걸프협력회의-중앙아 11개국, 자원-노동력 교류 활성화 초석 다졌다

*아시아엔 해외필진 기고문의 한글번역본과 원문을 함께 게재합니다.

[아시아엔=하비브 토우미 ‘아시아엔’ 영문판 편집장] 걸프협력회의(GCC) 6개국(바레인, 쿠웨이트, 오만, 카타르, 사우디아라비아, 아랍에미리트)과 중앙아시아 5개국(카자흐스탄, 키르기스스탄, 타지키스탄, 투르크메니스탄, 우즈베키스탄)이 지난 7월 19일 사우디아라비아 제다에서 열린 특별정상회의에서 정치, 안보, 경제적 유대관계를 강화하기로 합의했다. 이들 국가는 2023년부터 2027년까지 양자간 전략적 대화와 협력에 나설 계획이다.

GCC와 중앙아시아는 최근 들어 경제협력에 깊은 관심을 보였는데, 이는 두 지역의 상호 보완적인 경제구조에 기인한다. GCC는 풍부한 석유와 가스자원을, 중앙아시아는 미개척지와 젊은 노동력을 보유하고 있다.

앞서 2021년 10월 GCC와 중앙아시아 5개국은 정치, 경제, 안보 협력에 관한 양해각서에 서명하며 협력강화의 첫 발을 내딛었다. 2022년 8월 사우디아라비아 수도 리야드에서 GCC와 중앙아시아 국가들의 첫 각료회의가 개최됐다. 이 자리에서 각국 장관들은 양해각서 이행과정을 검토하고, 두 지역의 협력강화 방안을 논의했다.

양자는 바로 한달 뒤인 2022년 9월 장관급 회의를 개최해 2023~2027년 GCC-중앙아시아의 전략적 대화를 위한 액션플랜의 초안을 마련했다. 액션플랜에는 정치, 경제, 안보, 문화 및 교육 등 각 분야가 포함됐다.

지난 7월 정상회의 마지막 날, 11개국은 GCC와 중앙아시아의 정치적, 전략적 관계의 중요성을 강조했다. 이들은 이와 함께 지역 및 국제 정세의 안정을 위해 정치 협력을 지속키로 하는 한편 글로벌 공급망, 교통 및 통신, 식량 안보, 에너지 안보, 수자원 안보, 녹색에너지 자원 및 기술, 투자 및 무역교류 증대 등 다양한 분야의 협력을 이어갈 것이라 밝혔다.

양측은 기후변화 등 국제사회 이슈에 보다 적극적으로 대처할 것이라고도 밝혔다. 특히 오는 11월 COP28 회의를 개최하는 아랍에미리트를 적극 지지할 것이라고 강조했다. GCC-중앙아시아 정상들은 유엔기후변화협약과 파리협약의 공정성 및 책임분담 원칙을 준수하기로 약속했다. 이들은 개별국가간 차이를 인정하는 한편 상대적으로 취약한 개발도상국이 협약을 이행하는데 어떤 어려움이 있는지도 살펴보기로 했다.

정상회의와 관련해 사디르 자파로프 키르기스스탄 대통령은 “우리는 하나의 역사, 하나의 종교, 하나의 문화로 연결돼 있으며, 유엔(UN)과 이슬람협력기구(OIC)의 틀 안에서 양자간 또는 다자간 협력을 통해 풍부한 경험을 쌓아 왔다”며 “이번 정상회의는 형제 간의 유대를 강화하고 협력을 심화하는 중요한 이정표”라고 강조했다. 그는 또한 “중앙아시아는 광물, 수자원, 석유, 가스, 석탄 등 에너지 자원이 풍부하다. 중앙아시아 공통의 미래 비전은 지역통합으로, 키르기스스탄이 그 중심에 서 있다”고 덧붙였다.

자파로프는 경제 및 투자 협력이 핵심의제라며 “중앙아시아는 고학력 인적자본을 보유하고 있다. 또한 유럽과 아시아의 중간에서 물류의 중심으로 성장할 잠재력을 지니고 있다”고 밝혔다. 그는 “특히 지역 내 무비자 구역을 만들고, GCC-중앙아시아 국가 간 항공편을 확대함으로써 인적, 물적 교류를 강화해야 한다”고 말했다.

차기 GCC-중앙아시아 정상회의는 2025년 우즈베키스탄 수도 사마르칸트에서 개최된다.

Gulf, Central Asia countries unlock huge partnership potential at Jeddah Summit
by Habib Toumi, Editor in Chief of THEAsiaN English Edition

Six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and five Central Asia (C5) countries have agreed to consolidate their political, security and economic ties during a special summit in the Red Sea resort of Jeddah.

In July 2023, leaders from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan approved a Joint Action Plan for Strategic Dialogue and Cooperation between GCC members and Central Asian states covering the period from 2023 to 2027.

Interest in deeper economic cooperation between the GCC and Central Asia has been steadily increasing in recent years, boosting opportunities for cooperation in trade, investment and tourism, especially that the two regions have complementary economies.

The GCC countries have a wealth of oil and gas resources and Central Asia features untapped opportunities and a young and growing workforce.

In October 2021, the GCC and the five Central Asian countries signed memoranda of understanding on political, economic, and security cooperation.

This significant step forward in the development of relations between the two regions was followed in August 2022 by the first ministerial meeting of the GCC and Central Asian countries in the Saudi capital Riyadh. The ministers reviewed the progress made in implementing the MoUs and discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation between the two regions.

In September 2022, the joint action plan for the strategic dialogue between the GCC and Central Asian countries for the period 2023-2027 was approved at a ministerial meeting.

The joint action plan outlines several areas in which the two regions will cooperate, including politics, the economy, security, culture, and education.

In their joint statement at the end of the summit in Jeddah, the 11 countries affirmed the importance of strengthening political and strategic relations between the GCC countries and Central Asia and stressed the importance of dialogue and partnership towards new horizons in various fields.

The move is based on common values, shared interests, and deep historical ties between the GCC countries and Central Asian countries.

The leaders also stressed the importance of continuing political coordination to achieve regional and international security and stability, face challenges, and work to ensure the flexibility of supply chains, transportation and communication, food security, energy security, and water security, pushing for building cooperation relations in developing green and renewable energy sources and technologies, creating business opportunities, supporting investment opportunities, and increasing trade exchange.

The communiqué hailed the outstanding role by the two sides in confronting the climate change phenomenon and renewed their welcome and support to the United Arab Emirates for hosting the COP28 conference to support international efforts in this regard.

“As developing countries, the leaders emphasized the principles and provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, especially fairness and the principle of shared responsibilities, taking into account different national circumstances and priorities, and taking into account in the implementation of the two agreements the negative social and economic impacts resulting from response measures to climate change, especially those affecting developing countries that are the most susceptible to these effects,” the communiqué said.

The leaders also stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation in the field of environment and climate change, protecting glaciers and water resources, and attracting more investments to the main sectors of the economies of Central Asian countries to adapt to climate change through integration and cooperation on the risks and consequences of natural disasters between the two sides.

Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Zhaparov said that the “historic summit is an important milestone on the joint path to strengthening ties and deepening cooperation between our fraternal regions.”

“The holding of this summit clearly demonstrates the available great opportunities and our desire to strengthen political dialogue, expand economic, cultural and humanitarian interaction between our countries and regions, both in bilateral and multilateral formats,” he said.

“In this regard, I consider it very important to continue the active exchange of high-level bilateral visits in order to expand cooperation between our countries.”

Despite the geographical distance, our regions are linked by one history, one religion, and one culture, as the values of brotherhood are invaluable. Since independence, our countries have gained rich experience in cooperation, whether on a bilateral or multilateral basis, particularly within the framework of the United Nations (U.N.) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), he added.

He stressed that “today, Central Asia is a dynamically developing region with diverse geography, sustainable economic growth and new development opportunities.”

“The region is rich in all kinds of minerals, water resources and various sources of energy, oil, gas and coal. Regional and interregional integration is a key element of our common vision for the future. Kyrgyzstan stands for the consistent and comprehensive strengthening of the integration of the countries of Central Asia,” he said at the summit.

Economic and investment cooperation is at the heart of our agenda, Zhaparov said.

“There are huge opportunities that can be used for the benefit of our countries and peoples. Our regions have an invaluable wealth: highly educated and dynamic human capital. Central Asia also has a powerful trade, transit, logistics and transport potential, being at the crossroads of Europe and Asia,” he said.

Stimulating trade and promoting cultural exchange should become a reality by creating a visa-free zone within the regions, encouraging and supporting airlines in opening and expanding regular flights between the GCC and C5 capitals, developing joint tourist routes, strengthening interbank cooperation and developing trade and investment cooperation, he said.

The next GCC-C5 Summit will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in 2025.