A debate focusing on Japan–Central Asia relations and the region’s growing geopolitical significance was held on Egypt’s prominent television channel, Al Qahera TV. The program discussed the rising international interest in Central Asia following the US–Central Asia Summit, the competition among the West, China, and Russia for influence in the region, as well as Japan’s strengthening strategic position within this evolving geopolitical landscape.
The debate featured Professor Kazushi Yamamoto of Tashkent University joining from Tokyo, and political analyst Dr. Ahmad Shahidov participating from Baku. The discussion highlighted Central Asia’s emergence as a focal point of global power politics, the region’s pursuit of multi-vector foreign policies, and the growing strategic importance of the Middle Corridor in Eurasian connectivity.
Speaking during the program, Ahmad Shahidov emphasized that Central Asia has evolved from a purely regional space into a strategic arena shaping global power balances. He noted that following the US–Central Asia Summit, Western engagement with the region has become more institutionalized, making the competition between China and the West increasingly visible.
Ahmad Shahidov stressed that Japan’s growing interest in Central Asia is a natural outcome of this new geopolitical reality, as Tokyo views the region as a reliable alternative partner in terms of energy security and Eurasian connectivity. He also underlined that Central Asian states are pursuing balanced and pragmatic foreign policies, that the Middle Corridor plays a key role in this strategy, and that Turkey’s cultural and political closeness to Turkic and Muslim countries has emerged as a distinct factor of influence in the region.
