1st EU-Central Asia Ministerial Forum on security issues
Javier Solana, Bernard Kouchner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner
© F. de La Mure, MAEE
- On: 18.09.2008
- In: Paris, Château de la Muette and OECD headquarters
Adopted at the European Council meeting of June 2007, upon the initiative of the German Presidency, the European Union Strategy for Central Asia has helped consolidate relations between the European Union and the five countries in the region, namely Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The aim of the Paris Forum is to reaffirm this commitment and establish lasting cooperation between these two regions on security issues.
Consultations between the EU and the five countries in the region have actually emphasised convergence on the importance of the region's stability and the need to step up cooperation between all the parties to find common answers to the challenges facing all our countries.
This Forum will focus on three main issues: terrorist threat and non-proliferation related-aspects, the fight against human and drug trafficking, and energy and environmental security. Our intent is to analyse these security issues together to draw up concrete policies which address them, in a forum of exchange that we hope will last.
Bernard Kouchner, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, will bring together his ministerial counterparts from the Central Asian countries, the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero Waldner, as well as the Council Secretary-General of the Council/High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana. The French Minister has collectively invited foreign ministers from EU member and candidate countries (Turkey, Croatia and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), as well as the international and regional organisations and the investment and development banks concerned. Afghanistan will attend as an observer country given its geographical proximity and the problems it shares with countries from the zone.
- Updated: 25.11.2008
