Over the last thirty years, the partnership between Italy and the Central Asian countries (the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan) has gradually and steadily strengthened and is now continually expanding, establishing itself as one of the strategic priorities of Italian foreign policy.
Building on solid bilateral political relations, evidenced by many high-level visits in recent years, Italy maintains growing relations with the Central Asian Republics, focused on developing cooperation and exchanging know-how in many fields of common interest. These include energy, connectivity, and infrastructure, also within the framework of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). The areas of greatest expansion for bilateral cooperation include energy transition, the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources, including water management, environmental protection, including issues related to the Aral Sea, sustainable agriculture, and the development of local ecosystems.
In addition to these innovative areas of exploration for potential synergies, there are also traditional areas of collaboration, such as culture, where Italy aims to enhance the so-called “people-to-people” relations through the promotion of the language and, specifically in the case of Central Asia, inter-university higher education.
We boast a strong business presence in the five Republics, and many inter-institutional coordination initiatives promote trade, such as the Business Forums between business communities regularly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in collaboration with the Italian Trade Agency (ITA).
Italy contributes to the stability and shared prosperity of the Central Asian region by promoting the development, strengthening, and enhancement of economic interconnections among the five countries and between them and the rest of the world, particularly through the Italy-Central Asia regional cooperation format (“1+5”), which has seen three meetings at the level of Foreign Ministers. On May 30, 2025, the format met for the first time in Astana as a Summit of Heads of State and Government, co-chaired by the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the President of Kazakhstan, Qasym-Jomart Kemeluly Toqaev.
Italy also participates in its partners’ efforts to strengthen and intensify ties and synergies between the European Union and Central Asia, both bilaterally and regionally, supporting the European Global Gateway strategy and encouraging the EU institutions’ growing attention to the region’s potential as a driver of peace, stability, sustainable development, and rational management of environmental resources. Europe’s growing attention to the Central Asian region is evidenced by the first EU-Central Asia Summit, held in Samarkand on April 4, 2025, at which it was agreed to elevate relations between the EU and the five countries to the level of a Strategic Partnership.