AKIPRESS.COM - The European Union will allocate €1.2 billion in support for sustainable development in Central Asia up to 2020, the EU Commissioner Neven Mimica said ahead of the visit to Central Asian countries, the EU Delegation reports.

"The European Union is a key partner of the countries of Central Asia - and we are ready to strengthen our engagement with the region. With roughly €1.2 billion in support up to 2020, we are helping the region to develop in a sustainable way. Together with our Central Asian partners, we are supporting initiatives and reforms that aim at job creation, private sector development, promotion of investments, good governance, water management, the provision of education and health services and border management," Mimica said.

On November 10, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, and the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica will be in Samarkand for the 13th annual EU-Central Asia ministerial meeting.

The meeting is expected to focus on security, economic, and political issues, as well as the European Union's role in the region, and the High Representative/Vice-President will have a press point together with the meeting's host, the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, at 12:00 CET. While in Samarkand, High Representative/Vice-President Mogherini will also deliver a speech at the conference "Central Asia: Shared past and common future, cooperation for sustainable development and mutual prosperity". She will also hold a number of meetings, including with the President of Uzbekistan and the foreign ministers of the Central Asian countries.