On Wednesday 12 February, the President of the European Council, António Costa, said he was looking forward to the discussions at the first-ever EU-Central Asia summit in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) on 3 and 4 April.
The day before, he had spoken by telephone with the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, stressing the importance of “continuing to strengthen trade and connectivity links” with this strategic partner (see EUROPE 13504/7).
Other areas of mutual interest across the region include transport, critical raw materials and the energy transition.
He also welcomed Kazakhstan’s principled position in favour of a rules-based international order. “We agreed to continue cooperating closely in support of multilateralism, territorial integrity, and the peaceful settlement of conflicts”, he said.
The Member States’ ambassadors to the EU met on 12 February to draw up a provisional version of the declaration to be adopted at the end of the EU-Central Asia Summit, with no major objections at this stage. A new version will be presented at the end of February, with the intention of completing it and then passing it on to counterparts in the region. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)