The meeting of the heads of external policy agencies of EU and the countries of Central Asia was held in Bishkek on Sunday. It was attended by the delegation of Turkmenistan headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vepa Hajiyev.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, during the meeting, the parties exchanged views on issues related to the implementation of the Strategy of the European Union for Central Asia adopted on the 17th of June 2019.
In this regard, the parties considered a number of practical matters concerning the implementation of the above-mentioned Strategy. The main focus was made on the creation of mechanisms of multilateral cooperation aimed at the implementation of three key priority vectors of the Strategy.
The Turkmen delegation conveyed a number of concrete proposals on widening partnership collaboration between all the participants of the “EU-Central Asia” format in strategically important spheres: security, energy, transport, ecology, education and culture.
72 million euros financial support
In the framework of the new Strategy, the EU will provide financial assistance to local projects aimed at protecting the environment and climate, sustainable production, energy, gender equality and education.
The EU will invest in the amount of 20 million euros for the hydropower plant in Tajikistan, 2 million euros for the economic development of Afghanistan, 36 million euros for the improvement of the educational system of the Kyrgyz Republic and 14 million euros for the SWITCH Asia Program, which is aimed at sustainable growth in Central Asia.
