EU Ambassador to Uzbekistan: visa negotiations are a matter of time

What the EU ambassador said

The EU Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Toivo Klaar, gave an interview to Kun.uz, in which he assessed the current state of bilateral relations, as well as issues of trade, transport, the visa regime, sanctions and Europe's position on Israel. Regarding visa negotiations with Uzbekistan, he said it is a matter of time.

Three events in two years

Summing up his two years of work in Tashkent, the diplomat named three historic events. The first was the summit in Samarkand in the spring of 2025. Then, in the autumn of last year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited Brussels, where the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement was signed. According to Klaar, these events are a symbol that relations are developing, strengthening and have reached a new level.

What the agreement changes in practice

Answering a question about the practical significance of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the ambassador emphasized that the document itself is merely the foundation of the partnership: in it, both sides expressed their intention to expand and deepen relations, but filling the agreement with substance depends on the parties themselves. It is about how the mechanisms provided for in it will be organized and used. Among the innovations, Klaar named the Trade Council — a structure that did not previously exist; according to him, it is now important to launch its work and make effective use of the agreement's opportunities. He separately noted that the document pays special attention to human rights, the rule of law and good governance, and both sides agree that these principles are an important foundation of relations. The main task, the ambassador repeated, is to implement in practice the expectations enshrined in the agreement: the full benefit of its opportunities depends on the people in Tashkent and Brussels who are developing these relations.