UZBEKISTAN TO HOST INAUGURAL EU-CENTRAL ASIA SUMMIT

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Bernama) --  Uzbekistan will host the inaugural European Union (EU) - Central Asia Summit in the city of Samarkand from April 3 to 4, marking a historic step towards deepening economic and political cooperation between the regions.

The summit, chaired by Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, will be attended by leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. 

The EU will be represented by European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Uzbek officials said the summit is expected to lay foundation for stronger economic ties between the EU and Central Asia, while positioning Uzbekistan as a key player in the region’s development. 

 According to Deputy Director of Uzbekistan’s Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies, Bakthiyor Mustafayev, the EU remains the largest investor in Central Asia, providing over €100 billion or 40 per cent of direct foreign investments over the past ten years.

Interaction covers key sectors, including pharmaceuticals, construction, energy, and agriculture, he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Director of Centre for Economic Research and Reform, Obid Khakimov, said Uzbekistan and EU have enjoyed a deepening economic ties since both sides established diplomatic relations in 1994. 

A key milestone was achieved in 2021 when the EU granted Uzbekistan the Generalised System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status, allowing duty-free access to more than 6,200 Uzbek products into the European market. 

This has helped to boost trade volume, with Uzbekistan-EU trade increasing 2.4 times from US$2.6 billion in 2017 to US$6.4 billion in 2024.

“As a GSP+ beneficiary, Uzbekistan enjoys additional economic benefits through the full elimination of tariffs on two-thirds of the product lines covered by the system, which in turn promotes export growth and attracts further investment. GSP+ commitments in the area of sustainable development further reinforce Uzbekistan's position as a reliable economic partner,” Khakimov said in a statement.

He said the most active sectors benefiting from these preferences are textiles and garments, plastic products, and agricultural goods such as fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

In 2024, the bulk of Uzbekistan's exports to the EU consisted of chemical products (52.1 per cent), as well as textiles, ferrous and non-ferrous metal products, mineral and food products (including vegetables, fruits, spices, nuts, etc.).

Among EU countries, France ranked first in imports from Uzbekistan (47.2 per cent), followed by Lithuania (10 per cent) and Latvia (6.9 per cent).

Uzbekistan's imports from the EU significantly exceed exports, largely due to the structure of mutual trade and the country's need for technological modernisation, he added. EU countries account for about 16 per cent of Uzbekistan's total imports of machinery, equipment, and transport vehicles.

In 2024, these items, including aircraft, electrical products, instruments, and medical equipment, made up about 50 per cent of imports from the EU.

Investment cooperation with EU countries has also increased rapidly in recent years. In 2024, foreign investments from EU into Uzbekistan reached US$4.1 billion, increasing 77 per cent from previous year.

Currently, over 1,000 European companies are operating in Uzbekistan, contributing to the development of key industries such as renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, mining and textiles.

Khakimov noted that the summit is expected to open new opportunities for cooperation and investment particularly in the areas of renewable energy, digitalisation, chemical, pharmaceutical, textile, and electrical industries, building materials production, agricultural processing, mining and mineral processing, and transport logistics.

-- BERNAMA