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The Council right this moment adopted pointers for the European Fee and the Excessive Consultant for International Affairs and Safety Coverage to barter, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a brand new Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Settlement (EPCA) with Tajikistan.
The EU is set to deepen its relations with the Central Asian international locations, much more so within the present geopolitical atmosphere. The negotiation of an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Settlement with Tajikistan shall be a big step ahead on this regard. It would present a platform for improved political cooperation, commerce and funding between the EU and Tajikistan, incentivising and supporting reforms. Progress in these negotiations will even rely on tangible enhancements in Tajikistan’s human rights scenario, together with with regard to the liberty of expression, media and meeting.
Josep Borrell, Excessive Consultant for International Affairs and Safety Coverage
The brand new settlement will construct on the Partnership and Cooperation Settlement in power since 2010 and can replicate the ambitions of the EU and Tajikistan to strengthen their bilateral relationship, within the spirit of the 2019 “EU’s Central Asia Technique – selling resilience, prosperity and regional cooperation, for the long run improvement of the area.”
The EU will negotiate an enhanced settlement that may help Tajikistan’s reform agenda. Nearer and stronger bilateral ties should go hand in hand with adherence to frequent values of democracy, rule of legislation and respect for human rights and elementary freedoms, as emphasised by the EU through the Human Rights Dialogue which befell on 7 December 2022 in Dushanbe.
The EU is dedicated to proceed supporting Tajikistan’s sustainable improvement, contributing to safety, modernization, and creating employment alternatives for the younger era. Water, vitality, the inexperienced transition and human improvement will proceed to be joint priorities in mutually helpful cooperation between the EU and Tajikistan.
Background
In 2019, the EU adopted a Technique on Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan), which highlights the rising strategic relevance of the area for EU pursuits. The EU has signed in 2016 an EPCA with Kazakhstan. EPCA negotiations have been efficiently concluded with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and work is continuing to organize for the entry into power of those new Agreements. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan profit from beneficial entry to the EU market, by the unilateral commerce preferences of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) or the GSP plus.
The 2019 EU Technique on Central Asia additionally underlines that consolidating democratic establishments, empowering residents and establishing extra inclusive political and financial governance buildings, selling the rule of legislation, strengthening the accountability of public establishments and making certain respect for human rights are key situations for the success of sustainable improvement. Respect for human rights will due to this fact stay a vital aspect of the EU’s bilateral relations with the international locations of the area, together with in our bilateral agreements.
On 17 November 2022, 18th EU-Central Asia Ministerial assembly befell in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the place the EU and Central Asian companions agreed to step up cooperation in areas reminiscent of safety, commerce and funding, transport, inexperienced vitality and sustainable development, improved connectivity in addition to nearer cooperation in training, science and innovation.
Go to the assembly web page
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