On 17-18 November 2022, the first EU-Central Asia Conference on Sustainable Connectivity and a Ministerial Meeting will be held in Samarkand.
Preparations for the forum were discussed in Tashkent by the EU delegation headed by Luc Devigne, Deputy Managing Director for Eastern Partnership, Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia of the European External Action Service.
According to Uzbek news agencies, the CA-EU Conference on Sustainable Connectivity with Central Asia will be the first regional conference on connectivity within the framework of the new EU strategy “Global Gateway”, adopted on 1 December 2021.
The Forum will provide a platform for intra- and interregional dialogue on common concepts that will help realize the goals of sustainability, prosperity and regional cooperation set out in the EU Strategy for Central Asia 2019.
In addition, the conference is a part of the EU’s efforts to assist Central Asian countries in modernization, investment promotion, digitalization, promotion of intraregional trade and diversification of transport and trade routes.
The annual EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting will be attended by the foreign ministers of the five Central Asian States, as well as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy — Deputy President of the European Commission – Josep Borrel and EU Commissioner for International Cooperation Jutta Urpilainen. ///nCa, 17 July 2022