Japan Holds Summit with Five Central Asian Countries: "Cooperation on Caspian Trade Route"

Adoption of the "Tokyo Declaration"
Including Logistics Cooperation

Japan held its first summit with the five Central Asian countries to strengthen cooperation and adopted the "Tokyo Declaration," which includes logistics collaboration connecting the Caspian Sea.

The Japanese government held the "Central Asia+Japan Dialogue" summit on the 20th in Tokyo together with five Central Asian countries: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to local media such as NHK on December 20, the Japanese government hosted the "Central Asia+Japan Dialogue (CA+JAD)" summit in Tokyo with the leaders of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan.

Since its launch in 2004, CA+JAD has operated as a ministerial-level consultative body between Japan and the five Central Asian countries. However, with this meeting, it was elevated to a summit-level dialogue for the first time.

At the summit, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized the commitment to cooperation, stating, "Central Asia's strategic value is increasing as it serves as a key trade route connecting Asia and Europe." She also announced plans to jointly pursue private-sector projects totaling 3 trillion yen over the next five years.

Through the joint statement known as the "Tokyo Declaration," the leaders agreed to expand cooperation utilizing the Caspian Sea route, which has emerged as an alternative logistics corridor following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They also included major agreements to strengthen supply chain cooperation for natural gas and critical minerals and to establish partnerships in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

With this summit as a turning point, Japan and the Central Asian countries are expected to broaden the scope of their cooperation across economic, energy, and advanced technology sectors.