Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov at a conference on the interconnectivity of the European Union and Central Asia: Global Gateway announced the areas in which Uzbekistan was ready to develop cooperation with the EU.

Noting that today the world is facing a deep crisis of confidence at the global level and increased security challenges, he expressed confidence that friendly ties between the countries of Central Asia and the European Union would have a positive impact on the political and economic situation in Eurasia.

Vladimir Norov stressed that it was important to make use of every opportunity to deepen trade ties between the countries of Central Asia and the European Union.

For example, the GSP + scheme beneficiary status will allow Uzbek exporters to supply 6,200 items of goods to the European market duty-free. Year-to-date, Uzbekistan's exports have almost doubled, and trade has grown by 15% (more than 3 billion euros).

At the same time, the countries of Central Asia, that do not have direct access to seaports, have been incurring significant transit and transport costs, reaching 60–70% of the cost of exports. And due to the imperfection of customs procedures, carriers spend up to 40% of their time on transportation.

“The cost of our transportation to Europe has increased from $3,500 to $10,000 per container, and the time for cargo transportation has increased from 20 to 35 days,” said Vladimir Norov. He did not specify what it was about.

In this regard, the Foreign Minister welcomed the efforts of the European Union to connect the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) with a strategic corridor to Central Asia and strengthen the connectivity of Eurasia in the East-West and North-South directions.

“We are counting on the assistance of the European side in promoting the strategically large-scale project for the construction of the Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway,” said Vladimir Norov.

The Uzbek Foreign Minister said that modern Afghanistan is not only a source of challenges and threats, but also new opportunities. The importance of preventing the isolation of Afghanistan and its transformation into a pariah country, as well as taking measures to resolve the current difficult humanitarian situation, was noted.

He also added that the connection of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway under construction with the Trans-Caspian multimodal route will create a single transport network between Europe and Asia.

The Foreign Minister also proposed holding a meeting in the EU-CA format to harmonize customs procedures, adopt through tariffs and create a single digital network on the Trans-Caspian route.

“Supporting the investments of European companies in the development of civil aviation infrastructure, we are ready to provide our hubs for the transit of goods and passengers to Asia,” said Vladimir Norov.

In addition, Uzbekistan proposed, within the framework of the Global Gateway strategy, to jointly develop a long-term strategic program for the development of transport and communication connectivity in the regions of Europe and Asia.

Vladimir Norov added that Uzbekistan, with the support of the countries of the region, was ready to work with European partners to deploy digital networks, including submarine and surface fiber optic cables, space secure communications systems and cloud data infrastructures.

“I am sure that the project planned by the European Union for laying a broadband communication line “Black Sea Fiber Optic Cable System” between Bulgaria and Georgia to Central Asia will help strengthen cooperation in this area,” the Foreign Minister said.

He also voiced a proposal to develop joint investment programs for the development of data infrastructure: data centers and Internet traffic exchange points within the framework of the European Union's Digital Europe program.

In addition, Vladimir Norov called for the adoption of measures to expedite the transition to a "green" economy, the introduction of renewable energy sources and the rational use of water resources.

He noted that Uzbekistan was grateful to the European Union for its contribution to the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund for the Aral Sea region (5.2 million euros) and is interested in continuing mutually beneficial cooperation.

“We invite representatives of the European Union and neighboring countries to take part in the first international forum of the Aral Sea under the auspices of the UN in Nukus in 2023,” the Foreign Minister said.

At the end of his remarks, Vladimir Norov stressed that Uzbekistan considers it important to adopt an action plan following the EU-Central Asia conference on environment and water in Rome in February 2023.

“We are grateful for the financial and technical assistance of the European Union for 2021-2024 (83 million euros) for digital transformation, inclusive green growth and a greener agricultural sector in Uzbekistan,” the Foreign Minister said.

He added that, given the large-scale transformations in Central Asia, Uzbekistan and its neighbors were counting on an increase in the amount of funds under this program for 2025-2027 to implement projects in the region.