The European Union (EU) commends the reforms that are being undertaken in Uzbekistan and stands ready to support the country, the Director-General for International Development and Cooperation of the European Commission Stefano Manservisi said in a briefing during his visit in Tashkent.
According to Manservisi, two main issues have been discussed in Tashkent. First, the sides touched upon the regional security issues, "the challenges that countries face". This concerns the risks related to terrorism, radicalization and other factors of instability, he said.
The second issue concerned reforms in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan’s reform efforts are received very positively in Europe. We believe that this is a very important moment for a country at crossroads. The President is implementing an ambitious program of reforms given the Uzbek realities. Many decisions have been taken so far, now it is time to put them in practice, he added.
It is never easy to carry out reforms, he said. Therefore, the EU stands ready to support and provide partnership on many projects.
We are here to confirm our readiness to support Uzbekistan in this direction. These issues were discussed during our meetings in Tashkent. We talked about being flexible in our approaches and increasing transparency. The work has been launched, and it will continue, but this of course requires time, Manservisi underscored.
The EU will also seek to enhance its presence in Central Asia, especially in the economic sphere. We regard Uzbekistan as a strategic partner, and we will boost investments. The number of European companies will grow in Uzbekistan. Our goal is to be here, in this part of the world, with the Uzbek government and people, he said.
The EU delegation headed by Stefano Manservisi arrived in Uzbekistan on July 12, and held talks in the government and several ministries, where priority areas of cooperation in agriculture, business, energy, border management and other issues were discussed.
