By deepening its engagement with Tajikistan under the Global Gateway initiative, the European Union is sending a clear message: Central Asia is no longer a peripheral player but a rising geostrategic hub-one the EU can no longer afford to overlook.
Earlier this month, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela met with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe. On the surface, it was a diplomatic exchange like many others. But look closer, and you’ll see a deeper trend: Brussels is scaling up its long-term commitment to the region through infrastructure, green energy, digital connectivity, and regional integration projects.
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The Global Gateway strategy, launched in 2021, is the EU’s answer to global connectivity, aimed at building secure, sustainable, and smart infrastructure links. For Central Asia-landlocked, resource-rich, and sandwiched between major powers-this strategy couldn’t be more timely. At the 2022 EU-Central Asia Connectivity Conference, Europe laid out its vision: more integration in energy, transport, water, and digital communication. Since then, ideas have turned into action.
One of the most concrete steps came with the launch of the Global Gateway Investment Forum. Backed by €10 billion from European and international financial institutions, the initiative aims to enhance transport corridors, particularly those connecting Central Asia with Europe. For Tajikistan, this means accelerating efforts to develop the corridor linking it to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, and, ultimately, European markets. According to Transport Minister Azim Ibrohim, over 10 strategic railway projects are in motion, with a combined value exceeding $5 billion.
Tajikistan's ambitions are bold-and deservedly so. As the country looks to leverage its position within the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route), it envisions becoming an essential link in a 15-day multimodal trade route connecting Europe and Asia. But transport is only one part of the picture.
Energy is another. Hydropower accounts for 98% of Tajikistan’s electricity generation, but inadequate infrastructure and financing limit its potential. Rahmon has made it clear: European investment is critical, particularly for the completion of the Rogun Dam, a mega-project with both national pride and regional significance attached. At the same time, Tajikistan is eyeing a green energy transition. It wants to double its renewable energy output by 2050 and become a player in the emerging green hydrogen economy.
Aerial view of the Nurek hydroelectric dam in Tajikistan. Photo credit: eurasianet.org
Here, again, the EU is stepping up. During Síkela’s visit, €40 million in grants were committed to support Tajikistan’s green energy development and sustainable cotton farming-two sectors where climate, economy, and regional stability converge. The EU is also backing efforts to connect Tajikistan to the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), further embedding the country into a pan-continental trade web.
This partnership is not charity-it’s strategy. As Síkela put it, the Global Gateway is “a modern partnership based on mutual interests and shared goals.” And in a world defined by fragmentation and rivalry, those interests are clear: stable access to resources, diversified trade routes, and credible alternatives to authoritarian infrastructure models.
Central Asia’s moment has arrived. Amid the geopolitical churn of war in Ukraine, energy crises, and a reshuffling of global supply chains, the region is being reimagined as a bridge-not a buffer. With the South Caucasus, it forms a corridor of growing importance stretching from China to Europe. The EU’s growing stake in Tajikistan is not just a matter of development policy-it’s a geopolitical investment in a future where Central Asia matters more than ever.
The question now is whether Brussels can move fast enough-and boldly enough-to secure its place in this emerging landscape.
