ALMATY. KAZINFORM – Central Asia and the European Union saw a 61% rise in trade turnover last year, Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov said at the Second Economic Forum ‘European Union – Central Asia,’ Kazinform correspondent reports.
«The trade turnover between Central Asia and the European Union increased by 61% and amounted to 49 billion dollars last year,» said Smailov, adding that the country is ready to increase the range of goods exported to the European market.
The ‘European Union – Central Asia’ economic forum placed a special focus on the issues of green economy and digitalization development. In particular, mutual understanding was reached to join efforts to tackle climate change. The ways to ensure environmental security in Central Asia, including the issues of free use of water resources, were discussed widely.
The heads of the delegations also expressed their intent to continue work on bridging the digital gap.
«The forum discussed better transport connectivity in the region and between Central Asia and Europe. It was agreed to develop a roadmap to attract investment in the transport infrastructure in Central Asia. The European Investment Bank’s initiative to open two regional representative offices in Central Asia was supported,» said the Kazakh Prime Minister.
For his part, Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice President of the European Commission, said that the EU-Central Asia joint work allows to expand the potential of economic cooperation.
He went on to note that the EU works on a new prosperity program for the region providing for concrete actions to increase competitiveness and development as well as seeks to have a huge and positive impact on Central Asia as part of the Global Gateway initiative.
