MEETING OF THE HEADS OF FOREIGN POLICY DEPARTMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND CENTRAL ASIAN STATES

On March 27, 2025 the next meeting of the heads of the foreign policy departments of the European Union and the Central Asian states was held in the capital's «Yyldyz» Hotel.

The event was attended by the heads of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas.

The issues of cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and the EU were discussed, as well as preparations for the first summit in the format of the «European Union - Central Asia», which will be held in the near future in the city of Samarkand.

As was emphasised, in recent years, multilateral cooperation between Turkmenistan and the European Union has been actively developing. Priority areas include climate change, transport corridors, energy, science and education, regional security, and rational use of water resources.

The importance of holding a high-level meeting in Ashgabat in October 2024 to launch the Coordination Platform of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor was also emphasised. 

It was emphasised that a number of joint projects in various sectors at the bilateral and regional levels are being implemented through large-scale cooperation in the Central Asia-European Union format, and meetings and forums are being organised to discuss priority areas of partnership. In this regard, emphasis was placed on measures taken on the basis of the EU Global Gateway initiative to achieve digital, energy and environmental transformations.

Following the meeting, the Joint Communique of the 20th Ministerial Meeting «Central Asia-European Union» was adopted.

A parallel event entitled «International Year of Peace and Trust: Deepening Cooperation between Central Asia and the European Union» was also organised within the framework of the meeting in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution declaring 2025 «International Year of Peace and Trust».