The European Union (EU) and Tajikistan held the first full round of negotiations in Dushanbe on June 2 to develop a new comprehensive framework for strengthening their bilateral relations.

The EU Delegation to Tajikistan says the negotiations for an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) with Tajikistan represented an important milestone in the EU’s relations with the country, to enlarge the areas of mutual cooperation in the areas of political cooperation, trade, key economic sectors, and also governance, rule of law and human rights.

The future Agreement will replace the current Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (in force since 2010).  The launch of bilateral discussions on the EPCA negotiations took place in Dushanbe in February 2023.

The negotiations were reportedly led by Chief Negotiators, Luc Devigne, Director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia and OSCE in the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Sharaf Sheralizoda, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan.

The EU delegation included a team of experts for trade negotiations.