DUSHANBE, April 16, Asia-Plus  -- Germany and the European Union as a whole are interested in integration, or, rather, cooperation among the Central Asian countries in various areas, Ms. Hedi Wegener, Chair of the German-Central Asian Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag, remarked, speaking at a roundtable meeting formally titled “Implementation of the European Union Strategy for Central Asia: Problems and Challenges” that was held in Dushanbe yesterday.  

According to her, Germany, which played an important role in creation of the European Union (EU), is ready to share its experiences with the Central Asian countries. 

However, each of Central Asia’s states has its own problems and specific characters concerning regional issues, Ms. Wegener added.  “Thus, there is a conflict of interests between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; Uzbekistan criticizes Tajikistan for the fact that it allegedly does not give water, while Tajikistan, for its part, criticizes Uzbekistan for its preventing development of Tajik hydropower complex,” she noted.    

 “I think it is necessary to establish a dialogue among the countries of the region in order that they could hear each other,” said the Bundestag representative.  “Therefore, we have decided to organize a conference on water problems in Central Asia in November this year and all countries of the region will be invited to attend the conference.”   

We will recall that Ms. Wegener arrived in Tajikistan together with Mr. Gernot Erler, Minister of State at Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, on April 14 and they will leave for Germany tomorrow, April 17.