Central Asian GDP climbs 70 percent to $450bn over seven years
Over the past 6-7 years, the GDP of Central Asian countries has surged by 70 percent to exceed $450bn, with intraregional trade more than doubling to $11bn and total foreign trade turnover nearly doubling to $225bn, according to International Institute for Central Asia (IICA).
Central Asian GDP climbs 70 percent to $450bn over seven years
The Economics of Geography

Central Asian GDP climbs 70 percent to $450bn over seven years

Photo: iStock
Eurasia 06/06/2024 18:52

Over the past 6-7 years, the GDP of Central Asian countries has surged by 70 percent to exceed $450bn, with intraregional trade more than doubling to $11bn and total foreign trade turnover nearly doubling to $225bn, according to International Institute for Central Asia (IICA).

Javlon Abdujalolovich Vakhabov, director of International Institute for Central Asia (IICA) announced at the 13th Central Asian Trade Forum (CATF) that ss a result of the efforts of all Central Asian countries, over the past 6-7 years, the total GDP of the region’s countries has grown by 70 percent and exceeded $450 billion. The volume of intraregional trade has reached $11 billion, having increased more than 2.5 times over the past 10 years. The total foreign trade turnover of the Central Asian countries has reached $225 billion, which is almost twice as much as 7 years ago.

Despite the positive dynamics, the director of IICA emphasized that the lack of transport connectivity of the countries in the region acts as a limiting factor in the development of economies, where, according to the World Bank, the share of costs for transporting goods to foreign markets can reach 50% of the final cost of goods.

In this regard, according to him, the remaining barriers in the transport system do not provide an opportunity for the active inclusion of the region in global value chains.

To further expand trade between the countries of the region, experts noted the importance of combining efforts to implement such important projects that unite the region, such as the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan and Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway, as well as the Middle Corridor connecting the Central Asian region with Europe.

The implementation of these projects will contribute to the transformation of Central Asia into a key transit hub in Eurasia. In particular, the implementation of the Trans-Afghan route, initiated by the Leader of Uzbekistan, can reduce the delivery time of goods to Pakistan by about 5 days and reduce transport costs by at least 40%.

In general, the event confirmed the relevance of the expert trade forum and the interest of all its participants in continuing the exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas for the further development of trade and investment cooperation between the countries of Central Asia.


#Central Asia
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