Concluding his visit to Central Asia in Tashkent on Tuesday 18 March, the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, stressed the importance of strengthening the region’s digital connectivity, promoting sustainability and creating jobs, under the EU’s ‘Global Gateway’ strategy (see EUROPE 13600/11).
Uzbekistan. The EU has made a financial contribution to two strategic digital connectivity projects in Uzbekistan.
The ‘Connectivity for Central Asia (C4CA)’ project aims to improve infrastructure and digital integration in the region.
The ‘Satellite Connectivity for Underserved Populations of Central Asia’ project aims to provide high-speed Internet access to remote and rural communities.
“Thanks to the EU grant, combined with the EIB loan, SES (satellite service provider) will deploy state-of-the-art satellite technology and terrestrial terminals to connect remote and underserved areas in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan”, the Commissioner detailed in a speech.
“This is a tangible investment that will bring high-speed internet directly to the communities that need it most”, he added.
Kyrgyzstan. The day before, on 17 March, the Commissioner was on a visit to Kyrgyzstan, where he witnessed the signing of an agreement between the Kyrgyz Ministry of Finance and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, providing for a €42 million loan, supplemented by an EU grant of €15 million for the Kyrgyz water resources resilience programme.
Mr Síkela also launched a new €5 million European programme focusing on youth, gender equality and human rights, which will be channelled through the United Nations.
The Commissioner also welcomed the historic border agreement between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (see EUROPE 13600/24) and reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to connectivity between Central Asia and Europe.
The Commissioner’s visit to the region is part of the preparations for the EU-Asia Summit on 3 and 4 April (see EUROPE 13595/14). (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)