President of Uzbekistan talks with the European Council President over the phone

On April 20, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a telephone conversation with the European Council President Charles Michel.

Current issues of Uzbekistan – European multifaceted cooperation, primarily in politico-diplomatic, trade-economic, investment and humanitarian spheres, were discussed during the conversation.

Dynamic development of partnership and intensification of exchanges at various levels observed in recent years were noted with deep satisfaction.

Last year, the trade turnover between Uzbekistan and the European Union countries have noticeably increased. Important investment projects are being implemented in Uzbekistan with participation of leading companies of Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Hungary and other European countries, the number of joint ventures has exceeded 1 thousand.

In addition, fruitful cooperation with key financial institutions is expanding, including relations with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank.

The progress achieved in dialogue on the issues of human dimension and development of civil society institutions, science, culture and education was emphasized.

An agreement was reached to continue active negotiations on the draft new Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in order to complete the preparation of the document for adoption by the end of the year.

The European Council President highly appreciated and fully supported the unprecedented decisive measures taken in Uzbekistan to counteract the spread of the coronavirus infection and minimize its negative impact on ongoing reforms on the country’s socio-economic development.

Charles Michel announced the European Union’s readiness to provide the necessary support in the fight against this global challenge, informed of the decision to allocate financial and technical assistance to Uzbekistan for these purposes.

Issues of the regional agenda were considered during the conversation.

The European side noted with deep satisfaction the cardinal positive changes and the modern level of friendship and trust, good neighborliness and partnership achieved by the joint efforts of the region’s countries. According to the European Council President, this remarkable progress is fully consistent with the goals and objectives of the new EU Strategy for Central Asia.

The importance of active joint work to strengthen the interconnectedness and sustainable development of the entire region, primarily by promoting programs and projects in trade, investment, innovation, transport and energy, was noted. To this end, the issue of holding a multilateral Ministerial Conference by the end of the year to develop priority steps aimed at deepening regional cooperation will be worked out.

Other issues on the international agenda, as well as a schedule of the upcoming events at the highest level were also considered.

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and European Council President Charles Michel confirmed their strong mutual commitment to development of Uzbekistan – European constructive dialogue and full cooperation.

UZA