Officials of Uzbekistan and the European Union held the fifth round of talks on a new comprehensive bilateral agreement online on July 9-10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) will replace the partnership and cooperation agreement that has been in force since 1999. Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan reported that Uzbekistan and the EU expect to sign the SRPS in 2020.
The talks on the new document began in February 2019. Earlier, the Foreign Ministry planned to hold the fifth round of negotiations in March, but the meeting had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The talks on the draft EPCA took place as part of a working group on political and security issues. The parties were represented by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Sherzod Asadov and Deputy Managing Director of the European External Action Service for Europe and Central Asia, Luc Devigne.
“The parties noted with satisfaction the progress achieved in the negotiation process and expressed their readiness to speed up the approval of the EPCA text,” the Foreign Ministry added.
