EU-Central Asia Summit in Samarkand: Central Asia's raw materials in the EU's focus

Against the backdrop of growing interest in rare earths and critical raw materials, a high-level EU delegation is traveling to Samarkand. Geopolitical interest in Central Asia is growing rapidly, but so far the EU has been hesitant.

Samarkand, Uzbekistan – The hosts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan welcomed the EU delegation with a mixture of openness and reserve.

According to EU Ambassador to Uzbekistan Toivo Klaar, the two-day summit on Thursday and Friday is intended to “significantly strengthen” relations.

Among the few concrete outcomes expected from the meeting are the opening of an office of the European Investment Bank in Tashkent and the announcement of a European Investment Forum to be held in Uzbekistan in 2025.

A central document of the summit will be the so-called "Samarkand Declaration," which sets out the "common desire for a strategic partnership." Topics such as connectivity, the environment, and security are on the agenda—but the main focus will be on access to critical raw materials.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU's interest in Central Asia has grown. The long-neglected region is becoming the focus of strategic considerations due to its geopolitical location and resources.

The landlocked states of the former Soviet republics of Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – are strategically important; their governments remain close to Moscow and are also heavily courted by Beijing. Russian companies also use locations in the region to circumvent Western sanctions.

For this reason, Europe is seeking to strengthen its influence over Central Asian governments. However, the pursuit of access to important minerals and Europe's urgent need to diversify its energy sources are also key motivations.

Mineral resources with strategic value

The region boasts significant deposits of uranium, lithium, and rare earths—key elements for the energy transition and advanced technologies. Currently, the EU is almost entirely dependent on China for these resources.

Brussels is therefore pursuing a diversification strategy. In March, the EU Commission presented a new plan to revitalize the raw materials sector, including in third countries. The goal is to specifically support projects in partner countries.

"We see that the EU is very interested in Central Asia," said Han Ilhan, advisor to the Uzbekistan Technological Metals Complex. Numerous projects are currently being planned.

Central Asia could be important for Europe. The EU's 34 critical raw materials—including cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, and tungsten—are abundant in the region.

“It is a little-known region, but all Central Asian countries are among the ten richest in the world in terms of raw material type, with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at the top,” said Roman Vakulchuk, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

"The investment climate is not particularly favorable, so we don't yet see an influx of Western mining companies into Central Asia. But that won't last much longer," said a French diplomat in Kazakhstan. He pointed, among other things, to the lack of international standards in the region's mining sector.

Some European companies are nevertheless making the move. For example, the German company HMS Bergbau AG is implementing a lithium project in eastern Kazakhstan.

In addition, France and Kazakhstan signed a strategic raw materials partnership until 2026 in November, which is intended to give French companies access to the Kazakh market.

At the EU level, a raw materials agreement with Kazakhstan worth three million euros was concluded on March 13. Uzbekistan had already signed a corresponding memorandum of understanding with the EU in May 2024.

Race with established powers

The EU is coming late, as China has been securing access to key mining licenses for over a decade, particularly in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The majority of exports of critical minerals from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are currently reserved for Beijing.

Russia, in turn, has been securing a large part of its uranium needs from the region for decades, which the Kremlin considers a strategic "near abroad." Economically, the region remains heavily dependent on Moscow for many infrastructure projects.

However, the race for critical metals in Central Asia has not gone unnoticed by other new players – including the US, Canada and South Korea, which recently signed major agreements with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

"Despite big words, the EU is only involved in two or three projects in Central Asia. This is very little and very slow, even though it has been interacting with these governments for decades," Vakulchuk said. Critical raw materials were not part of the EU's strategy for Central Asia before 2022.

But the region remains heavily dependent on Russia and China – a sensitive issue.

“We see a desire from Central Asia to deepen relations with the EU and diversify its foreign policy,” said a senior EU official.

As the Samarkand Summit takes place, European interest appears to be appreciated—but received with caution. None of the Central Asian republics has yet made a statement suggesting a greater role for the EU in the region.

[CS/BTS/KN]