From Europe to Central Asia bypassing Russia. It is the idea of a railway line that connects the two continents to make them closer not only geographically, but above all diplomatically. Global challenges, such as those deriving from Trump’s duties, inexorably push towards trade as a form of response.
One response can come from the section of the Transcaspica international transport route (Titr), a corridor considered key to the Eurasian trade and to reduce Moscow dependence, on which Brussels has focused 10 billion euros. And he was at the center of the first summit between the European Union and Central Asia countries, which has started today in Uzbekistan, with the aim of strengthening cooperation in key sectors such as trade, energy and safety. At the meeting, hosted in the historic city of Samarkand, the leaders of the EU and the five central-Asian states participate: Kazakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
A 12 billion euro package for energy that is not Russian
The starting point that binds this two apparently distant worlds is the increase in commercial exchanges in recent years: to limit itself to the two major economies, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the first has recorded an interchange of 47.3 billion dollars with the EU last year, while the second of 6.4 billion dollars. Overall, the EU is the second commercial partner for the Region, as well as the largest investor, with over 40 percent of investments.
Good discussions with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
We’re expanding our cooperation like Never Before:
Transport, Critical Raw Materials, Digital, Energy and Climate Protection.
Everything we need to grow and prosper together. pic.twitter.com/cs3afok33u
– Ursula von der leyen (@vonderleyen) April 3, 2025
“We started a new strategic partnership. This means that we can count on each other,” said the president of the EU commission, Ursula von der Leyen in the press point after the summit. “As a great beginning of this new chapter, we launched a 12 billion euro package for the Region as part of the Global Gateway investment program,” said the leader of the European Executive. This package is divided into four priorities: transport, climate and water resilience, digital, critical subjects that fall within the plan of 300 billion euros of investments abroad with which Von der Leyen hopes to compete with the new silk route promised by China in Africa, Asia and South America.
The new package will finance projects in the transport sectors (3 billion euros), essential raw materials (2.5 billion euros), water, energy and climate (6.4 billion euros), as well as digital connectivity, some of which have already been approved and allocated by the European bank for reconstruction and development (Bers).
In search of rare lands
The former Soviet republics without outlet on the sea are crucial but complex, with governments still close to Moscow and very courted by Beijing. Russian companies used the region to circumvent the economic sanctions imposed by the West after the war in Ukraine.
Italian affairs in Kyrgyzstan that help Russia to evade western sanctions
For this reason, Europeans try to strengthen their influence on the governments of Central Asia, which can help Brussels diversify the supply of rare lands. Von der Leyen recognizes the role that the Region represents, that is, that of a strategic partner for the union thanks to its natural resources. A little numbers. The Region hosts large deposits, including 38.6 percent of the World Manganese mineral, 30.07 percent of Chromium, the 20 lead, 12.6 of zinc and 8.7 percent of titanium. But China has the world record of the extraction, processing and sale of some essential raw materials, such as lithium, indispensable for the development of renewable energies, everyday goods and defense systems. And it is precisely from the Asian giant that Brussels wants to “separate” because of his aggressive and protectionist commercial and foreign policy practices. With a view to reducing dependence on other markets, central Asia could become a privileged supplier for Europe.
“We all need critical raw materials to feed the ecological transition and clean economy of tomorrow,” said Von der Leyen stating that the partnership will allow ID to create jobs. Access to clean energy and rare lands is fundamental for the EU, which aims to reach climatic neutrality by 2050 and strengthen its autonomy in the strategic sectors. Already some European companies have started to explore the region looking for rare lands. The German HMS Bergbau AG is implementing a joint project to exploit lithium deposits in Eastern Kazakhstan. In November, Astana and Paris signed a roadmap for a strategic partnership in the field of resources and critical materials that will last until 2026. The agreement should allow French companies to penetrate the Kazakh geological market this year.
Then there is the energy sector, which underwent a jolt with the beginning of the war in Ukraine and with the need to move away from Russian supplies. During the summit, Brussels presented a loan of 200 million euros to Kazakhstan to support projects related to sustainable energy and transport.
The historic agreement on the common frontier
Von der Leyen must have considered this a propitious moment to make agreements with the five ex -Soviet republics. On March 13, Kyrgyzstan and Tagikistan signed a historic agreement on the delimitation of the common frontier which puts an end to a dispute that has lasted for thirty years, also linked to the control of water resources. The origins of tensions date back to the Soviet era, when Moscow traced the boundaries without considering the ethnic and geographical complexity of this mountainous region.
According to an estimate of the Kirghise authorities, Kyrgyzstan will get about twenty -five square kilometers of land, in exchange for an equivalent surface or better access to common water resources. The agreement is part of a context of general improvement in the relations between the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia and also provides for the reopening of the common border and the restoration of direct air connections. A stratagem, this, which will allow a greater exchange of goods and workers to whom Brussels seems very interested.
