Check against delivery! 

Thank you, Minister [for Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Vladimir Norov], and thank you to the media representatives. 

I am very happy to be again in Central Asia and, in particular, I am very happy to be in Samarkand.

Samarkand is back to history. When we talk about the Global Gateway, Samarkand was a “global gateway”. When we talk about Central Asia, some years ago, maybe we could say that Central Asia was nowhere. And today, Central Asia is everywhere.  

Because it is the strategic part of the world, becoming more and more a strategic part of the world, in the middle of the way between Europe and Asia: the place of connectivity and interactivity between people, the place where we have to make a big effort to create the infrastructure necessary to link the two continents.  

It was true yesterday, and it is much more true today, after the war of Russia against Ukraine. Since we met last in Dushanbe, the world has changed a lot. And not for the good. 

The Russian aggression against Ukraine has important global repercussions for the European Union and, also, for Central Asia. We are both directly affected by the shockwaves sent by this war around the world. The multilateral order, the United Nations Charter [are] being affected. But if we want to keep cooperation, trade, fight against climate change, control over illegal trafficking and organised crime around the world, we need more cooperation. More cooperation. And Russia’s war against Ukraine is a disruption of international rule of law. 

So Minister, we have to face a much more dangerous world, and the only solution against this danger is more cooperation. This is, namely, the most important deliverable of today: we need to cooperate more and better. 

Last year, the issue was Afghanistan. Everybody was talking about Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul. Today, Afghanistan is no longer in the headlines of the press, but Afghanistan still exists. The Taliban take-over in Afghanistan and their refusal to fulfil their pledge to pursue an inclusive political process – ensuring the most basic rights for women, girls and minorities – is casting a long shadow on the region. Terrorism and cross-border organised crime are growing. And this is very important for you, because this region has a lot of kilometres of borders with Afghanistan. 

So, we have to face this challenge, as we recover from the corona pandemic, and as we face the climate emergency, which is a global existential threat. We have been speaking for about three hours in much detail about all these issues. For me, this makes us evaluate and value still more our relationship.  

Talking about Afghanistan, we have provided [almost] €400 million in the past two years to the Afghan people. €400 million in the last two years - for the Afghan people, not to the Taliban government.  

We will continue supporting the border security in Central Asia through our long-standing Border Management Programme (BOMCA).  

We stand ready to support the countries of the region to tackle disinformation challenges, which seek to undermine the stability and interfere in the information environment.  

We are celebrating – or we are about to celebrate - the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Central Asian countries with the European Union. That is a good moment to remember the big improvements that Central Asia has been able to develop during these last 30 years. I think that our continued partnership will make this progress still bigger and quicker. 

We have to engage closer with you politically, in the multilateral context. We face a climate and digital transformation, which has to be considered as an opportunity. It is not only a threat, a challenge, but an opportunity, especially for young people. 

We have to work together on security, on trade and investment. We – the European Union – are the biggest investor in Central Asia: almost half of the cumulated investment in the region – more than 40% - has been done by the European Union firms. We are the best, the first trade partner – above China, above Russia.  

So here, we are the first trade partner. Here, we are the first investor in the region. We should be also a good reliable partner. 

Connectivity is going to be the key word for the future. There is still a lot of room for our regions to intensify our cooperation. In particular, tomorrow, when we will discuss at the [European Union-Central Asia] Connectivity Conference [Global Gateway], we will look at concrete projects. You have a lot of them in mind and, in order to make them a reality, I think we – the European Union – are ready to back you as much as we can to deliver sustainable connectivity, high-level standards and supporting the decarbonisation of energy to build a green economy.  

We have big ambitions, but what is very important is that we also have the will and interest to fill these ambitions with concrete content – for the benefit of stronger ties between our regions, and for the benefit of our people. 

Let me end by welcoming good news – we do not have a lot of good news these days, so let’s celebrate when we have good news. The good news is that the United Nations Black Sea Grain initiative has been renewed, that will allow the grain, the food and fertilisers from Ukraine to continue being exported to the rest of the world, fighting the famine and contributing to a better balance in many countries that have been severely hit by the [global] consequences of the war in Ukraine. 

Food should never be used as a weapon: that is what the G20 countries said in Bali. Food should never be used as a weapon of war. Thank you to the United Nations and thanks to Turkey for facilitating the continuation of this initiative.  

Thank you to you, Minister, for this warm hospitality in this beautiful city and in these fantastic premises. Thank you for these days.  

The more I know about Central Asia, the more I feel this is a vibrant, dynamic and fascinating region.  

Link to the video (starting as of 05:56): https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-233532