DUSHANBE, March 29,– European Union’s strategy for Central Asia may possibly be adopted in June, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds the current EU presidency, announced at a news conference in Astana yesterday following talks with senior foreign ministry officials from the five Central Asian states
According to him, a formal European Union strategy for the region will include several issues related to relations between the EU countries and the Central Asian, including the creation of rule-of-law society, educational initiative, energy cooperation and sharing experience in regional cooperation. Steinmeier also stressed that EU policy consists in the necessity of diversification of transport routes and countries producing energy resources.
He said that EU wants to build stronger energy ties with the resource-rich region and is interested in stability and prosperity of Central Asia’s states.
“We have good foundation for new rleationships within the EU Troika-Centrla Asia format and we will expand it,” German Foreign Minister Said.
In the emantime, Radio Liberty said that energy cooperation between resource-rich Central Asia and the energy-hungry European Union had been the focus of the meeting in Astana.
According to Radio Liberty, Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zaripov acknowledged the EU interest in energy resources but hinted there is room for other cooperation. He said: “We realize that Central Asia can be the object of serious interest for the whole world in the economic and other areas only as one whole [region], therefore I think meetings of this format will help us join our efforts in the future in uniting Central Asian countries and reaching the international arena.”
Zaripov added that security is a topic of interest for both the EU and Central Asia. The Central Asian states are now on the front lines of the battle against international terrorism and international narcotics trafficking.
