The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, today advocated “sincere cooperation” with the countries of central Asia in order to strengthen the EU’s footprint in this region sought after by the great powers, against the background of the weakening of Russian influence.

“We can offer a sincere cooperation” to the five former Soviet republics of central Asia and “be a committed partner that builds trust,” he said on the sidelines of the second “European Union-Central Asia” summit in Kyrgyzstan.

The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and a delegation from Turkmenistan, isolated countries, participated in this meeting in the Kyrgyz city of Cholpon-Ata, on the steep shores of Lake Isik-Kuk.

Michel pointed to the possibilities of cooperation in the field of “climate technologies, energy issues, security, transport and tourism”.

The summit, the second of its kind after the first held in Kazakhstan in October, comes just two weeks after the first meeting between the presidents of these five former Soviet republics in central Asia and Xi Jinping’s China, which is strengthening control in this region which is traditionally under Russian influence.

“Single geo-economic area”

Earlier today, Kyrgyz President Sadir Zaparov called during the plenary for central Asia to become a “single geo-economic space to facilitate various forms of cooperation”, despite differences still existing between the countries.

A joint remark he made with his Uzbek counterpart Savkat Mirziyoyev, who also expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the development of transport routes, while Tajik President Emomali Rahmon underlined the need for his country to benefit from a preferential trade system with the EU.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomaret Tokayev, whose country is the EU’s biggest economic partner in the region, has said he wants to increase oil supplies to Europe via the Caspian Sea and a pipeline bypassing Russia.

The third EU-Central Asia summit is expected to be held next year in Uzbekistan.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has given new impetus to relations between central Asia and the EU, allowing Central Asian leaders to diversify their partnerships by doing the same with Turkey or Iran.

The EU, already the region’s top donor with €1.1 billion in aid between 2014 and 2020, is also the largest investment partner in central Asia, with 42% of the total stock, far ahead of the US (14.2%) , Russia (6%) and China (3.7%).

New push

However, in recent weeks the EU has loomed the threat of restrictions on third countries accused of helping Russia circumvent sanctions, including the Central Asian republics, an issue also discussed today.

Brussels is trying to soften the consequences of measures taken against Russia, which could affect the Central Asian democracies, so as not to push them even closer to Moscow’s arms.

As despite the willingness expressed by the states of the region to pursue a multi-dimensional foreign policy, these countries remain closely linked to Russia, a historical regional power, through military and economic alliances and cultural ties that remain strong.

A role that is already being contested by China, which is providing large loans to finance the “new silk roads”, a very large infrastructure project.

Central Asian regimes, however, continue to be seen as varying degrees of authoritarian, with NGOs often criticizing the human rights record.

The security situation also remains volatile, with bloody fighting last year between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and bloody uprisings in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The Taliban’s takeover of neighboring Afghanistan also remains a cause for concern for Central Asian countries, which called on them today to respect their international commitments.