The negotiations were also attended by the Ambassador of Finland to Central Asia, Ilkka Räisänen, and Deputy Director General of the Department for Asia and Oceania of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Mikko Kivikoski.

The parties exchanged views on key areas of cooperation between the Nordic Council region and Central Asia, and considered prospects for strengthening interaction between think tanks of the two regions.

In the beginning of her speech, Tehri Hakala, touching upon the issues of integration processes in Central Asia, noted the positive trends in strengthening trust and deepening cooperation among the countries of the region.

She also emphasized that a new stage in strengthening Uzbekistan–European relations and expanding strategic partnership will be the signing this year of the Agreement on Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation between Uzbekistan and the European Union, scheduled within the framework of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to Brussels.

Following the talks, the parties stressed the importance of further development of expert dialogue and agreed to maintain contacts to develop joint initiatives aimed at expanding cooperation between Central Asia and the Nordic Council.