The European Union will continue to support Uzbekistan with all available tools, be it support under the GSP+ trade preferences program, accession to the World Trade Organization or work within the framework of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the signing of which will open a new chapter in bilateral ties, the EU Ambassador to Uzbekistan Toivo Klaar said in his remarks at the European Economy Days in Tashkent on 6 November.
He noted that EU exports to Uzbekistan in 2023 reached 4.35 billion euros, while EU imports from Uzbekistan topped 780 million euros, with trade turnover increased by 11% on 2022.
“There is still significant untapped potential behind these figures. However, these figures show examples and stories of European companies making bold decisions to invest in Uzbekistan.
We believe that continuing the reform course will create a level playing field and attract the attention of more and more European companies to Uzbekistan,” Toivo Klaar emphasized.
“In January this year, we held an investor conference in Brussels that brought together governments, financial institutions, businesses and civil society from Europe and Central Asia to discuss the investments needed to transform the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor into a modern, multimodal and efficient route,” the ambassador recalled.
He added that the Trans-Caspian Corridor would reinforce trade between Uzbekistan and the EU and expand ties between Europe and Central Asia.
“Of course, this is something we continue to work on. A recent ministerial meeting took place in Ashgabat, attended by the Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan, where the ways to facilitate transit as much as possible were discussed and turn the route into an attractive route for the supply of goods from Central Asia to Europe. This means eliminating “bottlenecks”, be it tariffs, customs procedures or limited access to transport. The EU is certainly working with partners, especially in this case with Uzbekistan, to make the process as simple and accessible as possible,” the EU Ambassador noted.
Measures to develop the Trans-Caspian Corridor are planned to be formalized at the first European Union-Central Asia summit next year in Samarkand.
“As far as I know from conversations with responsible persons in Brussels, work is ongoing to find a date [for holding the summit] in the first half of the year,” the head of the EU mission told a correspondent of Gazeta.uz.
In addition, Toivo Klaar commented on the possible timing of the signing of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.
"We hope and expect that the signing of the document can take place in the very near future. There are still details that need to be finalized in terms of simply completing the document and preparing it for signing. But the work continues, and once it is completed, we hope that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will be able to visit Brussels to sign it," the EU Ambassador noted.
"We live in a very uncertain world, a world where international norms are violated, where sovereignty is questioned. In such a world, it is even more important for regions like Central Asia and strong countries like Uzbekistan to work closely with us, with the European Union, to strengthen the international order, to respect the sovereignty and independence of countries. We must continue this important joint work for the sake of stability in this region, which, after all, is a common territory for all of us - from Central Asia to the western shores of the European Union," the EU Ambassador emphasized in concluding his speech at the event.
