Exploring The B5+1 Summit: U.S. Agenda And Economic Opportunities In Central Asia

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) From March 13th to 15th, 2024, the city of Almaty, Kazakhstanhosted the launch of the B5+1 (Business 5+1) business forum, whichbrought together representatives from the private and publicsectors of the United States, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The initiative to establish a special business platform,emphasized in the New York Declaration, was announced by thePresidents of the United States, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan at the C5+1 Summit held inSeptember 2023. On November 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Statedeclared the opening of this business platform. The main goal ofB5+1 is to strengthen economic cooperation and improve thefacilitation of trade, transit, and investment procedures among thecountries of Central Asia, as a continuation of the politicaldialogue between Washington and the five states of the region.

B5+1 is being implemented within the three-year“Improving theBusiness Environment in Central Asia” (IBECA) program, funded bythe U.S. Department of State and administered by the affiliatednon-profit organization – the Center for International PrivateEnterprise (CIPE), a part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. CIPE'smission is to strengthen democracy worldwide through privateenterprise and market-oriented reforms. Over the past 40 years,CIPE has conducted more than 2,800 programs in 138 countries andhas also developed business platforms such as B7 and B20.

During the B5+1 forum discussions, participants placed priorityon economic security through promoting regional economicintegration, implementing reforms, facilitating public-privatedialogue, encouraging innovation, and attracting foreigninvestments to the member countries with the aim of dismantlingtrade barriers that hinder foreign investments and advancing theregional market.

At the conclusion of the forum, a communiqué was drafted, urgingthe governments and businesses of the C5+1 countries to“uniteefforts to position Central Asia as an attractive destinationrather than merely a transit zone in global value chains.” Fivesectors were identified as particularly appealing to internationalinvestors and essential for the development of regional markets:transportation and logistics, e-commerce, tourism, green andrenewable energy, and agribusiness.

The goal is to limit the influence of China and Russiain the region

The final communiqué states that the immediate priority is theestablishment of a regional trade chamber to promote and advocatefor economic integration. Conceptually, the United States acts as aleading intermediary between the Central Asian states to facilitatethe acceleration of economic integration processes among thecountries of the region through a strong public-privatepartnership. This was also emphasized by Samantha Power, theadministrator of USAID, during the first Ministerial Meeting onRegional Interaction in the“C5+1” format in October 2023:“Bytaking real steps to reduce barriers in interregional andinternational trade, Central Asian countries will be able to gaintools to attract new investments to the region, find new marketsfor exports, and achieve income growth for farmers, entrepreneurs,and small and medium-sized business owners.” A week after theforum, on March 27, 2024 a meeting took place between ShavkatMirziyoyev and Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Mike Rogers,Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence the meeting, an agreement was reached to organize businessmissions from American regions to Uzbekistan.

The B5+1 strategy aims to organically strengthen Americaninfluence in the region through methods that are diametricallyopposed to those used by Moscow and Beijing. This confirms theUnited States' concern about the increasing dependence of CentralAsian countries on economic partnerships with China and Russia Berliner, the Special Assistant to the President andSenior Director for Russia and Central Asia at the NationalSecurity Council, emphasized the importance of the B5+1 forum as acatalyst for regional economic integration that extends beyondCentral Asia.

According to Berliner, the volume of American investments inCentral Asia is significant, with $1 billion directed to theregion, specifically Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, in 2023. However,this does not negate the advantages enjoyed by Russian, Chinese,and even European competitors in terms of geographical proximity particular, based on bilateral trade in 2023, China and Russiawere identified as Uzbekistan's main trading partners with $13billion and $9.8 billion, respectively, while the United Statesranked only 13th with $657 million. The United States is only amongthe top 10 trading partners in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Unlike the Chinese and Russian mechanisms of interaction withCentral Asian countries, the United States has identified thecreation of a regional arbitration mechanism as another prioritywithin the B5+1 framework. This mechanism would essentially serveas a centralized hub for resolving commercial disputes andattracting foreign investments. The communiqué states that“reliable protection mechanisms will make the region morecompetitive in attracting investors internationally.” Therefore, itis expected that the implementation of this initiative by a coupleof Central Asian states will provide an impetus for expansionthroughout the entire region. Several factors favor such projects,and not least among them is the desire of all regional governmentsto utilize cooperation with the United States in order to balancethe sustained influence of Russia and China on their economy andoverall security.

Diversification of transport and logistics links throughAfghanistan and Azerbaijan

The organization of the B5+1 business forum is a logicalcontinuation of the C5+1 dialogue on critical minerals. Ensuringsecure supplies of mineral resources in the region requiresdiversification of transportation and logistics routes. Accordingto Eric Hontz, the Director of the Center for AccountableInvestment at CIPE, Central Asia is one of the least capitalizedregions with an average income level in the world. One of thepriorities of the United States in the region is their intention toinvest in the development of terrestrial transportationinfrastructure to connect Almaty, Bishkek, and Tashkent into aunified“Central Asian Transport Circle.” Forum participants alsoemphasized the importance of expanding regional connections throughthe Trans-Afghan and Trans-Caspian corridors, bypassing theNorthern route through Russia.

Frederick Starr, the Founder and Chairman of the CentralAsia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, highlightedin his report that the most important strategic goal for allCentral Asian countries now is to open a window to the South, toIndia and Southeast Asia. This requires railway and roadconnections through Afghanistan, which all Central Asian countriesconsider a top priority. During his visit to Afghanistan on March12t, 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, BakhtiyorSaidov, stated Uzbekistan's intention to invest in the developmentof the Trans-Afghan Railway.

Director Rahim Oshakbayev from the“TALAP” Center for AppliedResearch believes that increasing transit from China to Europe viathe Trans-Caspian corridor will allow the region to become a spacefor economic cooperation and advantageous investments for allcountries, despite their differences. Meanwhile, F. Starr statedthat Azerbaijan should be considered as part of Central Asia sincethe opening of the“Central Asia's window to the West” cannot beachieved without the full integration of Azerbaijan in implementingthis initiative. He called on American investors to invest inCentral Asian projects with the perspective of Azerbaijan'sparticipation in these processes. In the absence of routes to Indiaand Southeast Asia through Afghanistan, their only hope forliberation from economic dependence on Russia is participation inthe“Middle Corridor.” Therefore, the joint communiqué alsoemphasizes the importance of signing and ratifying by all CentralAsian countries an electronic commitment for fully paperless cargotransportation (e-CMR) and ensuring its implementation as asecurity and insurance system for transit goods.

In the final days of the forum, attention was also given tosignificant American interests in the human dimension. As a resultof the forum, the parties agreed to create new subgroups toidentify ways to improve the financial sector and expand women'sentrepreneurship in the region.“The B5+1 Forum has highlighted thevast economic opportunities within this dynamic region and set acourse for increased foreign investment and access to regional andinternational markets,” said Hontz. Lastly, it is worth noting thatthe organization of the Almaty B5+1 forum marked theinstitutionalization of the format. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan havealready expressed interest in hosting the forum next year.

Fazliddin Djamalov

Senior Research Fellow

Center for American Studies

Institute for Advanced International Studies (Uzbekistan)

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