The awakening lion: the era of renewal

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Hey, great Turan, land of lions!

What has become of you? What are these days you endure now?

Oh, glorious cradle of Genghis, Timur, Oghuz, and Attila!

Where have the esteemed seats you once held gone?..

Abdurauf Fitrat

 

An American politician once said of the current life and fate of the Central Asian region: ‘They are neither post-Soviet nor post-communist countries now’.

Today no specialist knowledge is needed to understand this idea, which suggests that such labels are outdated in the research community. For example, ten to fifteen years ago the political behaviour of Central Asian societies – neighbours for thousands of years – was prone to national separatism, mutual dislike and latent hostility, but today they have undergone a remarkable transformation. Ideologues and ordinary Central Asians only a couple years ago endeavoured to prove their superiority, their antiquity and, for these very reasons, their greater belonging to the historical and cultural heritage of the region. Though they still might hurl some sharp insults at each other, now they have become united neighbours.

Every day we see and hear of events that illustrate this unity and provide concrete evidence of it. Meanwhile, as already noted, some latent and outdated policies of these neighbouring countries towards each other still attempt to turn the common cultural heritage of the region into a language of hatred.

As a result of Soviet nationalisation and post-Soviet ideologisation, these five states in the Eurasian centre, the land that once founded great empires and was famous throughout the world, unfortunately turned away from one another after gaining independence. This, in turn, allowed the region to remain a geopolitical object for the modern world’s empires.

At this moment, I do not intend to delve into the geopolitical picture of the region and its current situation. I would like to share my brief thoughts on the bold steps and the international image of what Uzbek leadership is calling ‘New Uzbekistan’. The country is transforming day by day and now has the ability to directly influence regional processes.

These joyful events have made me take up my pen.

I

August 2024 began with good news. That month’s two important events to which I would like to draw attention, are related to the growing role of New Uzbekistan in world politics, culture, and modern history. These were the state visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan and his participation in the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of Central Asian States in Astana, as well as the historic victory of our athletes at the Olympic Games in Paris.

True, some may argue, “Well, the President has repeatedly participated in meetings in this format, and our athletes have delivered victories commensurate with those from other countries. What’s the big deal?”

But I also have a question for such people: When did the world powers take Uzbekistan, which will soon be celebrating thirty-three years of independence, so seriously? When have this country and its long-suffering people been recognised as independent subjects of international politics? When did our country’s representative reach thirteenth place in a set of international competitions in which athletes from more than two hundred countries took part? When was the anthem of Uzbekistan played eight times at such prestigious competitions? When was our flag raised thirteen times over the winners' podium? And when else did we hear that ‘Uzbek athletes have no equal in the world!’?

Of course, no one will be able to contradict me when I say that these two factors are the worthy fruit of the hard work of our country’s president Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

I would like to say a few words about the meetings in Kazakhstan. The details of this visit vividly demonstrated the results of Mirziyoyev’s changes in regional policy, which he put into place eight years ago.

The first meeting of the Interstate Supreme Council, which took place 7-9 August 2023, was cochaired by Mirziyoyev and President of the Republic of Kazakhstan  Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

This was the first time in our history that the leaders of these two Central Asian states have met to agree on multifaceted supranational cooperation, which is recognised by the world community and international experts as one of the main locomotives of international affairs in the modern world. In the past, despite supranational general concepts such as ‘Central Asia’, ‘regional unity’ or the substanceless slogan ‘Turkestan is our common home’, the identity of the region as a whole has remained extremely blurred. The actions of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the two main powers in the region, towards this end are an important step in transforming these previous abstractions into a concrete plan. We will talk about this a little later, but for now let us focus on the first meeting of the Interstate Council.

The visit hosted meetings of the Intergovernmental Commission and the Business Council, as well as a business forum, political consultations, a think tank forum and intellectual games. The organizers of the meetings also organised cinema days and other cultural events to strengthen the unity of Central Asian peoples in cultural terms as well as economic and political.

One of the most significant events of these meetings was the adoption by the leaders of the two countries of the Programme for Strategic Partnership and Allied Cooperation for 2024-2034. This document undoubtedly marks the beginning of a new stage in Uzbek-Kazakh relations of friendship and good neighbourliness.

Economic relations between the two parties have already reached record highs in recent years. As a result of previous meetings, such as economic forums and business meetings of the parties, solid agreements worth $7 billion were signed.

‘We have opened a new chapter in our multifaceted relations – we have held the first meeting of the Supreme Interstate Council. This format is an expression of the highest level of interstate cooperation and clearly demonstrates the close ties between our countries and peoples and their firm desire to strengthen cooperation in all areas,’ Mirziyoyev said at the meeting.

Of course, this unprecedented level of cooperation between the two countries did not go unnoticed by the world community and international experts. Analysts and think tanks commented widely on the details of the visit. In particular, Roy Anthony Rogers, Deputy Director of the Asia and Europe Institute at the University of Malaya (Malaysia), outlined his observations as follows:

‘Thanks to the strong historical ties and personal friendship between the leaders of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the current state of Uzbek-Kazakh relations is characterised by special dynamics, a high level of mutual understanding and trust. I believe that this visit of the president of Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan is of historic significance not only for the peoples of the two countries, but also for the prosperity of the entire Central Asian region.’

Praising Uzbekistan’s policy of regional cooperation, Nasri Al Saadi, Managing Partner of Premium Construction (Qatar), focuses in his article on the sincere actions of the neighbouring countries:

‘The two leaders are committed to uniting the region and coordinating efforts through consultative meetings and the Central Asia Plus platforms, which are becoming increasingly popular mechanisms for international cooperation. They actively support each other on global and regional political issues’.

Of course, my aim is not to summarise or comment on the opinions of foreign analysts on this historic meeting. My intention is to tell you about the activities of Mirziyoyev, who is striving with equanimity and wisdom to achieve his goal of transforming Uzbekistan’s previous isolation into regional openness and is achieving great success. After all, I am always proud to be a contemporary and compatriot of a person who has glorified and continues to glorify the name of the Uzbek people and Uzbekistan.

II

Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazadeh, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslim Board, said in a recent interview with the Uzbek media that ‘Mr Mirziyoyev’s personality today has become a force that influences not only the socio-political life of Uzbekistan, but also the region’.

This fact continues to manifest itself in other examples. For instance, our president personally initiated the Consultative Meeting of Central Asian States, which has attracted great interest in international politics today.

His initiative was widely welcomed by the international community, and the first meeting was held in Astana on 15 March 2018. The recent meeting of the leaders of the five Central Asian states in Astana, Kazakhstan, marked the beginning of a new cycle of this format.

Although this is not the main focus of today’s article, I must make a comment. I believe I understand the goal Mirziyoyev had in mind when he first initiated this recurring set of meetings 7-8 years ago. The goal is to unite our peoples, to heal the wounds caused by Soviet modernization, to awaken the ‘lion’ that once fell into a deep slumber.

At this most recent meeting, such political appeals as ‘regional integration,’ ‘regional identity’ were put forward with the sincerity that was so often lacking in previous years.

‘Given our common cultural and historical heritage’, Mirziyoyev stated, ‘we must pay great attention to strengthening the ownership, solidarity and shared responsibility of our peoples for the future of the region’.

I believe that the early launch of the international media platform ‘History and Culture of Central Asia: One Past and Common Future’ will be an important practical step in this direction.

In order to further strengthen mutual understanding and solidarity among the peoples of the region, we propose to hold a scientific forum devoted to practical aspects of regional identity formation.

If one takes a closer look at the expression ‘regional identity’ in this quote, you will see that this term essentially encompasses not only geographical, political, economic, but also cultural aspects of the region. This is a bold step towards restoring the region’s lost soul – a shared identity after years of Soviet rule.

The two high honours awarded to the President of our country in Kazakhstan – the Altın Qıran (Golden Eagle) Order of the of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Badge of Honour of the Heads of the Central Asian States – attest to Mirziyoyev’s melting of the ice between the peoples and states of the region and his restoration of the warm friendship and love inherited from our ancestors.

This is undoubtedly a vivid example of the policy initiated and pursued by president Mirziyoyev in the region, full of kindness and sincerity.

III

Of course, our success at Olympic Games in Paris continues to warm our hearts. These victories have become the heart, pride and honour of New Uzbekistan. Remember that only yesterday our country, which was looked down upon as ‘colonial’ or ‘post-colonial’ and whose name was only mentioned in passing at international meetings, showed the world its presence.

In addition to placing 13^th in the gold medal count at the Olympics, Uzbekistan garnered 4^th place in Asia and 1^st place among the Turkic, Muslim and CIS countries. Three of our athletes were also honoured with the high title of “Two-Time Olympic Champion.”

One might say that the achievements of our country today seem special to us only because we are Uzbek citizens. But no, these are international recognitions that the country has not achieved in centuries. The accomplishments of our country today, the creative power of Mirziyoyev, have not been overlooked from the outside. For example, well-known historian, ethnologist and anthropologist of Central Asia Sergey Abashin, expressed his impression of Uzbekistan’s performance at the Olympics on his social media pages as follows:

‘The Paris-2024 Olympic Games were an extremely important event. They will be remembered not for the discussion of gender and artistic issues, but above all for the remarkable results of athletes from Central Asian countries, and in particular from Uzbekistan, which won 8 gold medals and finished 13^th (I would like to remind you that in addition to their Olympic successes, Uzbek chess players have been ranked high in the world rankings in recent years). In sport, we are witnessing the emergence of Central Asian countries as major players, recognised and acknowledged worldwide, and becoming aware of their subjectivity. This is a real historical change in the world and in the post-Soviet space, still a long and certainly natural process.’

Abashin here remarks that Uzbekistan’s successes in sport today show that it is becoming a known entity on the world stage. Frankly, this means that the country no longer needs a mediator – such as ‘former Soviet state’ or ‘site of a former US base for Afghanistan’ – to understand its position in the world.

In conclusion, I would like to say that these two place-setting events for Uzbekistan of the past month promise only further bright moments ahead, express the determination of New Uzbekistan, and the  innovative path of its leader, president Mirziyoyev.

 

Qudratilla Rafiqov,

political scientist