On Friday 2 June, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, met the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and a delegation from Turkmenistan in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, as part of the second summit between the EU and Central Asia, with a view to strengthening cooperation with these former Soviet republics which still have strong links with Russia.
This summit comes two weeks after a meeting between the presidents of these five Central Asian countries and China.
During the summit, participants reviewed cooperation between the EU and the countries of Central Asia since last year’s inaugural meeting in Astana, and reaffirmed their commitment to continuing the high-level dialogue between the Heads of State and the EU “with the common objective of a prosperous and secure Central Asia”, according to the European Council.
Economic partnerships and energy transition
Charles Michel first met with each of the leaders and then spoke at a plenary session.
“The European Union accounts for 40% of direct and foreign investment in your countries. That’s more than some of your region’s major neighbours”, he reminded.
He also emphasised the importance of partnerships to diversify supply chains, particularly when it comes to critical materials, and recalled the challenges posed by climate change. “We see that this cooperation linked to infrastructure for the energy transition can be an opportunity to step up our joint efforts. We can rely on innovation and technology, but also on the development of infrastructures”.
Mr Michel also spoke of the EU’s efforts to develop sustainable transport links between Europe and Asia and the opportunities for investment in digital technology.
Geopolitical situation
At this meeting, the leaders also expressed their commitment to respecting the principles of the United Nations Charter and raised their concerns about the situation in Afghanistan.
The President of the Council then referred to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and denounced Russia’s violation of the United Nations Charter and Ukraine’s territorial integrity, while expressing “respect for the positions expressed by your countries, which take into account the relations you have with the parties involved”.
He then tried to mitigate the threat of sanctions hanging over certain countries “that support the war efforts”, including the Central Asian republics accused of helping Russia to circumvent the sanctions. He explained that a representative would be appointed to talk to each of the countries on the subject “in order to take better account of a certain number of consequences of these sanctions, but also so that we can avoid circumventing them”.
Lastly, Charles Michel was keen to point out the “mediation” role that the EU can play in the tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Finally, the leaders agreed to hold a summit next year, most likely in Uzbekistan. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)