President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed the creation of a “Digital Customs and Logistics Alliance” within the framework of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program. The initiative was announced at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), held on May 4 in Samarkand, according to the presidential press service.
According to the head of state, the establishment of the alliance would help unify customs procedures, introduce digital document management, and simplify cross-border freight transportation.
During his speech, it was noted that construction has begun on the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, a strategic East–West transport corridor. The project is expected to significantly enhance the region’s transit potential, reduce cargo delivery times to around 10 days, and enable annual freight volumes of up to 15 million tons.
The CAREC program has been operating since 1997 under the coordination of the Asian Development Bank and brings together Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
