For the first time, the European Union and the countries of Central Asia convened at a summit, which was held in Samarkand, the ancient capital of Uzbekistan, on April 3-4. The summit aimed at strengthening geopolitical, geo-economic, trade and diplomatic ties with the post-Soviet states of the region.
This event is rightfully referred to as the first EU–Central Asia Summit, marking the first full-scale meeting of its kind, as it brought together both top leaders of the European Union: President of the European Council Antonio Costa, elected in December 2024, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Never before had the highest EU leadership met with the presidents of all five Central Asian states – Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – in such a format. Each head of state arrived in Samarkand accompanied by large official delegations.
At the conclusion of the summit, the EU and the five Central Asian countries announced their decision to elevate their cooperation to the level of a strategic partnership.
In its official joint statement, published by the European Council, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation amid the evolving global and regional geopolitical landscape. The statement reads: “We have decided to upgrade relations between the EU and Central Asia to a strategic partnership.”
What does West offer?
The summit aimed to diversify trade relations away from Russia and China and strengthen diplomatic connections with the Central Asian region. Given the region’s vast natural resource potential, EU leaders expressed their intention to intensify cooperation, particularly in the energy sector and critical raw materials.
However, these ambitious initiatives require not only political will but also reliable infrastructure – roads, transit links, pipelines – that can facilitate sustainable and secure communication between the EU and Central Asia. Recognizing this, the EU has committed billions of euros in investment to the region.
A key element of this commitment is the Global Gateway project, valued at 300 billion euros ($333.28 billion). This project has been widely viewed as the EU’s strategic alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). One of its flagship goals is the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, which would reduce delivery times between the EU and Central Asia to just 15 days.
It is estimated that building the necessary infrastructure in Central Asia will require around 18.5 billion euros. More than half of this funding was pledged during an investor forum held in Brussels in early 2024, which was attended by EU member states, private sector representatives, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Improving transport connectivity to and through Central Asia is a central pillar of the EU’s broader strategy for the region. To win influence in a competitive geopolitical environment dominated by Russia and China, the EU must maintain visibility and proactive engagement.
It is widely acknowledged that Central Asian countries stand to benefit significantly from the Global Gateway initiative, yet many of its projects remain slow-moving and lacking visibility. If the EU aims to become a credible and competitive partner in the region, it must accelerate implementation and ensure tangible outcomes, especially as China’s BRI has made rapid and effective progress in recent years.
The EU’s renewed diplomatic push in Central Asia is clearly a response to Russia and China’s expanding geoeconomic and geopolitical influence. With the United States having withdrawn from active engagement in the region (at least until the end of President Donald Trump’s term), the West cannot afford to leave Eurasia’s heartland to its rivals.
At the same time, Central Asian countries are seeking to avoid becoming trapped in Chinese debt or subjected to the aggressive foreign policy of Russia.
Building a connection
Incidentally, in June 2019, the EU adopted a new EU Strategy for Central Asia, updating the original 2007 EU strategy. It sets out its strategic interests in the region and proposes to build a stronger and more non-exclusive partnership with the Central Asian states to ensure that the region develops as a more resilient, prosperous and cooperative economic and political space. Building on previous work, the new EU Strategy for Central Asia reflects a critical rethinking of everything related to the topic. The 2019 strategy is an ambitious framework document that brings together 10 major areas of cooperation, divided into three blocks; the “cross-cutting priority” for all areas is to promote regional cooperation in Central Asia. The radical yet realistic formulations of the Strategy point to new important developments, the wider context and the comparative advantages of the partnership with the EU, and they define a positively balanced framework for cooperation.
After the document’s adoption, major changes occurred in and around the region: the U.S. and NATO left Afghanistan; the war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine began, which had a negative impact on the relations between the EU and the Central Asian “five.” At the same time, some new problems came to the forefront, while others lost their significance.
With the withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan, the Central Asian countries find themselves in a situation to build relations with Afghanistan. With the new war between Russia and Ukraine, the countries of post-Soviet Central Asia found themselves between a rock and a hard place. Therefore, an important topic for discussion at the EU-Central Asia summit was the development of a clear line on the creation of mechanisms for effective cooperation against security threats from both the North and South.
An important topic of the new strategy is “connectivity.” In this area, the EU would like to establish clearer rules with the Central Asian countries. And these rules should not be established by the EU alone. They should be developed jointly with the Central Asian countries, based on the objective needs of the region in the present and future. Such rules could be “investments in exchange for gas, precious metals, rare earth metals,” “support in creating an effective security system in exchange for improved observance of democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms, investment climate,” as well as cooperation and support from both sides in possible geopolitical and geostrategic confrontations that concern the region.
Inclusiveness implies that cooperation is open to all countries in the region, extra-regional countries for which it is relevant and other non-state actors. Thus, the EU states express their readiness to join forces with all those interested in their cooperation with the EU and Central Asian states. In addition to this approach, the strategy emphasizes the concept of “synergy” and specifies what is needed to enhance synergy: “working better together.” It is clear that countries such as the Russian Federation and China, in addition to the inclusiveness of the EU, are active and even present this region as a “sphere of vital interests.” It is very important for the countries of the region to establish a balance between the interests of the East, North and South, including the world geopolitical poles, no matter who stands behind them. In this regard, the EU strategy, activities and initiatives in the Central Asia region are organically combined with the activities of the Organization of Turkic States, which emerged in the recent past as an international organization based on the needs and internal dynamics of the Turkic world and region.
It is also worth noting that Samarkand is increasingly positioning itself as the “Dubai of Central Asia” – a dynamic hub where international summits, congresses, festivals and conferences are held with growing frequency. These events continue to shape the future of Central Asia and the Turkic world.
This summit clearly signals that global centers of finance and geopolitics are deeply invested in the integration of Central Asian nations, both with each other and with the broader international economic and political landscape. The EU needs Central Asia and the Turkic world just as much as the region needs Western technologies and investments. In this light, the decisions made at this summit are of immense importance for building a shared and prosperous future for all the countries of Central Asia.