BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 19. The Middle Corridor stands out as one of the most crucial projects, linking Asia, Central Asia, and Europe, Member of the European Parliament Karsten Lucke told Trend.
On January 17, the European Parliament adopted Karsten Lucke's report on the EU strategy for Central Asia. This report serves as an update to the Central Asia strategy from 2019.
Commenting on the importance of increasing connectivity between Europe and Central Asia in the new strategy, Lucke emphasized the need for both regions to grow and strengthen partnerships for the benefit of their people. This involves enhancing various routes in the region, resulting in advantages in trade and connectivity.
He mentioned that Central Asia holds significant potential for closer connections with Europe in the areas of wind, water energy management, and critical raw materials. This could lead to an expansion of economic ties, fostering collaboration in various other domains.
"The adoption of the report on the EU strategy on Central Asia is a very important signal towards the Central Asian states. The people in Central Asia are looking for closer and deeper relations and partnership with the European Union," he said.
Lucke highlighted the necessity for a new strategy by the European Parliament since 2019, considering significant global events such as the pandemic, the situation in Afghanistan, and the war in Ukraine.
“The geopolitical moment in the region is changing, and Europe would be smart to use this window of opportunity to strengthen our ties to Central Asia. We have common interest and have to tackle joint challenges: security and conflict resolution, connectivity, energy, climate change to name the most important ones. But also people to people contact have to be strengthened. If we really want to establish mid- and long-term partnerships we need to bring the people together,” he said.