Türkiye's economic policy towards Uzbekistan 1991-2002

Abstract

Turkey entered into multiple political, economic, cultural and other relations with the Turkish Central Asian countries that gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 in implementation of its strategy aimed at finding a suitable and multi-faceted basis for its influence in that region in the hope of creating a political grouping or cooperative political bloc similar to the European Union or the League of Arab States. On the economic side, Turkey was keen to strengthen its relations in this field with the Turkish countries in Central Asia to achieve mutual benefit and benefit from the capabilities and economic resources of those countries on the one hand, and to assist them in organizing their economic structures, especially in the process of transition from the centrally planned economic system to the free market economy on the one hand. On the other hand, Uzbekistan was one of those countries towards which Turkey pushed strongly after its independence, as it entered into common economic interests and through many means, and its implications were evident in the creation of cooperative relations between the two countries in the field of trade, financial and banking activities, and investments, as well as the development of cooperation in other economic fields of benefit. Mutual relations were represented in the fields of tourism and transportation due to their impact on the interaction of economic relations between the two countries. The economic relations between Turkey and Uzbekistan were based on a set of agreements and protocols concluded between the two countries during the period 1991-2002 AD. These agreements were the basis that regulated relations between the two countries in all fields, and thus they were Turkey has placed the economic dimension at the top of its foreign policy by moving towards the Turkish countries in Central Asia, especially Uzbekistan.