Caspian region - a territory of regional development

A corporate partnership and modernization body needs to be established.
The problem of the interaction of Caspian countries cannot be restricted to a prominent strand. There is virtually an aggregate of issues determining the future of this crucial geostrategic region. These topics include a solution to the legal status of the Caspian Sea, problems of optimization of lines of transport communication and interaction in the sphere of security.
However, a key methodological constituent of the Caspian issue positively exists. It creates the major motif for consolidation of the potentials of the Caspian Five, as well as the need to develop a common position on the exploitation of Caspian resources on a rational and mutually-profitable basis. One prerequisite is the issue of modernization. This has become an equally burning issue for Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran. The modernization project's program is absolutely clear. It has been clearly defined in speeches delivered by Dmitry Medvedev, Nursultan Nazarbayev and Ilham Aliyev. It includes economic diversification, strong human resources, development of innovations and surmounting technological backwardness in comparison to the leading Western nations. In relation to regional politics, this problem should be examined in terms of a double context. On the one hand, the oil and gas resources of the Caspian Sea may be used as new points for the growth of national economies. On the other hand, it is the Caspian region that could become the space for our new innovation economy within a network of cooperation between our partner countries. That is why there exists the need for the creation of a joint strategy for regional development, aimed at making the region a supporting link for “the Caspian Five” innovation development. Proper realization of joint modernization potential is hampered by two factors. The first factor is the indeterminate legal status of the Caspian region. The second factor is the lack of a strong regional platform for integration, which would make it possible to solve the abovementioned problems on a systematic basis. Moreover, one more factor hampers the formation of a new view of 'Caspian Five' cooperation. This is the attempt by extraregional forces to interfere in the dialogue. We haven’t noticed any particular benefits accruing from the fact that extraneous players are trying to impose their rules of the game, frequently in disharmony with the needs and interests of the Caspian Five. That is why it is necessary to develop integration projects, to form a pivot for dialogue platforms on a regional basis. The Organization for Caspian Economic Cooperation may play this role, substantially promoting the level of cooperation and quality of the most important projects. According to some Russian experts, “the positive dynamics of social and economic interaction of the Caspian Five” proves that establishment of a corporate organization for regional cooperation and modernization is necessary. That is why, for the Caspian Five, the establishment of a Caspian regional organization will prove to be an achievement at the highest level of their political interaction.”

To be continued.Alexei Vlasov, exclusive to VK.