TEHRAN, October 26. /Dunyo IA/. Yashar Niyazi, Editor-in-Chief of Iran’s ITNA Online News Agency, shared his insights with Dunyo AA on the outcomes of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to Brussels and the significance of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed between Uzbekistan and the European Union:

"On 24 October, a landmark event took place in Brussels: Uzbekistan and the European Union signed a new Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The agreement is designed to elevate Uzbekistan-EU relations to a qualitatively new strategic level.

The accord envisions active cooperation on foreign policy and security matters, including the fight against illegal migration, corruption, terrorism, and organized crime, as well as improved border management and personal data protection.

At the same time, in recent years, Uzbekistan has increasingly become a key partner of the European Union in Central Asia. In April of this year, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing strategic cooperation to develop sustainable value chains for critical raw materials of particular importance to the EU economy, including copper, lithium, aluminum, titanium, platinum, graphite, nickel, cobalt, and others.

Since 2020, the volume of trade between Uzbekistan and the European Union has doubled, reaching €6.4 billion.

The signing of the new agreement opens up new opportunities for both sides. For Europe, it provides the chance to stabilize transport and logistics chains across Uzbekistan and Central Asia, as well as to diversify the use of critical raw materials. For Uzbekistan, the EU represents an important partner in accessing new external markets, drawing international attention to water and climate issues, and diversifying regional security and foreign policy partnerships".