#CentralAsia – European Union matches political commitment with further concrete support
On 7 July, at the 15th EU-Central Asia Ministerial meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/European Commission Vice President Federica Mogherini (pictured) presented a set of EU funded programmes that support all countries of the region – Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan – on environment protection, climate action, sustainable consumption and production, energy, gender equality, counter-terrorism, and education. Coming on top of over €1 billion of bilateral and regional assistance for the period 2014-2020, these programmes, worth €72 million, underpin the EU’s political commitment to implement the new EU Central Asia Strategy that was adopted by EU Foreign Ministers last month, endorsing the Joint Communication on ‘The EU and Central Asia: New Opportunities for a Stronger Partnership‘. The Joint Communiqué of the Ministerial meeting is available online. During her visit to Bishkek, the High Representative also delivered the closing speech at the first ever EU-Central Asia Forum, bringing together civil society, students, business leaders, journalists and think tanks to discuss opportunities for closer engagement in the EU-Central Asia partnership. Together with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Chingiz Aidarbekov, she witnessed the initialling of the EU-Kyrgyz Republic Enhanced Cooperation and Partnership Agreement, after which she held a joint the press point. Before Bishkek, Federica Mogherini was in Turkmenistan to sign an agreement to open a fully-fledged EU Delegation in its capital Ashgabat that will complete the EU’s diplomatic presence in Central Asia. For all information on the visit and on EU-Central Asia relations please consult the dedicated webpage.
Comments
Category: A Frontpage, Afghanistan, EU, EU High Representative, European Commission, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, World
