The European Union and Uzbekistan will look to accelerate the process of concluding a new Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, according to a European External Action Service press release
TASHKENT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th May, 2020) The European Union and Uzbekistan will look to accelerate the process of concluding a new Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, according to a European External Action Service press release.
The announcement follows the holding of bilateral telephone talks between EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov on Monday.
"They confirmed their ambition to conclude negotiations on an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement as soon as possible," the press release read.
Additionally, the European Union will pledge 36 million Euros ($39.3 million) to support Uzbekistan's efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Borrell also expressed the EU's support for the Central Asian country's application to join the World Trade Organization.
Negotiations between Tashkent and Brussels to reach an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement have been ongoing since February 2019 and five rounds of bilateral talks have been held, the most recent of which took place in early March.
Any new deal will replace an existing agreement that has been in force for two decades. A similar agreement was signed between the EU and Kazakhstan in 2015.
