President Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged the leaders of five Central Asian states to strengthen their trade relations with Russia, as Moscow tries to regain influence in a region also targeted by China.
Russia’s total trade volume with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan last year exceeded $45 billion, a notable achievement but still significantly lower than its bilateral trade with Belarus, despite Belarus having a much smaller population, according to Putin.
At a summit held in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, Putin indicated there is significant potential for growth. The five Central Asian nations were governed from Moscow until 1991 as part of the Soviet Union, and Russia still considers the region within its sphere of influence.
However, with the Kremlin focused on its conflict in Ukraine and China making steady advances in trade and investment, Russia’s influence in the region has declined. Millions of Central Asian migrants work in Russia, helping to fill labour shortages and sending money back home to support their economies.
Nevertheless, Russia has increased its controls on migrant labour after an Islamist militant attack near Moscow last year that resulted in over 140 deaths and involved suspects mainly from Tajikistan. A neutral joint communique issued at the summit stated that the Central Asian states “noted the importance of further strengthening their strategic partnership with Russia.”
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It also mentioned that the leaders agreed on initiatives to create new transport and logistics routes, collaborate in fighting terrorism, illegal migration, and drug trafficking, and improve trade payment and settlement systems.
