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EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation

Tokayev’s Brussels Visit Brings Aviation Pact, Visa Progress and $12 Billion Business Package

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev left Brussels with a broader package than the transport announcements that opened his two-day visit on June 22-23. Kazakhstan and the European Union signed an aviation agreement, completed talks at negotiators’ level on easier short-stay visas, backed new road and mineral projects, and endorsed an Air Astana aircraft order worth €7.145 billion. Tokayev also said the business program produced commercial agreements and memoranda worth more than $12 billion. Tokayev met with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on June 23. Their joint statement placed connectivity, energy security and resilient supply chains at the center of the relationship. Von der Leyen called Kazakhstan “a global gateway” and said the EU was ready to turn it into “a pathway for jobs, business opportunities and common prosperity.” Negotiators completed talks on Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements, opening the way for internal approval procedures. The visa agreement would simplify applications for short stays in the EU, though the agreement would not create visa-free travel and has not yet entered into force. The two sides also signed a Horizontal Aviation Agreement after negotiations lasting more than two decades. Once internal procedures are complete, any eligible EU airline will be able to operate between Kazakhstan and 17 member states that already have air service arrangements with Astana. Existing rules generally reserve those rights for airlines owned or controlled by nationals of the country concerned. EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said the pact would bring “our people and economies closer together.” A separate agreement covered up to 50 Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft for Air Astana. The joint statement valued the order at €7.145 billion. That transaction formed the largest named item within the more than $12 billion in commercial agreements and memoranda announced during the visit. Tokayev presented the total as evidence of European business confidence in Kazakhstan. Transport and connectivity remained the backbone of the trip. Before the leaders met, Kazakhstan and its European partners unveiled four Middle Corridor agreements worth a combined $462 million. They included airport digitalization work with SITA, an EBRD-backed loan for the 234-kilometer Aktobe-Ulgaisyn road, a KTZ Express project at Romania's Port of Midia, and cooperation with A.P. Moller-Maersk on container traffic across the Trans-Caspian route. The leaders welcomed a European Investment Bank framework agreement of up to €150 million for Kazakh roads along the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor. An EBRD memorandum will support an internationally accredited chemical-analytical laboratory for critical raw materials. Other documents cover intelligent transport systems, the E-Zholdary road platform and a minerals and metals center of excellence. Brussels also encouraged the EIB to open an office in Astana. These projects connect the visit to the EU's effort to build a reliable route between Central Asia and Europe through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye. Tokayev said annual freight volumes had risen from 800,000 tons to 4.1 million tons over six years. Kazakhstan aims to raise the corridor’s capacity to 10 million tons, but ports, railways, border...

EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation

Tokayev Heads to Brussels as Kazakhstan and EU Seek Progress on Trade, Minerals and Transport

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Brussels on June 22 seeking to advance cooperation with the European Union on critical minerals, transport connectivity, investment, and visa facilitation, as Kazakhstan and the EU move from framework agreements toward implementation. Tokayev’s official visit brings him together with the European Union's two senior institutional leaders and Belgium's prime minister. Tokayev is scheduled to meet European Council President António Costa at 7 p.m. on Monday. A joint meeting with Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set for Tuesday. His program also includes Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and a Kazakhstan-EU roundtable with senior European business executives. The announced agenda covers the enhanced partnership, bilateral ties and international issues. The business roundtable will focus on investment, trade and joint projects. Ahead of the meetings, Tokayev set out three priorities for the next phase of relations: “strengthening resilience, expanding connectivity of all kinds, and creating new opportunities for citizens.” He linked them to energy and food security, critical raw materials, the Middle Corridor, artificial intelligence, easier travel, education and research. The visit follows a year of closer ties. The EU and the five Central Asian states raised their relationship to a strategic partnership at the Samarkand summit in April 2025. Costa then visited Astana in December. Those meetings placed critical minerals, transport, energy, digital links and easier travel at the center of cooperation. A Partnership Built on the EPCA The Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement gives the relationship its legal basis. Kazakhstan and the EU signed it in 2015, and it entered into force on March 1, 2020, making Kazakhstan the first Central Asian country to conclude such an agreement with the EU. The EPCA covers 29 policy areas, including trade, investment, energy, transport, climate, research, justice, and human rights. The broad range allows both sides to pursue commercial and political work through one framework. The agreement reached its tenth anniversary in December 2025. Before his Astana visit, Costa set a clear goal for the coming years. “The next decade must be defined by implementation: stronger value chains, modernised infrastructure, deeper technological cooperation, and tangible joint projects,” Costa said. Large Volumes, Limited Diversification The EU remained Kazakhstan's main trade and investment partner in 2025. Two-way goods trade totaled €41.4 billion, down 10.7% from 2024. EU imports from Kazakhstan reached €30.8 billion, while EU exports were €10.6 billion. The mix is less balanced. Fuel and mining products accounted for 92% of Kazakh exports to the EU. Machinery, transport equipment and chemicals led European sales to Kazakhstan. That gives the Brussels business roundtable a clear economic focus. Kazakhstan wants more European capital in processing, manufacturing, infrastructure and technology, while European companies want reliable access to energy and raw materials, along with clear investment rules. “We see great opportunities to venture in energy efficiency, critical minerals, digital technologies, and transport connectivity,” Tokayev said after meeting Costa in Astana in December. Critical Minerals Move Closer to Investment The EU and Kazakhstan signed a strategic partnership on...

travel

EU and Uzbekistan Discuss Steps Toward Easing Visa Access

Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry has initiated the first round of consultations with experts from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, according to the Dunyo news agency. The discussions focused on the potential easing of visa procedures for Uzbek citizens traveling to the European Union for purposes such as work, study, truck driving, or group tourism. Representatives from the European side outlined a number of preconditions Uzbekistan must fulfill before the European Commission can formally consider simplifying visa requirements. Both sides agreed to continue consultations in the coming period to advance the process. The talks follow President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s official visit to Brussels on October 23-24, during which Uzbekistan and the EU signed an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The new framework replaces the 1996 agreement and expands bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, digital technologies, environmental protection, and climate resilience. Negotiations on the updated agreement began in 2019 and concluded in 2022. While in Brussels, Mirziyoyev also held meetings with executives from leading European companies and financial institutions, including Linde, SUEZ, Meridiam, Commerzbank, and the European Investment Bank. The sides agreed to pursue new projects worth more than €10 billion across sectors such as energy, chemicals, logistics, critical minerals, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. These investments add to an existing EU-led project portfolio in Uzbekistan valued at more than €40 billion.

The Silk Visa Deadlock: The Long Road to a Borderless Central Asia

The year 2025 will likely be remembered as a milestone in Central Asian diplomacy. Regional leaders signed landmark agreements on water and energy cooperation and launched major investment projects. At high-level meetings, Central Asian presidents emphasized a new phase of deeper cooperation and greater unity, highlighting strategic partnership and shared development goals. But at ground level, at border crossings such as Korday between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, or the congested diversion routes replacing the closed Zhibek Zholy checkpoint, the picture is far less seamless. Long queues, heightened scrutiny, and bureaucratic delays remain the norm. While political rhetoric celebrates unity, the reality on the ground tells a different story. The region’s physical borders remain tightly controlled. A key symbol of unrealized integration is the stalled “Silk Visa” project, a proposed Central Asian version of the Schengen visa that would allow tourists to travel freely across the region. The project has made little headway, with experts suggesting that, beyond technical issues, deeper concerns, including economic disparities and security sensitivities, have played a role. Silk Visa: A Stalled Vision Launched in 2018 by Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the Silk Visa was envisioned as a game-changer for regional tourism and mobility. Under the scheme, tourists with a visa to one participating country could move freely across Central Asia, from Almaty to Samarkand and Bishkek. Seven years on, the project has yet to materialize. Official explanations point to the difficulty of integrating databases on “undesirable persons.” But as Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged earlier this year, the delay stems from the need to harmonize security services and create a unified system. Experts also cite diverging visa policies and resistance from national security agencies unwilling to share sensitive data. As long as each country insists on determining independently whom to admit or blacklist, the Silk Visa will remain more aspiration than policy. Economic Imbalance: The Silent Barrier The most significant, albeit rarely acknowledged, hurdle to regional openness is economic inequality. Kazakhstan’s GDP per capita, at over $14,000, is significantly higher than that of Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan, which hover around $2,500-3,000. This disparity feeds fears in Astana that full border liberalization would trigger a wave of low-skilled labor migration, putting strain on Kazakhstan’s urban infrastructure and labor market. While Kazakhstan is eager to export goods, services, and capital across Central Asia, it remains reluctant to import unemployment or social tension. Migration pressure is already high: according to Uzbekistan’s Migration Agency, the number of Uzbek workers in Kazakhstan reached 322,700 in early 2025. Removing border controls entirely could exacerbate this trend, overwhelming already stretched public services. Security Concerns and Regional Tensions The geopolitical landscape further complicates the dream of borderless travel. A truly open regional system would require a strong, unified external border, something unattainable given Afghanistan’s proximity. The persistent threats of drug trafficking and extremist infiltration compel Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to maintain tight border controls. Kazakhstan, while geographically removed, remains cautious about loosening controls along its southern frontier. Moreover, despite recent agreements on delimiting the Kyrgyz–Tajik border, tensions in...

Trump Administration

Turkmenistan Included as Trump Tightens U.S. Immigration Ban After D.C. Shooting

President Donald Trump has announced a sweeping crackdown on immigration following a deadly shooting near the White House this week, placing new scrutiny on immigrants from certain countries – including Turkmenistan. Trump vowed to “permanently pause migration” from what he called “Third World” countries after two National Guard members were shot in Washington, D.C., one of them fatally. In response, U.S. immigration authorities are re-examining green cards and visa approvals for people from 19 countries deemed “countries of concern,” a list that features Turkmenistan alongside nations in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. New Immigration Review Follows D.C. Attack The policy shift comes in the wake of an ambush-style attack on Wednesday in which an Afghan national allegedly opened fire on U.S. service members outside the White House. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries, and another Guardsman was critically wounded. Authorities arrested Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan man who arrived in the U.S. in 2021, as the suspect. Trump condemned the shooting as “an act of terror” and highlighted that the suspect entered under a Biden-era Afghan resettlement program. By Thursday, Trump directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to conduct a “full-scale, rigorous reexamination” of all current green card holders from every “country of concern.” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the review was ordered “at the direction of the President” and stressed that “American lives come first.” When pressed on which nations fall under the “countries of concern,” USCIS officials pointed to Trump’s June 4, 2025, presidential proclamation on foreign entry restrictions, which identified 19 countries with deficient security vetting or high visa overstay rates. It imposed a full travel ban on 12 nations and partial visa bans on 7 others. Turkmenistan’s Status in Trump’s Travel Ban Turkmenistan is one of seven countries under partial U.S. travel restrictions, meaning certain visa categories for Turkmen nationals have currently been suspended or tightened. According to the Trump administration, Turkmenistan was flagged due to security screening gaps and a high rate of U.S. visa overstays by its citizens. U.S. officials noted that about 15.35% of Turkmen visitors on tourist visas overstayed their permitted time in recent years. Turkmenistan has also been cited for limited cooperation on repatriating its citizens who are deported from the U.S. Under the June proclamation, Turkmen nationals were barred from obtaining immigrant visas or tourist and student visas for the U.S., though other travel may be allowed on a case-by-case basis. By invoking what he called a “permanent pause” on migration, Trump signaled that even more sweeping immigration restrictions could be ahead. He wrote on social media that anyone who is “not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country” will be removed. For Turkmenistan, inclusion in the U.S. ban list marks a rare spotlight on the country in American immigration policy. Turkmenistan, where emigration is tightly controlled, sees low numbers of its citizens entering the U.S. Department of Homeland Security data for Fiscal Year 2023 indicates that the...

Moldova To End Visa-Free Travel for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

Moldova has formally withdrawn from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) visa-free travel agreement, a move that will introduce visa requirements for citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The Moldovan parliament approved the government’s proposal to terminate the 1992 Bishkek Agreement, according to inbusiness.kz. The CIS, which originally included 11 post-Soviet states upon its creation in 1991, now counts only seven full members. Although Moldova ended its membership in the CIS earlier, it had continued to uphold visa-free travel arrangements with several former Soviet republics, including countries in Central Asia. The new legislation does not affect Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan. Moldovan officials told local media that Chişinău intends to preserve visa-free travel with these two countries through separate bilateral agreements. “For citizens of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the procedure for travel remains unchanged,” Azattyq.org reported, citing Moldovan government sources. In 2024, Moldova also announced plans to open its first embassy in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. The new visa requirements apply solely to citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, who will now need to obtain visas for work, study, or personal travel to Moldova. Authorities in Chişinău explained that the decision is part of Moldova’s broader effort to align its legal framework with European Union standards. EU regulations require visas for all CIS nationals, and Moldova is gradually adjusting its migration and visa policies in preparation for EU accession. The move comes in the wake of Moldova’s October 2024 referendum, in which voters supported the country’s path toward EU membership. Since then, the government has withdrawn from numerous CIS treaties, exited the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, ceased payments to the Mir television network, and closed its local bureau. Relations between Moldova and Kyrgyzstan have been further strained by unresolved issues, including Kyrgyzstan’s calls for the repayment of a Soviet-era debt and Moldova’s ban on Kyrgyz airlines due to their inclusion on the EU’s aviation safety blacklist. Kyrgyz civil activist Almaz Tazhybay told Vesti.kg that Kyrgyz carriers will only regain access to Moldovan airspace after meeting EU safety requirements. Moldovan authorities have emphasized that the policy is not targeted at any specific country. Officials in Chişinău describe the changes as part of a broader legal realignment as Moldova pursues its goal of joining the European Union by 2030.