Dear Ministers, Excellencies, distinguished representatives of international financial institutions and friends from the private sector, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a real pleasure and honour to be in Tashkent today.
Let me begin by thanking our Uzbek hosts for their warm hospitality and for bringing together such an impressive gathering of policymakers, investors, and partners.
We are here to rebuild historic ties between Europe and Central Asia.
For centuries, the Silk Road ran through Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.
Merchants, scholars and families travelled through these cities as part of everyday life.
When the great travellers and explorers of the Middle Ages – like Marco Polo or Ibn Battuta – set out for China, Central Asia was the natural gateway. Both passed through Uzbekistan.
They followed routes that connected continents long before we started drafting connectivity agendas, strategies or corridors.
Our goal is to bring some of that reality back.
This is in all our interests.
In todays harsh world, we see how excessive dependencies can be weaponised and make us vulnerable.
At the same time, major regional and global challenges have placed pressure on existing transport routes.
We have a shared interest in diversification.
Investments in transport infrastructure, digital and energy connectivity can give us more freedom to act.
The CEO of a transport company recently told me: “I used to send containers from China to Europe, via Russia. Now they have to go all the way around the Cape of Good Hope. If you give me a reliable alternative, we will come.”
That is the demand we are here to answer.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Changes in the region bring challenges, but they open even greater opportunities.
The historic agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan paves the way for the development of key transport routes linking Europe, Türkiye, the South Caucuses and Central Asia.
Routes that have been disrupted by conflict for decades.
If we use this moment well, we could triple container traffic by 2030.
By 2040, it could be five times todays volume.
But only if we get investments and reforms right.
Todays Forum is the next step in that work.
To Tashkent, I brought a new study that highlights the key gaps and the investments we now need.
But we know from experience: investment wont come without reform.
We have to do more in four areas:
First, on digitalisation. If our digital systems work well and are aligned, goods will move faster. Its one of the quickest and cheapest ways to cut delays. Even before we complete larger infrastructure projects.
Second, better railways and roads. We need routes that are faster, safer, more reliable, so goods can move smoothly from one country to the next.
Third, developing better logistics centres and multimodal hubs. These will attract the private sector and ensure long-term growth.
And fourth, more capacity in our ports, vessels, and trains. If companies know they can ship more, they will plan more investment and new services.
European companies are already engaging across all these areas.
If we create the right conditions, they will be ready to do more.
Good coordination is also essential. That is why we propose a new Connectivity Platform for the South Caucasus and the Black Sea region.
It will bring governments, financial institutions, and businesses around one table to set priorities and speed up investments in digital, energy, and transport. It will make our work faster.
We already use this approach in Central Asia. And it works.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The opportunity is real. And businesses are asking for more.
So, lets simplify the paperwork.
Lets cut waiting times at borders.
And lets put in place the reforms that help companies invest with confidence.
We have a real chance to re-connect our regions.
In the past, people already moved back and forth across these lands with ease.
Trade, ideas and friendships flowed naturally.
Today, our job is to make those old paths feel close again.
And as the Uzbek proverb goes: “a road to a friend is never long”.
Thank you. Katta Rahmat.
