On May 30, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan participated in the "Central Asia - Italy" summit held in Astana.
The event, chaired by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, was also attended by the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, Giorgia Meloni, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, and the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov,
The Caspian Post reports citing
UzA.
Discussions focused on further developing multifaceted cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and Italy. Particular attention was given to advancing partnerships in investment and technology, the green economy, and implementing educational and cultural programs.
At the beginning of his speech, the President of Uzbekistan emphasized that the Uzbek side views the current event within the context of the agreements on strategic partnership between Central Asia and Europe, reached at the summit in Samarkand in April this year.
The commitment to developing productive and practical cooperation in this format was highlighted, taking into account the participating countries’ technological, industrial, and intellectual potential.
The relevance of a multilateral dialogue platform with Italy is also increasing, given the current realities of global and regional political trends, the intensification of shared security challenges, and ongoing progress.
At the same time, the centuries-old history of trade and cultural relations between the region and Italy serves as a solid foundation for a comprehensive partnership at this new stage.
Turning to the agenda items, the Leader of Uzbekistan presented his vision of the priorities for cooperation in the “Central Asia - Italy” format.
First and foremost, he emphasized the importance of continuing regular contacts at the level of foreign affairs ministries to coordinate approaches on a wide range of pressing international issues. He also proposed launching operational mechanisms for multilateral partnership and information exchange among specialized agencies to combat terrorism, extremism, radicalism, drug trafficking, and illegal migration.
In the economic sphere, the Leader of Uzbekistan expressed satisfaction with the threefold increase in trade turnover and investments between Uzbekistan and Italy in recent years. Successful technological cooperation projects are being implemented with leading Italian companies.
Considering the traditionally strong position of Italy’s business community in the country’s innovation-driven development, the proposal was made to launch a permanent platform for business dialogue - the “Central Asia - Italy” Business Club under the auspices of the participating countries’ chambers of commerce and industry. Such meetings, with the broad participation of entrepreneurs, are planned to be held annually in the capitals of the region’s countries and Italy.
The President of Uzbekistan also emphasized the importance of developing and adopting a comprehensive multilateral Industrial and Technological Cooperation Program, which would create favorable conditions for technology transfer, the introduction of advanced knowledge and best practices, and the establishment of high-tech industrial production.
It was underscored that, given the existing successful experience, priority areas for cooperation could include the deep processing of mineral resources and agricultural raw materials; the production of modern equipment for the electrical, chemical, textile, leather, food, and other processing industries; the localization of component bases and industrial goods; and the establishment of design centers with leading Italian brands.
The President of Uzbekistan announced that a special industrial park under the management of a European operator is being established in Tashkent region to implement projects of regional significance.
The importance of engaging Italy’s state agencies, SACE and SIMEST, and joint investment funds, to support cooperative projects was emphasized.
Highly valuing the fruitful cooperation with Italy in green transformation, the Leader of Uzbekistan called for developing a full-scale partnership by launching a multilateral platform to facilitate the implementation of national decarbonization programs.
Uzbekistan has expressed readiness to implement renewable energy projects, including supplying green energy to European Union countries, auditing and improving the energy efficiency of enterprises, modernizing water infrastructure facilities, and developing hydrogen technologies with the involvement of leading Italian manufacturers and engineering companies.
Highlighting the fruitful activities of the branches of the Turin Polytechnic University and the University of Pisa in Tashkent, the President of Uzbekistan welcomed the interest of other leading Italian universities in the region.
The President of Uzbekistan put forward the initiative to establish a “Central Asia - Italy” Scientific and Educational Consortium to conduct and finance scientific research, academic exchange programs, and workforce training in fields such as engineering, design, water-saving technologies, and biotechnology.
Interest was expressed in launching a tourism alliance to establish partnerships between leading operators and to create joint tourism products.
With satisfaction, it was noted that there is great interest from the Italian public in the exhibitions and cultural events held in Rome and Florence.
In this context, a proposal was made to hold a Youth Forum on the Creative Economy and Cultural Exchange between the countries of the region and Italy next year in Khiva.
The summit also featured addresses by the heads of state of Central Asia and the Prime Minister of Italy. Following the event, a Joint Statement was adopted.
