Remarks by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov at the briefing following the 18th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting

 

17 November 2022, Samarkand

 

Good evening, dear representatives of mass media! 

Today we have hosted the 18th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting, which has become an effective platform for discussions on the most important topics for developing dialogue between the regions. 

The whole range of issues related to bilateral and interregional relations were discussed. 

We reviewed the current status and prospects for cooperation between the regions in political, trade and economic, investment, water and energy, environmental, cultural and cultural spheres. 

We also highly appreciated the results of the Fourth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of Central Asian States on 21 July this year in Cholpon-Ata, where a number of important documents were signed, including the Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighbourliness and Cooperation for the Development of Central Asia for the first time in the history of the region. 

The parties noted with satisfaction the dynamic development of relations between the Central Asian countries and the European Union, which have considerably intensified in recent years and acquired a multidimensional character. Close contacts are maintained at all levels, including the highest ones. 

We welcomed the successful holding of the first EU-Central Asia Summit on 27 October this year in Astana with the participation of the Heads of State of our region and the European Council. We considering it as an important and effective mechanism for promoting interregional cooperation and are in favour of making it a regular event. 

The President of the European Council Charles Michel visited the countries of our region - Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for the first time on 27-28 October this year. 

The participants of our meeting emphasized the priorities of the EU Strategy for Central Asia of 2019 to promote sustainability, prosperity and cooperation for the future of the region. 

Given the current realities in the region, we advocated for the adoption of a joint Roadmap to accelerate the implementation of the Strategy, with a separate EU budget for this purpose. 

We emphasized the importance of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreements between the Central Asian countries and the European Union, which is expected to bring their relations to a new level. 

We have marked the successful conclusion of negotiations and initialing of a similar bilateral agreement with the EU in Brussels on 6 July this year and expressed our hope that it would be signed and ratified at nearest time. 

The Central Asian countries have expressed interest in intensifying partnership with the European Union to improve the business climate. The sides noted the need for effective use of EU mechanisms to attract advanced European technologies, know-how, investments, introduction of modern quality management systems. 

In this respect, they highly appreciated the results of the first EU-Central Asia Economic Forum held in Bishkek on 5 November 2021. The initiative of the Kazakh side to hold a second forum next year in Astana was supported. 

The European Union’s GSP and GSP+ schemes were noted as important mechanisms for the expansion of fruitful cooperation between the two regions in this direction, which provide the partial or full elimination of customs duties on exports of certain types of national goods to the EU countries. 

Tajikistan is a beneficiary of the GSP scheme since 2014, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan joined in 2016 and 2021, respectively. 

At the same time, Uzbek exports to Europe account for only 6% of textile, 3% of electrical engineering, 1% of silk and food products.

We are ready to increase the export volume up to 700 million dollars in 2023 and double the range of our products, bringing it to  600 items within the framework of the GSP+ scheme. We are committed to export finished products of textile, furniture and agro-industry, leather and carpets as well as jewelry, where Uzbekistan has an independent raw material base and huge potential. 

We have drawn attention of our partners to Uzbekistan’s initiative on establishment of the EU-Central Asia Economic Cooperation Committee at the level of deputy prime ministers proposed at the aforementioned Astana summit and expressed readiness to hold its first meeting on the eve of the 32nd meeting of the EBRD Governing Council on 16-18 May 2023 in Samarkand. 

It was noted that within the framework of this new structure, it would be appropriate to develop a long-term strategic programme to deepen trade and economic cooperation and develop transport and communication interconnections, as well as a joint programme to promote trade between the Central Asian countries and the EU. 

A key factor for increasing trade between the two regions is the creation of sustainable transport corridors. 

We proposed that measures be taken to develop the Trans-Caspian multimodal route and to implement Uzbekistan’s initiative to build the Termez-Mazar-e-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway. 

Tomorrow we will discuss this issue in detail at the EU-Central Asia Connectivity Conference. 

Within the framework of the Paris Agreement, Uzbekistan has made new commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 35%, to double the energy efficiency of the economy and to increase renewable energy sources to 25% by 2030. 

A nationwide “Yashil Makon” (“Green Space”) project is being implemented to plant 200 million trees a year. The ultimate target is 1 billion saplings, which will increase the area of green spaces in our cities from 8 to 30% 

As combating the consequences of the Aral Sea crisis is becoming an integral part of the inter-regional partnership, we propose to launch specific environmental and social projects for the rehabilitation of degraded areas using green solutions, etc. 

We have called on the EU to engage actively in the implementation of the recently adopted regional programme "Green Agenda for Central Asia". In particular, in the following areas: the widespread introduction of eco-innovation, energy- and resource-efficient technologies, the digitalization of economic sectors, the development of smart agriculture through the European Smart-ACIS network, and harnessing the potential of renewable energy sources. 

These issues will also be discussed in detail during tomorrow’s conference. 

Given the ongoing reforms in education, science and innovation in the region, the importance of intensifying cooperation with the EU through the Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe programmes was pointed out. 

In particular, Uzbekistan has advocated expanding the network of branches of leading European universities in our country. 

We have also expressed interest in implementing a project to introduce advanced European educational methods and organizing joint fundamental, applied and innovative researches. 

The Central Asian countries advocated for practical measures to implement a regional initiative to strengthen cooperation with the EU in the field of science, technology and innovation. 

Participants expressed their willingness to take an active part in the implementation of the new EU regional vocational education project “Daria” (budget - 10 million euros). 

The Parties noted with satisfaction the successful implementation of the EU’s innovative project “Sustainable Small Energy for Central Asia”.

We also exchanged views on topical issues on the regional and international agenda, including sustainable peace and development in neighbouring Afghanistan. It was noted that there were similarities in the parties’ positions and approaches on many of these issues. 

At the end of the meeting, the participants expressed their commitment to further develop a strong, diversified and promising partnership based on shared values and mutual interests. 

The importance of fostering sustainable connectivity between Central Asia and the European Union, including through the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy, in areas such as digitalization, energy, transport, health, research, education, water and climate change was underlined. 

Thank you for your attention.

Вернуться назад

Комментарии

Оставить комментарий