European Union

The most recent EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting took place on the 7th of April 2011 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

At the meeting, delegations from the five countries of Central Asia were represented by Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Uzbekistan Mr Elyor Ganiev, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Kyrgyz Republic Mr Ruslan Kazakbaev, Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkmenistan Mr Rashid Meredov, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Tajikistan, Mr Hamrokhon Zarifi and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr Konstantin Zhigalov.

The European Union was represented by Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Janos Martonyi (on behalf of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton), European Commissioner for Development Mr Andris Piebalgs, and EU Special Representative for Central Asia Mr Pierre Morel.

During the talks, the parties discussed the state of relations between the EU and the countries of Central Asia within the framework of the EU Strategy for a New Partnership with Central Asia, launched in 2007. Discussions focused on trade and economic cooperation as well as regional collaboration in the fields of energy, the environment, water resources, border management and combating drug trafficking. Views were also exchanged on the situation in Afghanistan and on other regional security issues of mutual interest.

The Tashkent ministerial meeting represented an important stage in the reinforcement and intensification of dialogue between the EU and Central Asia. During the meeting, both sides expressed a mutual understanding on a range of subjects and reaffirmed the importance of joint efforts to further develop EU – Central Asian cooperation in areas of shared concern.

The EU delegation presented its views on the state of play as regards implementation of the Central Asia Strategy, based on the findings of the Progress Report to the European Council, and underlined the growing importance of Central Asia to the European Union.

During the discussions the EU highlighted in particular the importance of developing cooperation with Central Asian states to tackle shared threats and common security challenges such as drug trafficking, terrorism, extremism and the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Officials expressed the desire to support the states of the region in addressing these challenges through intensified cooperation.

The participants of the ministerial meeting also noted the importance of constructive engagement on questions of democratisation, human rights and the rule of law. The sides recalled that the development of a strong civil society constitutes an integral part of democracy development.

During discussions on energy and the environment, the sides underlined the importance of cooperation in Central Asia on the rational, efficient and sustainable use of hydraulic, hydro-energy and fuel resources and the environmental protection and confirmed its readiness to facilitate the implementation of best practices, availability of drinking water and sanitation, as well as fighting climate change, inter alia, by increasing energy and hydraulic efficiency while safeguarding the ecological balance in the region.

The parties reaffirmed their mutual interest in increasing cooperation on trade, economic and investment matters. The EU delegation expressed their wish to help the countries of the region in their ongoing domestic socio-economic transformation and in their active integration into the global economy.

During their stay in Tashkent, the EU delegation had bilateral meeting with all five Heads of Central Asian Delegations to discuss issues of bilateral interest.

The delegation from the European Union expressed their gratitude to the Uzbek side for their warm welcome and for hosting the Ministerial meeting in Tashkent.