Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 24 January, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Chairman of the State Investment Committee Suhrob Holmuradov received a delegation of the European Union led by the EU Special Representative for Central Asia Peter Burian.

Peter Burian said that the representative delegation of the EU arrived in Uzbekistan to participate in the high-level conference "EU - Central Asia" on cooperation in the field of environment, climate change and the use of water resources.

The EU Special Representative noted that the discussions held during the conference with the participation of representatives of all Central Asian countries, and the results achieved at the end of the event, reflect a completely new attitude of all countries in the region to find constructive solutions on all key issues of regional cooperation.

“It’s obvious to us that behind this stands, first of all, the tremendous work of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to improve relations with all neighboring countries,” he stressed.

The EU welcomes the regional policy of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and is ready to support the regional initiatives of Uzbekistan, using the full range of assistance - technical assistance, grants and other tools, Burian said.

The EU official informed that in the EU there is a significant increase in interest in Uzbekistan from states, business and society as a whole. This interest is associated with decisive reforms in Uzbekistan, which demonstrates to the whole world that positive changes are possible even in an unprecedentedly short time. The specified development trajectory is designed to turn Uzbekistan into an economic leader in Central Asia.

Philip van Amersfoort, Deputy Head of the Central Asia Division at the European External Relations Service, said that the EU is finalizing a new strategy for cooperation with Central Asia, which is planned to be adopted before the end of the first half of 2019. The strategy will reflect the leading role of Uzbekistan in regional integration processes, increasing support for large-scale reforms in Uzbekistan, expanding support for transport, trade and transit corridors connecting the EU, Uzbekistan and the rest of the Asian continent.

The delegation highlighted the importance of the initiatives of the leadership of Uzbekistan aimed at promoting the peaceful development of Afghanistan, stressing that the new regional strategy of the EU provides support to the efforts of Uzbekistan in this direction.

Burian congratulated the Uzbek side on an important achievement in the international arena, which was the creation of the Multi-Partner Humanitarian Trust Fund for the Aral Sea region under the auspices of the UN.

He noted that the EU will take all possible measures to ensure the contribution to this Trust Fund, and is also ready to support Uzbekistan in attracting donor funds from all European sources, including the EU Government, companies and non-governmental organizations.

During the meeting, issues of expanding access to the EU markets for Uzbek goods were also discussed by granting Uzbekistan GSP + status, which envisages the possibility of exporting more than 6,000 items of goods to the EU market.

The European side expressed satisfaction with the process achieved by the Republic of Uzbekistan in ensuring the standards necessary for obtaining the status of "GSP +", and expressed confidence that with the implementation of the remaining requirements, Uzbekistan will be given preferential conditions for export to the EU.

The EU delegation also reported that the EU fully supported Uzbekistan’s plan to join the World Trade Organization and was ready to provide global political support and technical assistance.