Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — On 27 March, Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) will host the 20th EU–Central Asia Ministerial Meeting, chaired by the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas. The meeting will bring together the foreign ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.

A key topic on the agenda will be preparations for the first-ever EU–Central Asia Summit, set to take place in Samarkand on 3–4 April 2025. In addition, the participants will discuss a broad range of pressing issues, including the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on the region, the development of transport and digital connectivity, the extraction of strategically important minerals, energy and water cooperation, trade, educational programs, and intergovernmental relations.

Before the plenary session, Kaja Kallas will hold a series of bilateral meetings. In Ashgabat, she is scheduled to meet with Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov and Tajikistan’s Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, as well as discuss bilateral cooperation with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow.

She will then travel to Tashkent, where she will meet with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The visit will conclude on 28 March in Almaty, where Kaja Kallas will meet with Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu and hold bilateral talks with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.