On 17 November 2022, a Ministerial meeting in the format “European Union – Central Asia” was held in Samarkand.
The heads and representatives of the EU and Central Asian foreign ministries discussed the current state of relations and prospects for strengthening cooperation between the two regions in the political, trade, economic, water and energy spheres, as well as security issues, combating terrorism and extremism, climate change and exchanged views on international and regional topics.
Opening the event, the foreign minister of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov noted that the decision to organize the current forum in Samarkand testifies to the increasing geopolitical importance of Central Asia and, in particular, the city of Samarkand as a new “hub” of interregional relations.
It was emphasized that Uzbekistan is interested in expanding and deepening mutually beneficial relations with the European Union, and fully supports the EU Strategy for Central Asia from 2019. In this context, the importance of adopting a joint Roadmap to accelerate the implementation of the Strategy was noted.
According to the meeting participants, the Samarkand ministerial will allow for the development of a new agenda for interregional cooperation and the identification of specific areas of fruitful cooperation for the long term. ///nCa, 18 November 2022