Uzbekistan and the European Union will step up negotiations in 2020 on the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), which will replace the partnership and cooperation agreement that has been in force since 1999, the Foreign Ministry said.
Earlier, the Foreign Minister, Abdulaziz Kamilov stated that the EU and Uzbekistan plan to sign the EPCA in 2020. There is likelihood that this will be done as part of a possible visit to Brussels by the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Negotiations on the new deal began in February 2019. The next round of negotiations is scheduled to take place at the beginning of this year in Tashkent.
The Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, who is on a working visit to Germany, met in Berlin with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice President of the EU Commission Josep Borrell.
The parties underscored the importance of preparing for the Uzbek-European summit events. In this context, the parties agreed to intensify the work of the working groups in preparation for signing the EPCA.
