EU-Central Asia trade

The EU and Central Asia have a geopolitical interest in intensifying cooperation and their relationship has acquired increased strategic importance over the years.

The EU is Central Asia’s:

second largest trading partner
largest foreign investor
number one donor (EU development funds combined with individual aid from member states)

The EU’s partnership with Central Asia

The EU strategy on Central Asia forges a stronger, non-exclusive partnership based on three main pillars.

Partnering for resilience

Human rights and democracy, security, environmental challenges.

Partnering for prosperity

Supporting economic diversification and private sector development, promoting intra-regional trade and sustainable connectivity.

Working better together

Enhancing the partnership, boosting political dialogue and expanding civil society involvement.

The 2023 EU-Central Asia joint roadmap outlines 5 key areas of cooperation and 79 action points, focusing on political dialogue, economic ties, energy and climate cooperation, security challenges, and people-to-people connections.

Over €550 million have been allocated to the EU's Central Asia regional multiannual indicative programme 2021-2027.

EU trade in goods and services with Central Asia

EU trade with the region accounted for 22.6% of the Central Asian countries’ combined foreign trade in 2023.

Total trade in goods and services in 2023

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First bar chart representing EU imports from Central Asia in 2023:

EU imports of goods: €32.5 billion
EU imports of services: €2 billion

Second bar chart representing EU exports to Central Asia in 2023:

EU exports of goods: €20.2 billion
EU exports of services: €4.3 billion

Growing imports and exports

Trade between the EU and Central Asia has grown significantly over the last 10 years.

Top EU imports from Central Asia

Central Asian exports to the EU consist mainly of:

Crude oil

Gas

Metals

Cotton fibre

Top EU exports to Central Asia

Machinery and mechanical appliances

Motor vehicles

Electrical machinery and equipment

Chemical and related products

EU investments in Central Asia

The European Union remains the largest investor in Central Asia, providing over 40% of foreign direct investments over the past ten years (over €100 billion).

There are four key priority areas for investment for both the EU and Central Asia: transport, critical raw materials, water-energy-climate, and digital connectivity.

Top countries investing in Central Asia in 2022

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Pie chart representing foreign direct investment in Central Asia in 2022:

EU: 42%
US: 14.2%
Russia: 6%
China: 3.7%
Others: 34.1%

EU-Central Asia partnership

Since the adoption of the EU Central Asia strategy in 2019 and the joint roadmap for deepening relations between the EU and Central Asia in 2023, cooperation has intensified, strengthening political dialogue, supporting sustainable development and enhancing regional connectivity through initiatives such as the Global Gateway and the green transition.

The EU and Central Asia maintain regular high-level political dialogues, including ministerial meetings with foreign affairs ministers and two leaders' meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2022 and in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan in 2023. The first EU-Central Asia summit was held on 4 April 2025 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.