On April 15-16, 2019, Uzbekistan delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Dilshod Akhatov visited Romania, presiding in the first half of the year in the European Union.

Uzbekistan delegation attended the high-level conference on Central Asia “Interconnectedness for sustainable development”, held within the framework of the Romanian presidency in the EU.
Head of the delegation of Uzbekistan expressed confidence that the updated EU Strategy for Central Asia, which is currently under active work, will contribute to creation of effective and reliable mechanisms for development of relations between the two regions and bringing them to a qualitatively new level, increasing the flow of investment, strengthening competitiveness of economies and eliminating barriers to movement of goods, services and people. The need for development of programs and projects of the European Union of regional orientation with wide involvement of Central Asian countries that will allow to provide 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.

During the 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.

Source: UzA