«Central Asia – Italy» Second Ministerial Conference

Tashkent, December 8, 2021 – The delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan headed by Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi participated in the second ministerial conference in the “Central Asia – Italy” format. The event was also attended by the foreign ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Italian delegation was headed by Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

During the conference, the parties discussed topical issues of interregional and global cooperation, including the joint fight against the negative consequences of the pandemic, the restoration of pre-crisis volumes of mutual trade and investment, as well as priority areas of cooperation between the countries of the region and Italy. Special attention was paid to the situation in Afghanistan.

In his statement, Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi called for strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation between Central Asian countries in transit, transport, agricultural and innovation spheres, including the development of renewable energy sources and machinery, and noted the expanding role of Italy in the development of energy, transport and technological interconnectedness of Central Asian countries with Europe.

The participants of the meeting confirmed their mutual interest in further enhancing cooperation in the field of healthcare, expanding trade and economic relations, responding to regional challenges and threats.

On the margins of the conference, Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi held separate talks with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and the EU Special Representative for Central Asia Terhi Hakala, during which he discussed issues of cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral formats.