EU Relations - The Times Of Central Asia

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Soar in Lithuania’s Central Asian Migrant Population

Lithuanian intelligence reports that the number of Central Asian migrants in the country has increased 14-fold since 2021. According to Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, the number overall is still relatively small and is not a cause for concern. She explained that the labor market, once filled by workers from Ukraine and Belarus, has shifted following the call for Ukrainian men to fight in the war. As a result, more Central Asian workers are being hired. Darius Jauniškis, head of Lithuania’s State Security Department, told LNK News that his agency cannot screen all migrants, raising counter-intelligence and terrorism concerns, and because the government is working on next year’s budget, his remark is perceived as a request for more funding for the VSD (State Security Department). In response, the Prime Minister said the growth in migrants, though large, isn't particularly high. She stated that only a few hundred foreign nationals had been issued with temporary residence permits in Lithuania this year, but added: “There were indeed problems. These problems were already partially regulated by existing laws- and - from 2025 onwards, when the quota [for workers from third countries] who can come to Lithuania will be in force, it will be possible to impose additional regulations on these issues." Data from the Migration Department shows that as of October 1, around 10,600 Uzbeks were living in Lithuania, compared to 8,200 at the start of the year, and the 998 recorded in early 2022. Thus, Uzbeks now make up the fourth-largest foreign community in Lithuania. The number of migrants from Tajikistan also increased from 5,700 to 7,200 in the first nine months of 2024.

Scholz EU Relations

A Closer Look: Scholz Trip Shows Europe’s Interest in Central Asia

Energy, trade, climate change, geopolitical conflict. These are some of the big themes surrounding a trip by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Central Asia, whose countries seek to expand their range of international partners while securing their autonomy from outside, sometimes competing influences. Joined by German business leaders, Scholz was scheduled to arrive in Uzbekistan on Sunday and also visit Kazakhstan prior to a Central Asia-Germany summit there on Tuesday, the last day of his tour. It is Scholz’s first trip to Central Asia, signaling how important the region has become for Europe as it seeks new energy alternatives to reduce dependence on supplies from Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Western-backed Ukraine in February 2022. The relationship goes beyond the stopgap purchase of energy and minerals, even though Russian officials has accused Western countries of trying to use Central Asia as a tool in their conflict with Russia. At an inaugural summit last year in Berlin, Germany along with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan agreed to a “strategic regional partnership.” European countries recognize that the Central Asia is deeply bound to Russia and China, the regional powers, and that European and Central Asian goals and priorities won’t always align, according to Western analysts. However, Central Asian countries also recognize that engaging with Europe, the United States and other more distant partners is in their interests because it helps them to maintain strategic autonomy and leverage. “If the Central Asian states want to gain weight and be heard in the emerging multipolar world order, they must strengthen their technological, industrial and geopolitical independence,” analysts said in a commentary posted by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, which advises the German government and parliament. “This does not necessarily imply decoupling from Russia and China, but rather spreading risk through the addition (not substitution) of partners.” The analysts said Germany should bolster Central Asian autonomy by helping to strengthen the region’s “crisis resilience” via support on issues such as transport routes, electricity infrastructure and water management. They also said European efforts to “win the support of regional states for Western sanctions against Russia must be measured against the realities on the ground” – an apparent reference to the trade with Russia that Central Asia considers vital to its economies. Kazakhstan, which shares a long land border with Russia, has in particular faced a difficult balancing act on sanctions. At a press briefing with Scholz in Berlin in September 2023, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said his country would comply with Western sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war while still cooperating with its neighbor. However, Serik Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister and trade minister, told the Bloomberg news agency last month that Kazakhstan won’t always “blindly follow the sanctions” and will be looking out for its own economic interests. Human rights groups want Scholz to bring up freedoms and the rule of law during his trip to Central Asia. They argue that avoiding the topic will only hinder efforts to bring German investment...

Wellbeing Penitentiary system OPCAT EU Relations Quality of Life International Cooperation

Uzbek Prison Visit by EU, US, and UK Diplomats

At the invitation of Uzbek authorities, UK Ambassador Timothy Smart, EU Ambassador Charlotte Adriaen and US Deputy Chief of Mission Paul Poletes visited a prison colony in the Chirchik district close to Tashkent, on 20 June. As reported by the Delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan, the visit included a tour of facilities for medical care and therapy, as well as two workshops where prisoners produce garments and furniture. Presentations by staff, provided an insight into the daily lives of prisoners serving their sentences. The visit marks a milestone in engagement between Uzbekistan and the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the diplomats acknowledged both the openness of the prison staff and improvements made in recent years. Uzbekistan has announced its intention to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) under which the National Preventative Mechanism will conduct comprehensive and independent reports on detention facilities to support the Uzbek government in forwarding reforms to improve the justice sector. Charlotte Adriaen thanked both the Uzbek government and the administration of prison #13 for enabling the visit and said: “Transparency in the penitentiary system is key to Uzbekistan’s path towards the ratification of OPCAT. In this regard, and considering the positive impression provided by today’s visit, it is my firm belief that openness and cooperation with international and national monitors can only benefit the life of prisoners and Uzbekistan.” Enthused by the visit, Timothy Smart added: “It is encouraging to see Uzbekistan continue its journey towards improving human rights in the country. In the UK we have had many issues with our prisons and through open discussion and independent scrutiny, have been able to improve conditions. I am most grateful to the Uzbek government and authorities of prison #13 for such access. I was struck by both the quality of the facilities we saw today and the focus on rehabilitation. The life skills provided are invaluable to both the individuals as well as their mahallas”.

EU Relations Economy Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan Seeks to Expand Trade Horizons with Europe

- Opinion by Robert Cutler Uzbekistan's economic landscape has been evolving, with announcements of major reforms and international cooperation aimed at economic modernization and increasing its profile in global markets. Its partnership with the European Union (EU) has focused on critical raw materials. At the same time, Tashkent plans to reduce gas exports in favour of expanding petrochemical production and inviting foreign investment into its mining sector. In October 2023, the European Parliament (EP) had endorsed this policy direction by adopting a resolution on Uzbekistan based on a series of broad programmatic documents regarding Central Asia, including a previous Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uzbekistan on energy cooperation. The EP also favorably mentioned the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) concluded in July 2022 to "modernize" the EU's Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed with Uzbekistan in 1999. A new MoU signed earlier this month by the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Uzbekistan's Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov foresees an ambitious intensification of the partnership. The agreement is touted as a step towards diversifying supply chains to Europe for critical raw materials (CRMs) required for the energy transition. The EU's strategic economic partnership with Uzbekistan The new MoU follows on the EU's 25 October 2023 agreement with Uzbekistan during the Global Gateway Forum. That agreement had confirmed that Uzbekistan, with its reserves of metals such as silver, titanium, and lithium, would join the so-called Critical Raw Materials Forum. However, a critical evaluation of the MoU shows that a lot of hard work will be necessary to realize its plans and promises. In fact, the MoU represents a list of possibilities for cooperation without a guarantee of follow-through. The new partnership focuses on a number of areas of potential collaboration. These may be grouped under three general categories: (1) integrating CRM value and supply chains and their resilience; (2) mobilization of funding; and (3) cooperation on production, research, innovation and capacity building. The MoU itself admits that further specific cooperation is required to establish an operational roadmap that would specify particular joint actions for implementation. This partnership is in line with the EU's Global Gateway Initiative, which seeks to mobilize up to €300 billion in investments by 2027, although the initiative has been criticized for largely being a re-packaging of previously established programs without significant new funding. As far as Uzbekistan is concerned, the big unspoken problem is the need to enhance the country's economic competitiveness in global markets. Uzbekistan's mineral resources exploration Only about 20 percent of Uzbekistan’s territory has been explored. Potential mineral resources are evaluated at US$5.7 billion, with the country’s explored reserves representing about US$1 billion of this amount. This unexplored potential represents a significant opportunity for further enhancing Uzbekistan's potential global competitiveness in the mineral resources sector, but only if transportation logistics can be economically put into place. According to the U.S. Geological Service, Uzbekistan also has reserves of other minerals - such as calcium, kaolin, rhenium and vermiculite...