Central Asian Union

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The proposed Central Asian Union, covering the five Central Asian states. Central Asian Union (orthographic projection).png
The proposed Central Asian Union, covering the five Central Asian states.

The Central Asian Union (CAU), also called the Central Asian Economic Union (CAEU), [1] was an intergovernmental organization for economic integration between the Central Asian post-Soviet republics between 1994 [2] and 2004. [1] Initially composed of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan at launch, membership of the Union was extended to Tajikistan in 1998. [2] [3]

Contents

Having been through a number of incarnations including the Central AsianEconomic Community (CAEC) and the Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO), the Union was eventually subsumed into the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) in 2005, a year after Russia being granted membership. [3] [4]

History

The concept of a Central Asian union emerged soon after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Although all states acceded to the newly formed Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), it was felt that more regional cooperation was needed. [2]

Central Asian Union (1994-1997)

The three republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a treaty on 23 September 1993 to create an economic union, which was followed by a proclamation of a "single economic space" on 10 February 1994. The Central Asian Union (CAU) was formally established on 8 July 1994, with an Interstate Council made up of heads of state, an Executive Committee as the permanent working body in Almaty, and a Central Asian Bank for Cooperation and Development (CABCD). [3] The Central Asian Union was also known interchangeably as the Central Asian Economic Union (CAEU).

In theory, any CIS member state could join the Union. [5] However, since early 1992 Tajikistan had been plunged into the Tajikistani Civil War between government forces and various Islamist rebel factions supported by the Taliban; thus they could not participate in the integration process, though they joined the CAU as an observer in 1996. [2] [6] Meanwhile, Turkmenistan preferred to maintain neutrality, and decided not to partake in CIS or Central Asian integration. [3] [6]

The CAU was also given a military dimension. A Council of Defence Ministers was formed, and, under the aegis of the United Nations, a peacekeeping force was formed, which held its first training exercises on the territory of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in September 1997. [5]

Central AsianEconomic Community (1998-2001)

Following Tajikistan's signing of a peace agreement in June 1997, the three CAU member states agreed to the country joining the integration process on 5 January 1998, at a summit in Ashgabat. With Tajikistan's accession formalised in March 1998, the CAU was renamed the Central Asian Economic Community (CAEC). [3]

Alongside Tajikistan's historical accession, the CAU trio had recognised the need to consolidate. Thus the focus of the new CAEC was on strengthening the union institutionally, removing customs barriers, and addressing economic stability. [3]

Over the next few years, however, CAEC made little progress towards establishing a free trade area or a common market. Economic integration had proved difficult for a number of reasons. [6] First, the states found themselves on different economic paths, with Uzbekistan retaining Soviet-style economic policies while Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan turned towards market-oriented reform. And as newly-independent states, members were finding it hard to subordinate their national interests in favour of a supranational institution. In addition, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan found themselves vying for the leadership of the CAEC and the region more broadly. [7]

Central Asian Cooperation Organization (2002-2005)

By the early 2000s, the CAEC's economic struggles were becoming clear, and the emergence of more robust alternative frameworks – like the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) – raised questions about the bloc's viability and potential duplication. [3] As a result, at a summit in Tashkent on 28 December 2001, leaders of the member states agreed to pivot away from purely economic issues and towards stability, peacekeeping, and political cooperation. The union was renamed the Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO).

The new CACO held its first summit in Almaty on 28 February 2002. Its new focus was on countering terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, and other transnational threats. [3] However, its importance had been downgraded. Although it was built on the remains of the CAEC's institutional foundations, the Executive Committee had been replaced by a Committee of National Coordinators at deputy minister level.

The end of the union

In 2004, Russia applied for membership of the CACO. Unable to turn Moscow down at the time, [4] [3] the Central Asian states approved the request and Russia's accession was formally recognised at a summit in Dushanbe on 18 October 2004. [3] This fundamentally changed the nature of the group and shifted its focus towards Russian-led regional security frameworks. [4] [3] CACO's last summit was held in Saint Petersburg on 6-7 October 2005, during which leaders of the member states agreed to merge CACO into EurAsEC.

Central Asian cooperation since 2005

Economic integration efforts in Central Asia have since largely been dominated by extra-regional superpowers – for example Russia through EurAsEC and China through the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). [3] [8]

There have been multiple initiatives announced to strengthen ties between the five states, [9] but efforts outside the umbrella of global superpowers like Russia, China or the United States – or even regional powers like Turkey and Iran – have typically been bilateral in nature. However, the vision of a regional organisation composed only of Central Asian states endured, in particular for Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev. [10] [11] [12]

As far back as 2005, Nazarbayev proposed a Central Asian Union on the model of the European Union. [12] In his proposal, the Kazakh President said:

"In the region, we share economic interest, cultural heritage, language, religion, and environmental challenges, and face common external threats. The founding fathers of the European Union could only wish they had so much in common. We should direct our efforts towards closer economic integration, a common market and a single currency." [12]

In 2007, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan announced the creation of a bilateral "International Supreme Council" and increased political and economic collaboration – along with the intention to establish a Central Asian union to resolve intra-regional disputes over energy and water. [11] [10] If realised, the CAU would represent a counterbalance to the existing Russian-dominated Collective Security Organization and the Chinese-Russian-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. [10]

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan did also decide to set up a free trade zone in 2008. [13] [14] However, the proposed new Central Asian union was outright rejected by then Uzbek president Islam Karimov that same year, despite the project having the support of the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. [7] After Karimov died in 2016, however, the idea of integration has been back on the table. [15] [16]

Under the leadership of the new Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the presidents of all five Central Asian states met in Astana on 15 March 2018. This was the first summit between Central Asian leaders in nearly a decade. [17] These consultative meetings have since been held every year apart from 2020, and now serve as a regular mechanism for regional dialogue without the need for a formal, rigid institution.

List of Central Asian leader summits

Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia:

Members

CountryMembershipPopulationArea (km2)GDP (nominal)GDP per capita (nominal)GDP (PPP)GDP per capita (PPP)
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan Joined in July 199420,500,000 (62nd)2,724,900 (9th)$319.770 billion (49th)$15,527 (69th)$973.357 billion (37th)$47,263 (48th)
Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg Kyrgyzstan Joined in July 19947,404,300 (104th)199,951 (85th)$21.563 billion (128th)$2,925 (144th)$68.694 billion (120th)$9,318 (133rd)
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Uzbekistan Joined in July 199438,230,000 (38th)448,978 (56th)$159.199 billion (60th)$4,136 (132nd)$511.017 billion (54th)$13,276 (118th)
Flag of Tajikistan.svg Tajikistan Joined in March 199810,499,000 (89th)142,326 (94th)$18.941 billion (133rd)$1,799 (158th)$67.749 billion (122nd)$6,434 (149th)
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Turkmenistan Associate but non-member7,057,841 (105th)491,210 (52nd)$76.897 billion (85th)$11,387 (82nd)$158.975 billion (89th)$23,542 (80th)
Total83,691,141
(19th)		4,007,275
(7th)		$596.370 billion
(30th)		$7,126.6
(105th)		$1,779.792 billion
(27th)		$21,266
(94th)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Bruce Pannier (14 March 2018). "Why This Central Asian Summit Could Be Different". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rumer, Boris; Zhukov, Stanislav (1998). Central Asia: The Challenges of Independence. New York: M.E. Sharpe. p. 104. ISBN   9780765632982 . Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Kushkumbayev, Sanat (June 2025). "Gone but Not Forgotten: The Central Asian Union, 1990-2005" (PDF). Central Asia-Caucasus Institute | Silk Road Studies Program. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Tolipov, Farkhod (22 January 2026). "History Repeating Itself: Is Russia trying to ruin Central Asian integration efforts?". Eurasianet.org. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  5. 1 2 Rumer & Zhukov (1998), p. 50.
  6. 1 2 3 Gretsky, Sergei (11 October 2022). "Central Asia Comes Together". Jamestown. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  7. 1 2 Pannier, Bruce (22 May 2008). "Central Asia: Medvedev Visit Underscores Kazakh Victory Over Uzbekistan For Regional Dominance". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  8. ↑ Mammadov, Seymur (22 January 2026). "S7+ As a Challenge to the Old Order in Central Asia". Caspian Post. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  9. ↑ Abazov, Rafis. "From Declarations to Corridors: Rethinking Economic Integration In Central Asia". Astana Times. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 Socor, Vladimir. "Eurasia Daily Monitor | The Jamestown Foundation". Jamestown.org. Archived from the original on 2007-11-13. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  11. 1 2 Weitz, Richard (July 2008). "Kazakhstan and the New International Politics of Eurasia" (PDF). Central Asia-Caucasus Institute | Silk Road Studies Program. p. 154. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 "Kazakh President Proposes Central Asian Union on the EU Model (UzReport)". TurkishWeekly.net. 23 February 2005. Archived from the original on 12 November 2005. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  13. ↑ Archived 2012-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ "Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan decide to create free trade zone". Uzbekistan Daily. 23 April 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "Briefing: Uzbekistan comes in from the cold: A new era of reforms" (PDF). European Parliament. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  16. ↑ Mirziyoyev, Shavkat (16 November 2025). "Address by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the Seventh Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia". Presidency of Uzbekistan. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "Astana hosts little-publicised Central Asia summit". www.euractiv.com. 16 March 2018.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Bruce Pannier (14 March 2018). "Why This Central Asian Summit Could Be Different". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  19. 1 2 3 "Rare Central Asian Summit Signals Regional Thaw". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty . 15 March 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  20. ↑ "SRSG NATALIA GHERMAN ADDRESSES THE CONSULTATIVE MEETING OF THE HEADS OF STATE OF CENTRAL ASIA". UNRCCA. 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  21. ↑ Admin (2022-07-22). "Fourth Consultative Summit of the Leaders of Central Asian States in Kyrgyzstan laid out a joint vision and multiple initiatives on better regional aligning against external shocks". News Central Asia (nCa). Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  22. ↑ "CPC | Central Asia Consultative Meeting: Strengthening Regional Ties and Expanding Horizons". Caspian Policy Center. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  23. ↑ "One Step Forward, Half a Step Back: The Sixth Consultative Meeting of Central Asian Leaders". The Central Asian Caucasus Analyst.
  24. ↑ "Eclectic Regionalism in Central Asia? The 7th Consultative Meeting of Heads of States". www.cacianalyst.org. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
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