The event brought together a high-level delegation from the Republic of Uzbekistan, including senior representatives of leading think tanks, government agencies, and the business community.

Addressing the participants, Eldor Aripov, Director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies (ISRS) under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, highlighted the profound qualitative changes in relations between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in recent years. He emphasized that, thanks to the strong political will of the leaders of the two countries, all major and long-standing issues on the bilateral agenda have been successfully resolved.

Reflecting on this historic milestone, Eldor Aripov emphasized that, for the first time in many decades, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan can focus not on overcoming the legacy of the past, but on jointly shaping their shared future.

Particular attention was devoted to economic cooperation. Mr. Aripov noted that whereas bilateral trade had barely exceeded $100 million a decade ago, it has now approached $1.2 billion, with an additional increase of nearly 40 percent recorded over the past year alone. Describing these figures as remarkable, he stressed that the two countries are moving beyond simply expanding trade toward deeper industrial cooperation and the establishment of joint manufacturing ventures.

Commenting on major infrastructure initiatives, the ISRS Director underscored the strategic importance of the China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan railway and the Kambarata-1 Hydropower Plant. According to him, these flagship projects extend far beyond the bilateral agenda, as “they are, in effect, contributing to the emergence of a new economic geography across Eurasia”.

Addressing the issue of transboundary water resources, Eldor Aripov observed that “the experience of recent years clearly demonstrates that the traditional perception of conflicting interests between upstream and downstream countries is gradually becoming obsolete”, giving way to an approach based on mutual consideration of interests and shared responsibility for common natural resources.

In conclusion, the ISRS Director highlighted the unprecedented expansion of people-to-people contacts between the two countries. Over the past decade, the number of Kyrgyz citizens visiting Uzbekistan has increased more than sevenfold, reaching 3.3 million in the previous year – the highest figure among all inbound international tourist flows to the country.

Summing up the outcomes of the Expert Council meeting, Eldor Aripov concluded that relations between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have reached a stage where the success of bilateral cooperation depends not on the ability to resolve emerging challenges, but on the capacity to seize new opportunities together.