The EU and five Central Asian countries agreed on Friday to strengthen cooperation on extracting critical raw materials. This was stated by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at a press conference after a summit between the EU and five Central Asian countries in Uzbekistan on Friday.
The EU wants to increase its influence and strengthen ties with Central Asia in light of competition from Russia and China.
- In these uncertain times, Europe stands for openness and engagement. For Europe, Central Asia is a preferred partner, says Ursula von der Leyen.
The leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan participated in the summit, which was the first of its kind. In her speech, von der Leyen said that Central Asia has access to a large part of the planet's critical raw materials.
This includes 40 percent of the reserves of the element manganese and 30 percent of the of the reserves of the element chromium. In addition, Central Asia has access to reserves of titanium, graphite and rare earths.
- These minerals are crucial for the global green transition. And while other players are only interested in extracting and exploiting your resources, Europe's offer is different, says von der Leyen.
jel /ritzau/
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