EU-Central Asia forum to focus on economic cooperation, security in

TASHKENT, April 7 (Itar-Tass) --The participants in the EU-Central
Asia ministerial meeting to be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Thursday,
April 7, will discuss economic cooperation and security in the region.
The foreign ministers will discuss the state of and prospects for
relations between the European Union and Central Asian states as part of
the EU's new partnership strategy for the region.
They will also touch upon trade, economic and regional cooperation in
such fields as energy, environmental protection and use of water
resources, border security, and the fight against illegal drug trafficking.
The participants will exchange views "on the situation in Afghanistan
and other pressing regional security issues of mutual interest", an
official statement carried by local mass media said.
The delegations of the Central Asian countries will he led by Uzbek
Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Elyor Ganiyev, Foreign Ministers
Rashid Meredov of Turkmen and Ruslan Kazakbayev of Kyrgyzstan, Tajik First
Deputy Foreign Minister Makhmudzhonom Sobirov, and his Kazakh counterpart
Konstantin Zhigalov.
The EU will be represented by Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos
Martonyi (on behalf of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton), European
Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, and EU Special
Representative for Central Asia Pierre Morel