President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan has proposed the forming of a \"Central Asian Union\". \"The Treaty of eternal friendship between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan can serve as a solid foundation for such union,\" Nazarbayev said during his annual appeal at the joint session of both houses of Kazakhstan\'s parliament. Other countries of the region (Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) can join the new union. Mr Nazarbayev stressed: \"In the region, we share economic interest, cultural heritage, language, religion, and environmental challenges, and face common external threats.\" \"The founding fathers of the European Union could only wish they had so much in common,\" he emphasized. \"We should direct our efforts towards a closer economic integration, a common market and a single currency,\" he noted. \"The global economy demands larger markets,\" Nazarbayev added. In his opinion, today \"we are again witnessing superpower rivalry for economic dominance in our region. We have to address correctly this new global and geo-economics challenge. We have a choice between remaining the supplier of raw materials to the global markets and wait patiently for the emergence of the next imperial master or to pursue genuine economic integration of the central Asian region,\" he said. \"I choose the latter,\" stressed the President. \"Further regional integration will lead to stability, regional progress, and economic, military and political independence. This is the only way for our region to earn respect in the world. This is the only way to achieve security, and to fight effectively against terrorism and extremism. Regional integration will advance the interests of all the common folk that live in Central Asia.\" (Uzreport.com)