Participants in the regional Central Asia-EU high-level meeting that took place yesterday in the Kazakh capital of Astana have adopted a joint communique.
In their joint press communique, the signatories welcomed the institutionalization of the relationship between the Central Asian nations and the EU through the existing high-level platforms. They highlighted the importance of civil society involvement in developing interregional cooperation.
The Central Asian leaders appreciated the EU’s contribution to intensifying economic development in the aftermath of the pandemic, overcoming socio-economic challenges caused by COVID-19 and promoting cross-border cooperation in the region.
The parties emphasized the importance of dialogue on the rule of law, human rights and gender equality.
They expressed common concern over the situation in Afghanistan and recognized the need to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Afghans, particularly women and minorities.
Central Asian leaders welcomed the EU’s intention to facilitate development of sustainable transport, logistics and digital interconnectivity while respecting green development standards. The expected outcomes of the EU study on sustainable connectivity in Central Asia are important, as is the close cooperation between the parties to harmonize Central Asia and EU transport routes including with the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). In this context, participants welcomed the EU-Central Asia Ministerial Conference on Connectivity planned for November 2022.
The leaders noted the positive outcome and potential of cooperation between Central Asia and the EU in border management and security, in the joint fight against terrorism, transnational organized crime, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, trafficking in small arms and light weapons, transnational drug trafficking and cybersecurity threats in accordance with universal principles.
Participants stressed the crucial importance of developing a regional vision of and cooperation in building sustainable connectivity between Central Asia and the EU, in line with the EU Global Gateway strategy and the national transport and transit development objectives of Central Asian countries.
