EU, Central Asia Agree to Boost Security Cooperation - Mogherini

The European Union and Central Asian countries agreed on Monday to further expand security cooperation, including measures to counter the radicalization of youth, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.

ASTANA (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Mogherini arrived to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, to chair the 11th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting, that bought together diplomats from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

"We discussed and decided how to strengthen our cooperation in the field of security and stability… especially to counter radicalization of our youth both in Europe, around the Mediterranean, in the Middle East and in Central Asia," Mogherini told reporters after the meeting. "It is a global challenge, but together we have more instruments to face this and to prevent this threat."

According to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry's statement, the sides also exchanged views on update of the EU Strategy for Central Asia, cooperation between the European Union and Central Asia in border management, education, economy, investment and environment protection.

Such issues, as coordinated fight against terrorism, illegal migration and drug trafficking were discussed with particular attention, according to the ministerial statement.