(Adnkronos) – Italy and Kazakhstan will bolster collaboration on migration policy and in the battle against illegal immigration and will look at visa liberalisation, premier Giorgia Meloni and Kazakh President Qasym-Jomart Toqaev said in a joint statement on Friday during Meloni’s visit to Astana.
Meloni and Toqaev also “reaffirmed their commitment to creating a solid and lasting basis of cooperation between the European Union and the countries of Central Asia, also underlining the importance of strengthening connectivity between Europe and Central Asia,” the statement said.
Italy especially welcomed the results of the First Central Asia – European Union Summit, held on 4 April in Uzbekistan”, the statement continued.
Additionally, the two governments “underlined their commitment to further developing intra-regional dialogue, which plays an important role in strengthening peace, stability and sustainable development, also highlighting the importance of the Central Asia + Italy format,” said the statement.
Meloni’s trip to Uzbekistan on Thursday and to Kazakhstan on Friday culminated in the first-ever Italy-Central Asia summit, held in Astana.
Friday’s summit brought together the leaders of all five Central Asian republics: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan and talks focused on energy, rare earth minerals, digitalisation, logistics, infrastructure, and broader cooperation in culture, science, and agriculture.
At the 4 April summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, the EU announced a new strategic partnership with the countries of Central Asia, with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen unveiling a 12 billion euro package for the region to finance transport, critical raw materials, water, energy, climate and digital connectivity projects.
Italy in 2019 became the first EU nation to initiate a ‘1+5’ format of consultation with Central Asian countries, laying the groundwork to deepen inter-regional dialogue, underpinned by Italy foreign policy and export strategies.
