В Атырау
+10 
Brussels, 27 January 2025 – At the initiative of the ambassadors of Central Asia countries and Mongolia accredited in Belgium, a meeting was held with David McAllister, Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET).
During the meeting, issues of bilateral and regional co-operation were discussed. Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Belgium Margulan Baimukhan emphasized the strategic importance of the Central Asian region for the European Union in the areas of transport, logistics, critical raw materials and energy supplies.
The participants discussed preparations for key events, including the Sixth Meeting of the EU-Central Asia Special Representatives on Afghanistan, the Twentieth EU-CA Ministerial Conference and the EU-CA Summit to be held in Uzbekistan in spring 2025. The upcoming visit of the European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Jozef Síkela, was also highlighted.
The AFET Chairman emphasized the importance of the EU-CA Summit, which has been in preparation for a long time, and reaffirmed the readiness of the European Parliament for comprehensive co-operation with the Parliaments of the Central Asian countries.
Special attention was paid to the role of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Central Asia and Mongolia (DCAS) for strengthening inter-parliamentary co-operation.
David McAllister noted the importance of Central Asia in the context of international agenda, economy and security, expressing readiness to co-operate with the committees of parliaments of the countries of the region. The necessity of cooperation with national rapporteurs on the countries of Central Asia and Mongolia in the EP was also emphasised.
In turn, the Kazakh diplomat noted that the region attaches great importance to the implementation of priorities of the Concept of Development of Regional Cooperation “Central Asia – 2040” and the Roadmap for 2025-2027, approved at the Central Asia Summit in Astana in August 2024.
The Ambassador of Kazakhstan also attached special importance to the dynamics of economic growth in the region: the aggregate GDP of the CA countries is 450 billion US dollars, and intra-state trade has increased by 80% over the last 5 years, reaching 11 billion dollars.
In addition, Ambassador Baimukhan emphasized the new phase of development of Central Asia as a unified region, which the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev labelled as the “Renaissance of Central Asia”.
He also emphasized that Kazakhstan adheres to the principle of “Successful Central Asia – successful Kazakhstan” and is ready to promote the development of integration processes.
The participants of the meeting noted the effectiveness of “CA+” formats, which contribute to strengthening ties between the countries of the region and the European Union.