consideration of national interests in the process of making decisions by the Union, and to inform superiors on the course of implementation; A Commission of Central Asian States Union - a permanently functioning body that is to implement major agreements. The member-states of the Union of Central Asian states, when it is necessary and in compliance with international agreements, may delegate to the Commission of the union some of their competences and the decision of the Commission will be considered as obligatory for implementation by all member-states. The inter-parliament assembly will organize the inter-parliamentary consultations, discuss cooperation matters within the Union's framework, and develop common proposals in the activities of national parliaments.

I would like to point out right away that the creation of the Union of Central Asian states does not imply the creation of a Union that will supersede the sovereignty of member-countries. As noted in the concept on establishing the Union, this union will be a form of state integration based on the sovereign rights of its members, which remain independent and equal subjects under international law. The union of countries will promote further development and strengthening of neighboring relations, inter-ethnic harmony, trust and understanding as well as mutually beneficial cooperation between member-states. The activities of the Union of Central Asian states will be directed at the consolidation and coordination of efforts to create a functional system of security, to form common economic and humanitarian spaces. Moreover, the Union of Central Asian states has an objective basis expressed in the cultural identity of our nations, mutually complementary economies, the presence of a developed transport infrastructure and common borders. All this allows better forms of cooperation. The realization of the initiative to create the Union may become an important factor in sustainable development, improvement in the competitiveness of national economies and the successful integration of regional states into the global community. Such an argument is justified since this initiative is a result of the aspiration to secure effective mutual-penetration of regional states by means of gradual integration, coordination in economic reforms, creating a free trade zone, custom union, common market of services, goods, capital, and labor similar to the European Union. In this view, the Union of Central Asian states is not a temporary political and economic association but a permanent body aimed at the long-term goal of inter-state cooperation, which may become a mechanism allowing the effective solution of all issues of integrative cooperation. Moreover, establishing the Union of Central Asian states is dictated by the will to have effective regional cooperation and mutual interaction under the conditions of globalization, which have brought common challenges and threats. I mean terrorism, regional extremism and the growing drug-trafficking, human trafficking, illegal immigration, and the proliferation of weapons. It is quite obvious that when there are such complex problems, it will be easier to address them by uniting politically and economically.

It is not overstatement to say that the Union of Central Asian states is the message of the times. Our region is a common market where about 55 million people live. The fact that the populations of neighboring countries live in different economic conditions will not promote integration among our population, but conversely cause some undesirable processes: for example, illegal migration with negative consequences for inter-state relations. Speaking about the importance of integration, one has to mention that Central Asia attracts the attention of major world powers. They want to see our region stable too. Moreover, it is more beneficial to have relations with a region where various mutual partnerships are blossoming rather than with states with poor relations.

To achieve these, goals member-states of the union must, in conforming to international law, build their relations and follow the principles of respect to sovereignty, non-intervention into domestic affairs, implementation of duties in good faith, consideration of mutual interests and avoid economic, political and other forms of pressure in their inter-state relations. Economic integration implies deepening cooperation, the coordination of policies, and undertaking reforms in this sphere. It is planned to develop a number of measures that will be adopted and realized in compliance with some agreements. Here, the experience and principles developed in the founding document of the European Union will be applied. The experience of the European Union as one of the most successful models of regional economic integration, and the experience of other regional organizations may be a basis to form the common economic space in the Union of Central Asian states.

Touching upon the views of Union creation, it may be said that they are quite significant. It will concern the economic, political, cultural and other areas of life of the states. Some advantages to creating the Union of Central Asian states can be predicted today. These are opportunities to succeed in internal and external politics, based on national interests; the formation of an external environment for internal political and economic development of member-countries of the union; equal economic levels and living standards of the population; improvement of competitiveness of products in world markets; better cooperation between states; the strengthening of political and economic stability of union members; further cultural interaction of the region's nations. In general, the initiative to establish the Union of Central Asian states is timely and in the future it may become a real integration organization that will lead the region into the league of major world players. In this view, we are certain that the Kazakh initiative to establish the Union of Central Asian states will be supported by all neighboring republics. Thank you for your attention.

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