Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - From 24 to 26 July, an Uzbek delegation headed by First Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Akramjon Nematov visited Germany.

During the trip, with the assistance of the diplomatic mission of Uzbekistan in Germany, meetings were held with the leadership and experts of the Institute for Global Public Policy, the Center for Climate Change, the Science and Policy Foundation, the German Foreign Policy Society, the Berghof Foundation. 

Negotiations were held in the ministries of foreign affairs, economic cooperation and development, and the ecology of Germany. In addition, a round table was organized with the participation of experts from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

A thorough exchange of views took place regarding the current state and prospects of regional cooperation in Central Asia, the development of interaction between the EU and the countries of the region, as well as the role of Germany in ensuring the sustainable development of Central Asia.

German experts were unanimous in their opinion that in Germany today they assess the geostrategic importance of Central Asia in a new way. It was noted that under the new geopolitical conditions, the role of Central Asia and its importance in world economic relations is increasing.

It was emphasized that in recent years the process of regional cooperation has acquired a dynamic character and has entered the trajectory of progressive development. Today, the countries of Central Asia are showing a higher level of cohesion. This is evidenced by significant progress in the settlement of many border, water-energy and transport-communication issues, regular holding of consultative meetings of the heads of states of Central Asia, entering new forms of economic cooperation.

According to experts, the Central Asian region has undergone a radical positive transformation, demonstrating an increased level of common responsibility in addressing issues of both the regional and global agendas.

Thanks to the firm political will of the leaders of the Central Asian countries, their joint efforts, the consistent policy of openness, good neighborliness and the maintenance of a systemic dialogue, the region remains a space of mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation even in conditions of high turbulence in the world. This, in turn, serves as an important factor in maintaining stability in the vast region of Eurasia and the sustainable development of countries.

In this context, the Samarkand initiative of solidarity for the sake of common security and prosperity, voiced by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the summit of the heads of the SCO member states, received support among experts. Its practical implementation, experts believe, will undoubtedly help restore and strengthen trust and maintain mutual understanding in relations between states, will make a significant contribution to the development of dialogue and multilateral cooperation as an important condition for overcoming the challenges and threats that humanity faces today.

Moreover, the role of Central Asia as a geo-economic entity that plays an important role in global production and logistics chains is significantly increasing.

It was noted that Central Asia is turning into an important consumer market with about 79 million people, whose average age is 26 years.

According to experts, consolidated Central Asia is becoming not only an important geopolitical actor, but also a capacious market with high consumer and consumer demand, a source of skilled labor.

In this regard, Berlin is interested in the stable sustainable development of countries and advocates the intensification of a common European policy in this region. Evidence of this is the activation and strengthening of contacts between the leadership of EU and Central Asian leaders in recent years.

As representatives of the German side pointed out, the seriousness of the EU’s intentions to deepen cooperation with the region is confirmed by two meetings held in October 2022 in Astana and June of this year. summits in Bishkek, as well as a conference in Samarkand, where the focus was on the implementation of the EU strategy "Global Gate" in Central Asia.

Another big indicator of this interest is the growing desire of European businesses to invest in Central Asia, the volume of which in Uzbekistan alone has grown 20 times over the past seven years.

At the same time, the German side emphasized that today, in matters of cooperation with the countries of the region, Berlin gives priority to industrial and economic cooperation, the development of transport connectivity, "digital and green transformation", and energy efficiency.

In this context, as noted in Germany, the Green Central Asia initiative launched in Berlin in 2020 is becoming even more relevant, and the German side expresses “high interest” in the joint implementation of this initiative.

It was noted that “in the context of global warming, which causes accelerated melting of glaciers, water shortages are aggravating in the region, other problems are aggravating, and this makes cooperation “inevitable”.

And in these conditions, cooperation between Central Asia and Germany is becoming important, and "Berlin is ready to support the plans of Uzbekistan and Central Asia to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to them," the experts assured.

Welcoming the steps of Uzbekistan in regional cooperation in the field of climate, support was expressed for the initiative policy of Tashkent in this direction.

The experts expressed support for the initiatives of Uzbekistan in the field of combating climate change and adapting to its consequences, in particular, the regional program “Green Agenda for Central Asia” adopted at the Consultative Meeting of the Leaders of the Central Asian Countries received special recognition and the establishment of the Central Asian University for the study of climate change and the environment, large-scale measures in the field of water conservation, landscaping.

According to them, in Central Asia, and especially in Uzbekistan, there is a dynamic process of "green" transformation. The intention of Uzbekistan to increase the volume of renewable energy production from 14% to 40% by 2030 increases the interest of German producers in participating in this process.

German experts also noted the important role of Uzbekistan in normalizing the situation in Afghanistan, highly appreciated the efforts of Tashkent to provide humanitarian assistance to this country, to involve Kabul in regional trade and economic ties. It was emphasized that Germany is ready to cooperate with Uzbekistan in preventing threats and challenges emanating from Afghanistan, establishing a lasting peace in this country.

In general, the meetings held with German experts demonstrated that Berlin is interested in the stable sustainable development of countries and is in favor of intensifying the pan-European policy in this region. In turn, Tashkent is committed to an open, systematic and productive dialogue in the "European Union - Central Asia" format in the interests of stability and prosperity of the countries of the region.

During the meetings, the parties also discussed the development of further cooperation on topical issues of mutual interest. The experts agreed to exchange information, conduct joint research projects on socio-economic reforms, climate, security and sustainable development of Central Asia.