On the 1st of June 2021, the successive round of the EU-Central Asia High-level Political and Security Dialogue on the level of Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs was held in Tashkent.
The Turkmen delegation at the meeting was headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Vepa Hadzhiyev.
The European delegation was represented by the Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora. The newly appointed European Union Special Representative for Central Asia Terhi Hakala joined the session via videoconferencing.
As a continuation of a positive practice of previous years, the delegation of Afghanistan headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Meerwais Nab was also invited to the meeting.
During the session, a wide range of issues pertaining to regional collaboration on the resolution of pressing issues of the present time was discussed. Also, the outcomes of fulfillment of previously attained agreements on the given platform were regarded, as well as the timetable and agenda of future events within the “EU-Central Asia” format to be held at various levels were touched upon.
The delegates thoroughly considered the regional cooperation in the context of combatting the global pandemic, as well as the prospects of cooperation between the countries of the region and partners in the given sphere.
In this respect, the Turkmen side specifically noted the effectiveness of the trilateral partnership of the European Union, the countries of Central Asia and the World Health Organization in the framework of the Central Asia Covid-19 Crisis Response Programme (CACCR) on the regional level.
The head of Turkmen delegation proposed an initiative on holding a separate dialogue with the office of the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. In this regard, the Turkmen delegation expressed readiness to provide a platform for such kind of meeting within the International Forum of Medical Scientists to be held in October of current year in Ashgabat for determining the main modalities of future partnership in the given area.
The key aspects of the agenda of the upcoming in November of current year Economic Forum “European Union – Central Asia” were touched upon. It was underlined that Turkmenistan welcomes the establishment of such form of collaboration.
The effectiveness of the projects such as BOMCA, CADAP, Erasmus +, WECOOP “European Union – Central Asia: Water and Environment Cooperation Platform” was emphasized. Also, the importance of the LEICA project (Law Enforcement in Central Asia), projects within the Programme on the Rule of Law, as well as in the area of expanding regional trade implemented by the International Trade Centre was also underlined.
Collaboration in the area of border management, illegal drug trafficking and organized crime, transport-transit cooperation and facilitation of trade, partnership in the area of traditional and renewable energy, ecological safety issues and climate change, water resources management, as well as the development of green economy and digital technologies, cooperation in the area of education, healthcare, enhancement of intercultural dialogue were specified as the priorities of the interaction in the given format aimed at the implementation of the Strategy of the European Union for Central Asia.
Highlighting the significance of the efforts of the participating states in the settlement of the Afghan situation, V.Hadzhiyev noted that Turkmenistan supports all the constructive formats of the dialogue that help to attain peace in the neighboring Afghanistan.