EU expects Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to Brussels in early 2019

The European Union leadership expects the visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Brussels in early 2019, Kun.uz correspondent reports.

On Thursday, the member of the European Parliament from Latvia Iveta Grigule-Pēterse said that the headquarters of the EU hopes for the visit of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Brussels in the beginning of 2019.

On November 1, Tashkent hosted the 14th meeting of the Committee of Parliamentary Cooperation “Uzbekistan-EU”. At the meeting, the European delegation was headed by Iveta Grigule-Pēterse, Chairman of the EP for Relations with the Central Asian countries and Mongolia.

“Brussels is waiting for your president - and it would be good, if possible, it happens in the beginning of the next year,” she said while opening the meeting.

The European deputy considers that Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit will provide an opportunity to specify the cooperation between Uzbekistan and the EU for the next 5-10 years. “And this should not be postponed for another year. This is the wish [of the European External Relations Service] that I brought” the deputy added.

She said that the EU members have closely followed the visit of the Uzbek President to France on October 8-9, which was “well communicated by the mass media of the European Union”. “The visit was very good, very successful,” Ms. Iveta Grigule-Pēterse continued.

In July, the EU Council officially sanctioned the start of negotiations with Uzbekistan on expanded partnership and cooperation. According to the Council, this will allow to create a favorable business and investment environment and ensure cooperation on foreign policy issues and global challenges such as climate change, corruption and combating the terrorism.