A New Silk Road or Strategic Gamble? EU Bets Big on Central Asia at First-Ever Summit

Samarkand, Uzbekistan, hosted the first-ever EU-Central Asia summit (Pexels/AXP Photography).

European Union leaders held their first summit with five Central Asian countries on April 4, 2025 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, per EuroNews. European Council President Antonio Costa, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan discussed deepening trade ties and cooperation in critical minerals, water, energy, and transportation. By the end of the meeting Von der Leyen announced a $13.2 billion investment package to increase cooperation between the countries and the EU in transport, clean energy, and critical raw materials. 

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the EU has lost key Russian imports and trade routes. Historically, the EU has viewed the Central Asian region as geographically distant from its borders, and within the Russian sphere of influence. The EU had little engagement with Central Asia following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, efforts in 2015 yielded preliminary cooperation agreements between Kazakhstan and the EU, and the Central Asian-EU partnership slowly grew before being significantly galvanized by the Russo-Ukrainian War. 

The recent turmoil between the United States and the EU has further pushed Europe to strengthen and develop new partnerships, according to The Diplomat. The first EU-Central Asia summit was held only 2 days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on dozens of countries, including 20 percent on European products, per EuroNews. The EU has begun to reconfigure its Central Asia policy with the acknowledgement that Central Asia is an increasingly key trade partner, providing a bypass access to East Asian markets and critical minerals alongside alternative markets to the United States.

$3 billion from the deal announced by the EU have been earmarked for new transport infrastructure in Central Asia, with experts suggesting that they may go towards improving the Middle Corridor, a trade route that avoids Russia to transport goods between Europe and Asia. Current challenges to the Middle Corridor—such as multiple borders and political turmoil—could be eased by the funding. Officials have stated a goal of 10 million tons of goods moving through the corridor by 2029, though this remains a miniscule fraction of the trade arriving in Europe every year.  

Through this first summit, the EU is doubling down on a region long tied to Russia, and more recently to China. China has been the largest trading partner of Central Asia since 2024. From EVs to drones and anti-aircraft systems, China has successfully captured a significant part of the Central Asian economy, per OilPrice.com. The Chinese-Central Asian partnership continues to deepen, with recent reports suggesting that Uzbekistan may purchase Chinese fighter jets, per Eurasianet. Despite the war in Ukraine, and a waning economic influence compared to China, Russia continues to hold influence in the region. Notably, The Diplomat reports, all five Central Asian leaders spoke in Russian during the EU summit. 

However, the EU’s trade with Central Asia has been steadily increasing. Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that trade between Central Asia and the EU has increased the last seven years, reaching $60 billion most recently. He expressed hope that the summit would become a “starting point of a new stage in the development of multi-faceted relations.” Regional analysts hold a mixed review of the summit, with some bashing the EU’s proposed plan for lacking substance and specifics, per Eurasianet. While the investment is promising and significant, the EU faces an uphill battle in competing with China’s entrenched presence and Russia’s cultural ties in the region.

It will take time to see the actual effect of the summit and its proposed plan. Leaders agreed to hold an investors’ forum later this year to secure more investments for the Trans-Caspian transport corridor, and to establish a local office in Uzbekistan, according to Euronews. Officials also supported the idea of holding summits every two years. While the new EU-Central Asian partnership is unlikely to significantly counter Chinese investment in the region, increasing bilateral trade would strengthen both sides. The trade could shore up Europe’s energy insecurity while offering Central Asia a western partner and Europe an eastern partner that appears less threatening than China and more stable than the US.