You can download materials from the Mayors' Forum from the 'Documents' page, and photographs from the 'Photo Gallery'.
The Silk Road Initiative (SRI) in cooperation with the City of Tashkent and Uzbektourism, organized the First Regional Silk Road Mayors' Forum in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 26-29 October 2005.
As a regional UNDP programme* inspired by the ancient trade route tradition, the SRI works to enhance cooperation and integration among Silk Road countries**. It launches mechanisms to build sustainable capacity by injecting "seed money" and hopes in this way to establish new traditions for cooperation. The Mayors' Forum was thus created as a continuing platform for dialogue and network creation.
During the first two days of the Forum, Silk Road city mayors came together with business and community leaders, as well as Silk Road visionaries, from China, Central Asia and other countries in the area to discuss regional development of tourism, trade and investment.
Through presentations and roundtable discussions, participants exchanged information and experience on city development and potentials for growth. Innovative ideas suggested how to increase multilateral dialogues, initiate trade and organize events to promote further Silk Road cooperation. A separate business forum proposed concrete examples of how to go about trade and investment promotion. The event culminated in the overall endorsement of a Tashkent Declaration.
From 28-29 October part of the delegation traveled together along a section of the Uzbek Silk Road. While visiting the ancient cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, there was opportunity for continued dialogue, while experiencing modern Silk Road tourism development first hand.
*United Nations Development Programme
** Official Silk Road Initiative countries currently include China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; however membership will expand to include other Silk Road countries at a later stage.
Panel at the Mayors' Forum
The need for continuity
The Mayors' Forum is a continuation of processes already begun such as the International Silk Road Symposiums in Urumqi (2004) and Xuzhou (2005), and the First Regional Silk Road Investment Forum in June. It is important to continue the chain of events as it will allow the Initiative to build momentum and thus expand its breadth.
The proposals put forth during the forum will hopefully serve as inspiration to continue the Silk Road Initiative. The next event, building on the Mayors' Forum, will be the establishment of a UN Silk Road City Award early next year.
Tourism development
The importance of strategic tourism was emphasized with figures from UN World Tourism Organization showing tourism to be the fastest growing sector in the global economy.
Silk Road tourism was highlighted as being a particularly strong asset that can be taken advantage of to support growth and development. To capitalize on this strength however, the Silk Road must be presented as a unified brand. By joining efforts and promoting multi-destination tourism, Silk Road countries can successfully develop a sustainable tourism industry benefiting all stakeholders in the region as well as the tourists themselves.
The facilitation of a Silk Road Visa is another step in this endeavour of ensuring easy access to the region. The suggestion is to create a visa valid for a 30-day period which will allow tourists free travel within a given set of countries.
Creative responses to regional challenges
The region faces a number of obstacles to increased trading among countries but participants offered innovative ways as to how these could be overcome.
One way to encourage cultural understanding and counter language barriers would be to establish cultural centres offering language courses and cultural exchange. This could greatly assist companies wishing to expand into other markets as well as promote tourism.
The Silk Road region is broad and diverse, but participants from Hong Kong extended it even further by suggesting Hong Kong become a gateway to the region for the world at large. By setting up a liaison office in Hong Kong new levels of connectivity could be achieved.
This idea was taken a step further with the suggestion to organize an Association of Silk Road Chambers of Commerce which could work towards increased levels of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Through this type of activity there would be room for constructive financial mechanisms to operate, spurring investment and trade.
The conference venue; the International Business Centre and Forum Banner
Infrastructure expansion
Transport links by road, rail and air should be further developed, but for the landlocked countries of Central Asia it is also important to establish connections to waterways. This will allow the region to fully engage in global infrastructure development easing access first and foremost between Europe and Asia (Central, South, North, East and South-East Asia). Furthermore, information technology should be used as a tool for information dissemination. By prioritizing multiple language websites, cities can reach a broad audience through relatively simple means.
Media promotion and branding region
A lively debate took place over the prevailing media image of Central Asia. It was argued that major news outlets have a tendency to portray the region in a negative light which, the argument went, is both harmful and unjust. However, it was claimed, each country may at any time contradict negative press with constructive counter-arguments and data.
Participants agreed that the region's profile can be raised through active and targeted media campaigns which would disseminate information and consolidate the Silk Road brand.
Dialogue for communities
China, South Korea and Uzbekistan exchanged experiences on community organization and planning, recognizing the important role a strong and vibrant community can play in city development. The Silk Road Mayors' Forum should be extended to incorporate dialogues among communities and thereby promote the idea of a neighbourly spirit among countries.
At city level it was proposed that mayors should take the lead in mobilizing enterprises from their cities with the potential interest and capacity to join the Silk Road Initiative.
Tashkent Opera House
Contributions from other Silk Road countries
Participants from Japan, South Korea, Pakistan and Iran shared experiences from their own cities and signaled their further commitment to the Silk Road by extending invitations to host future events such as annual trade fairs, cultural exchange programmes and cultural festivals.
Business forum
The last session of the conference was a Business Forum dedicated to specific information on business climates and investment opportunities in the region as presented mainly by UN Conference on Trade and Development and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan. As the Mayors' Forum tries to establish ways of developing effective city dialogues, some examples were offered of how to go about this. One example suggested creating an internet portal where each Silk Road city could showcase its investment opportunities, and another model could be that of the House of Moscow which was established in the Kyrgyz Republic to facilitate cooperation with Russia.
Next year's Forum
The end of the Forum saw the preparation and general endorsement of the Tashkent Declaration which was read out during the closing session.
By initiative from China, next year's event will be hosted in the cities of Lanzhou and Xining together with the Annual Silk Road Symposium organized under the National Chinese Project. Participants agreed subsequent forums should be themed in order for discussions to be conducted in more detail. The proposal for next year's theme is 'Sustainable Tourism'.
To see more pictures from the Mayors' Forum and from the trips to Bukhara and Samarkand, please go to 'Photo Gallery'.
To download Forum document such as the Tashkent Declaration and the summary, please go to the 'Documents' page.
