On April 3-4 this year, our country will host the first summit between the European Union and Central Asia. This is an important event that underlines the desire to expand and deepen cooperation between the regions.

Ahead of the summit, from March 12 to 18, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation Jozef Sikela visited five Central Asian countries. He completed his visit in Uzbekistan, where on March 17 he visited the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex (AMMC) and got acquainted with its activities.

The delegation included the EU and German ambassadors to Uzbekistan, representatives of the European Commission’s Directorate for International Partnerships, the European Investment Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Abdulla Khursanov, Chairman of the Board of Almalyk MMC JSC, met the guests at the Metallurg Palace of Culture.

For information: On April 5, 2024, in Brussels, Uzbekistan and the European Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at developing sustainable value chains in the field of strategic raw materials. This document will help develop the mining industry of Uzbekistan and provide the EU with access to such important resources as copper and molybdenum. As part of the memorandum, a “Roadmap” with specific goals of cooperation was developed.

The guests visited the Metallurg Palace of Culture and the complex museum, where they got acquainted with the history of the enterprise. Then they went to the “Kalmakyr” and “Yoshlik I” deposits.

It should be noted that AMMC actively cooperates with Germany. As part of this partnership, equipment, components and spare parts were imported from Germany in 2024, and copper cathode and copper rod were sent to Germany in 2023. In 2024, palladium powder was also exported.

The next stop for the European delegation was a copper concentrator capable of processing 60 million tons of ore per year. The guests were given a detailed account of the technological processes and equipment installed at the plant.

The guests also visited an engineering school modeled on the training center of the German company Aurubis. Currently, the educational process at the school takes place both online and offline with the participation of teachers from the Mining Academy of the Freiberg University of Technology. In addition, lectures are given here by professors and teachers from Germany, the USA, Japan, South Korea and Italy. To train specialists, training programs were developed with the participation of experts from the complex and foreign partners. They are based on the dual education methods used at the Mining Academy of Freiberg, as well as in the companies Aurubis and GP Günter Papenburg. The school pays special attention to in-depth study of computer science and English.

According to the press service of the EU Delegation to Uzbekistan, European Commissioner Jozef Sikela will also hold a number of meetings with officials of our country. During his visit, he will discuss issues of strengthening cooperation between the EU and Central Asia, promoting regional development, creating jobs and ensuring sustainable economic growth. Particular attention will be paid to expanding the Global Gateway initiative, aimed at developing transport infrastructure, extracting strategic raw materials, digital communications, energy, water resources and the environment. During the visit, Jozef Sikela is expected to sign a number of documents related to the implementation of the Global Gateway in the region.

During the meeting at AMMC, the parties discussed prospects for cooperation in the field of enterprise modernization, ecology and investment attraction. In particular, the possibilities of financing the construction of a new copper complex through loans from KfW IPEX-Bank and the European Investment Bank, as well as lending mechanisms and grant programs were considered.