Delegation of Uzbekistan attends high-level conference on Central Asia in Romania

On April 15-16, the delegation of Uzbekistan headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Dilshod Akhatov paid a working visit to Romania, presiding in the EU in the first half of the year, the press service of the MFA said.

The Uzbek delegation took part the high-level conference on Central Asia “Interconnectedness for sustainable development”, held within the framework of the Romanian presidency in the EU.

Speaking at the conference, the head of the delegation of Uzbekistan expressed confidence that the updated EU Strategy for Central Asia, which is currently being actively worked on, will help create effective and reliable mechanisms for developing relations between the two regions and bringing them to a qualitatively new level, increasing investment flows, strengthening the competitiveness of economies and the removal of barriers to the movement of goods, services and people. The need for developing programs and projects of the European Union of a regional orientation with wide involvement of the Central Asian countries, which will allow for ensuring mutual consideration of interests, was noted.

Special attention was paid to development prospects of multifaceted cooperation in trade-economic and investment spheres, in which Uzbekistan and the EU are interested. It was noted that the existing huge unrealized potential will give European businesses the opportunity to enter Central Asian market, including Afghanistan, with almost 100 million people. Attention was also paid to implementation of projects for development of transport corridors linking the EU and Central Asia.

As part of their stay in Bucharest, the delegation of Uzbekistan also held meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, the Ministry for Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and others. Practical issues of further development of bilateral relations were discussed during the negotiations.