On 27 January 2025, at the initiative of the Ambassadors of Central Asia countries and Mongolia accredited in Belgium, a meeting was held in Brussels with David McAllister, Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), the Embassy of Kazakhstan to Belgium reports.
The meeting participants discussed preparations for key events, including:
• 6th meeting of the EU and Central Asian Special Representatives on Afghanistan
• The 20th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Conference
• The EU-Central Asia Summit to be held in Uzbekistan in spring 2025.
The upcoming visit of the European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Jozef Síkela, was also highlighted.
The AFET Chairman emphasised the importance of the EU-CA Summit, which has been in preparation for a long time, and reaffirmed the readiness of the European Parliament for comprehensive co-operation with the Parliaments of the Central Asian countries.
Special attention was paid to the role of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Central Asia and Mongolia (DCAS) for strengthening inter-parliamentary co-operation.
David McAllister noted the importance of Central Asia in the context of international agenda, economy and security, expressing readiness to co-operate with the committees of parliaments of the countries of the region.
The necessity of cooperation with national rapporteurs on the countries of Central Asia and Mongolia in the EP was also emphasized.
The meeting also focused on integration processes in the Central Asian region. Thus, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan Margulan Baimukhan noted that the region attaches great importance to the implementation of priorities of the Concept of Development of Regional Cooperation “Central Asia – 2040” and the Roadmap for 2025-2027, approved at the Central Asia Summit in Astana in August 2024.
The Ambassador also drew the attention of the meeting participants to the dynamics of economic growth in the region: the aggregate GDP of the Central Asian countries is US $ 450 billion, and intra-state trade has increased by 80% over the past 5 years, reaching US $ 11 billion.
The meeting participants noted the effectiveness of the CA+ formats, which contribute to strengthening ties between the countries of the region and the European Union. ///nCa, 30 January 2025