Today, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the meeting of the Central Asian leaders and the President of the European Council Charles Michel in Astana. The parties discussed the prospects for advancing the political dialogue, the expansion of interregional cooperation, the intensification of trade and economic cooperation and cultural and humanitarian exchanges.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his remarks highlighted the key priority goals of the strategy of irreversible reforms in Uzbekistan – enhancing the rule of law with effective market mechanisms, as well as a high level and comfortable living conditions.

“We are not resting on our laurels and intend to increase the pace of transformations. First of all, we are talking about the unconditional rule of law, all-round support for civil society institutions, ensuring human rights and gender equality, freedom of speech and religion,” he stressed.

He underscored that in the economic dimension, we would continue to create the most favorable conditions for doing business, while the uncompromising fight against corruption would continue, and the development of a competitive and innovative business environment would be encouraged. He focused on promoting the agenda of good neighborliness and regional partnership.

As Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted, “a completely new political environment had been formed in Central Asia as a result of joint efforts. In a few years, many problems that had been accumulating for decades, in the solution of which practically no one believed, had been resolved.

Today the situation has changed dramatically, he said, a visa-free regime has been introduced, all checkpoints are open. The frequency of flights and ground transportation has increased. Cooperative ties are being strengthened, joint investment companies and other financial instruments for the implementation of large projects have been created, he added.

“Of course, there are still unresolved issues in the region. But we are convinced that our strong political will and general creative spirit will contribute to the further rapprochement of the fraternal countries and peoples of the region,” the Uzbek leader emphasized.

In this regard, speaking for the consistent deepening of the region's cooperation with the European Union, the President of Uzbekistan identified a number of priority areas. First of all, the solution of a complex of issues for the development of trade and economic cooperation. These are:

- ensuring compliance of industrial products with high European standards and technical regulations;

- creation of efficient transport and logistics corridors for access to the EU market, taking into account current restrictions, primarily the development of the Trans-Caspian multimodal route;

- conducting joint marketing research and targeted events and promotions so that goods from Central Asian countries are recognizable and in demand by European consumers;

- meeting the great demand for European investment and technology.

To systematically address all these issues, Shavkat Mirziyoyev made proposals to establish the EU-Central Asia Economic Cooperation Committee at the level of Deputy Prime Ministers and develop a strategic program to deepen trade and economic cooperation and develop transport and communication interconnectedness, covering the goals and objectives of the Global Gateway initiative. In addition, he suggested that the European side actively join the implementation of the Green Agenda program adopted in the region, in particular, the introduction of eco-innovations, energy-efficient and resource-saving technologies, the digitalization of economic sectors and the development of smart agriculture through the European Smart-AKIS network, as well as harnessing the potential of renewable energy sources.

In the humanitarian area, he pointed to the need to intensify cooperation in such areas as education and innovation exchanges, cultural and tourism ties. Within the framework of the Erasmus + and Horizon Europe programs, it was proposed to implement a project to introduce advanced European educational methods, as well as to organize joint fundamental and applied research.

In order to widely familiarize European partners with the unique historical heritage, rich culture and traditions of the peoples of the region, it is planned to hold major exhibition events in the Louvre in Paris in the second half of November.

“We stand for the joint holding of such events on an annual basis - in the capitals and cultural centers of European countries,” said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

He also pointed to the huge potential in the tourism sector and offered to organize a presentation for the leading European operators of the concept of a common regional tourism product during the first EU-Central Asia Tourism Forum in Khiva next year.

The President of Uzbekistan emphasized that the key area of ​​cooperation was to ensure regional security. He highly appreciated the practical assistance of the European Union within the framework of joint programs to combat terrorism, radicalism and extremism, organized crime, drug trafficking and other common challenges. Based on international practice, it was proposed to establish cooperation between special services and law enforcement agencies to exchange information and jointly counter modern threats.

He noted the similarity of the views of the parties on the issue of the Afghan settlement. Uzbekistan regularly provides humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, does not stop the supply of electricity, oil products and food, does not stop the transit transportation of goods through the country in the direction of Afghanistan.

He indicated to the readiness to continue fruitful cooperation with European partners in using the potential of logistics and educational hubs in the border city of Termez. The President emphasized that "the global and regional situation has radically changed, which today requires more active support from European partners for integration processes in Central Asia."

In this regard, he proposed to consider the possibility of adopting a multilateral program document - a "road map" to expedite the implementation of the European Union's strategy for Central Asia and strengthen partnerships.

He expressed confidence that these issues would be substantively considered during the upcoming joint Ministerial Conference on Interconnectivity, which will be held next month in Samarkand. At the end of the speech, the commitment of Uzbekistan to an open, systematic and productive dialogue in the European Union - Central Asia format was reaffirmed in the interests of stability, sustainable development and prosperity of the countries.