The President of Uzbekistan put forward new initiatives to strengthen cooperation between Central Asia and the European Union

On April 4, the first Central Asia-European Union summit was held in Samarkand under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The event was also attended by President of the European Council António Costa, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, as well as President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Odile Renaud-Basso and the leadership of the European Investment Bank.

In accordance with the agenda, the prospects for the development of multifaceted relations and practical cooperation between the states of Central Asia and the European Union were considered, and an exchange of views took place on topical aspects of international and regional politics.

Particular attention was paid to issues of expanding investment cooperation and increasing trade, promoting joint programs and cooperation projects in the field of innovation, green energy, extractive industries, agriculture, transport, logistics and digitalization, continuing active exchanges in the field of culture, tourism, science, education and other priority areas.

Opening the event, the head of Uzbekistan noted with satisfaction that relations between Central Asia and Europe, which have deep roots, are dynamically developing and strengthening.

The constructive and productive meetings that took place on the eve of the summit showed the presence of political will and determination to deepen practical cooperation in the interests of the two regions.

The leader of our country expressed gratitude to the heads of the main political and economic institutions of the European Union for their comprehensive support for the processes of integration and sustainable development in Central Asia.

According to the President of Uzbekistan, thanks to the common political will, the deep transformation in the region has become sustainable and irreversible. Trust and good-neighborliness are being strengthened, full-scale cooperation and cooperation are expanding.

"Seven or eight years ago, there were not even prerequisites for this. The borders between individual countries were closed. There was no trade, no transit, no business, no humanitarian exchanges.

In September this year, the seventh Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of the region will be held in Tashkent, which is a platform for an open and constructive solution of all urgent tasks of the joint agenda.

The leader of Uzbekistan separately noted the historic event that took place the day before - the full settlement and signing of agreements on the delimitation of the State border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

It was emphasized that today large investment and infrastructure projects are being jointly implemented in the region, for the support of which investment funds and companies operate. Intraregional trade is increasing, border trade zones are being created. All this contributes to the sustainable economic development of the region.

According to EBRD forecasts, regional GDP will increase to 6 percent this year, which is significantly higher than the average in other regions.

The joint work on the formation of a common regional identity, as well as the support of cultural, humanitarian and educational exchange was especially noted. Branches of leading national educational institutions are being opened in our countries. The project of a single Central Asian visa for foreign tourists is being promoted.

There is a noticeable increase in interaction between the region and the European Union. Over the past seven years, the trade turnover of the countries has grown several times, amounting to 54 billion euros. Effective cooperation platforms have been launched. Ministerial meetings, forums and summits are held regularly in all key areas.

The leader of Uzbekistan presented his vision of priorities for the further development of cooperation in the medium and long term.

First of all, the importance of strengthening political dialogue, the legal and institutional framework of multilateral cooperation was noted.

The need for joint adoption of comprehensive measures aimed at the practical implementation of the decision to establish a strategic partnership between Central Asia and the European Union was indicated.

It was proposed to consider the issue of signing a full-fledged Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the two regions in order to fill the strategic partnership with specific decisions, projects and programs.

The President of Uzbekistan also spoke in favor of holding regular meetings of the heads of foreign ministries to "compare notes" on the international and regional agenda; the establishment of the Central Asia-EU Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Forum with the organization of the first event this autumn in Uzbekistan; Expanding cooperation between leading think tanks.

In order to systematically work to ensure the timely implementation of the agreements, Uzbekistan expressed its readiness to take over the functions of the secretariat of the summit until the next meeting.

The priority dimension of interaction is investment in economic and technological modernization.

Today, the current portfolio of projects with leading European companies and banks exceeds 30 billion euros.

It was proposed to hold a separate session of "Investment Opportunities of the Two Regions" during the next Tashkent Investment Forum with the presentation of the Concept of the Regional Industrial Park for European companies in Uzbekistan.

The signing of the Agreement on the opening of the European Investment Bank office in Tashkent was noted with satisfaction, which will stimulate the inflow of direct investment to Central Asia from the EU countries.

The Head of our state also took the initiative to launch an Investment Platform to promote major regional projects in the field of green energy, innovation, transport, infrastructure and the agricultural sector.

In addition, the President of Uzbekistan put forward a number of new initiatives. We are talking about the conclusion of a multilateral Agreement on the Protection and Promotion of Investments; the launch of the joint Central Asia-EU Chamber of Commerce, the adoption of a joint regional program to support small and medium-sized business projects, women's entrepreneurship.

Readiness to host the next Economic Forum and the Investor Forum on Transport Connectivity in Uzbekistan this year was noted.

Attention was also drawn to the expansion of technical assistance of the European Union to increase the potential of our exporters, the creation of laboratories and standardization and certification centers.

Another promising area for mutually beneficial partnership is the deepening of cooperation and investment in the field of critical mineral resources.

Uzbekistan has a positive experience of cooperation with leading European companies in this area. Meanwhile, the expansion of partnership in this direction is hindered by the lack of effective transport corridors for the delivery of these products, as well as finished industrial
and agricultural goods to the European market.

In this context, the need to develop coordinated measures and favorable conditions for expanding and loading the Trans-Caspian transport corridor was emphasized.

"I am sure that these tasks are fully consistent with the goals of the pan-European program "Global Gateway", the head of our state said.

To this end, it was proposed to convene a meeting of transport ministers of the countries along this route under the auspices of the European Union to develop coordinated approaches.

Investments in green energy and environmental sustainability are of strategic importance.

It was noted that Uzbekistan fully supports the international project for the supply of electricity from the Central Asian region in the direction of Europe.

By 2030, our country plans to increase the share of renewable energy in the energy balance to 54 percent, to introduce 24 thousand megawatts of "green" capacities.

An important platform for cooperation in this area can be the launch of the Central Asia-EU Partnership on Clean Energy.

It was proposed to establish a working group to work out the financing of projects and develop the carbon credit market.

Investments in human capital play an important role in the development of cooperation between the two regions.

The achievement of this goal will be facilitated by the introduction of special quotas for the countries of the region within the framework of the Erasmus Plus Program for the training of highly qualified specialists.

In addition, in order to expand scientific and educational cooperation with the countries of Central Asia, readiness was expressed to open an office of the Horizon Europe program in Uzbekistan.

An initiative has been put forward to develop a joint program of scientific and technological exchange in the field of artificial intelligence, big data, digitalization and space research.

The President of Uzbekistan also made proposals for the inclusion of the countries of the region in the European Action Program in the field of digital education, as well as the implementation of the "roadmap" of partnership between leading universities.

In continuation of efforts to familiarize the world audience with the rich culture of our region, the importance of actively using the platform of the upcoming UNESCO General Conference in Samarkand to promote the art of the peoples of Central Asia was emphasized.

This year, it is also planned to hold the first tourism forum "Central Asia - European Union" in Bukhara.

"We count on the assistance of European partners in the implementation of the concept of "One tour - the whole region" based on the introduction of the experience of the EU countries, as well as consideration of the issue of simplifying the visa regime for tourists from our region", Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, extremism, radicalism, cybercrime, drug trafficking and illegal migration is relevant.

The proposal of the European partners to launch a dialogue on counter-terrorism was supported.

The importance of continuing practical cooperation within the framework of the BOMCA and CADAP programmes, as well as consultations on the peaceful development of Afghanistan, was noted

In order to introduce mechanisms for the practical implementation of initiatives and agreements, the Head of our state proposed to establish a Partnership Committee at the level of Deputy Prime Ministers in the Central Asia-EU format with annual meetings.

During the meeting, the heads of delegations made proposals to expand practical cooperation between the two regions.

At the end of the first summit, a Joint Declaration was adopted, providing for the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two regions, and a declaration on cooperation in the field of critical minerals.