Brussels, 20/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On a visit to Tashkent on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 May, the Commissioner with responsibility for the Energy Union, Maros Sefcovic, called upon Uzbekistan to make use of EU financial instruments to develop its energy sector and build projects jointly with the EU.
The EU has financial instruments which can guarantee the necessary amount of funding for certain projects to implement a sustainable energy policy in Uzbekistan, Sefcovic explained at a conference on oil and gas on Thursday 19 May, stressing the possibilities opened up by the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the development of sustainable energy projects.
Sefcovic also proposed that Uzbekistan join the Investment Facility for Central Asia programme (IFCA), which gives grants and technical support for the implementation of energy projects, according to several media reports from the Central Asian region.
The day before, Sefcovic had met the head of Uzbek diplomacy, Abdulaziz Kamilov, to discuss the prospects of increasing energy cooperation between the EU and Uzbekistan.
In January 2011, the EU and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation. This document provides for EU businesses to get involved in modernising the energy sector and fuel industry of Uzbekistan, promoting energy-saving technologies and developing transports and transit corridors between the regions. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)