Dr. Mona Soliman‏‏

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni concluded her first tour of Central Asia, visiting Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan from May 28 to 30, 2025. She emphasized the importance of strategic cooperation with Central Asia and attended the inaugural Italy-Central Asia Summit, which brought together the region's heads of state. During the Summit, Meloni said that Rome would act as a bridge between the region and the European Union. The summit concluded with a joint statement highlighting the significance of bilateral cooperation with multilateral platforms such as the EU. Moreover, it was agreed to hold the summit regularly every two years. The summit also witnessed the signing of 7-billion-euro worth of trade agreements between Rome, Astana, and Tashkent. This underscores Italy's efforts to enhance its influence in Central Asia in a way that serves its strategic and economic interests.Geopolitical OutcomesOver the past few years, Italy has sought to develop its relations with the five Central Asian countries. These are: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. In 2019, it became the first country in the European Union to initiate the "1+5" consultation mechanism with Central Asian states. In this context, Meloni's tour holds significant importance in the evolution of Italian diplomacy toward the region. The visit yielded several key outcomes, including the following:1- Holding the First Presidential Summit Between Italy and Central Asia: The first (Italy-Central Asia) summit was held in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, on May 30, 2025, attended by Meloni and the leaders of the five Central Asian countries. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev commenced the summit by praising Meloni’s political prominence, describing her as the most influential figure of our time. He also highlighted that the summit reflects Central Asia’s growing geopolitical importance.Meanwhile, Meloni stated that Central Asia has historically been a point of intersection between East and West and plays a strategic role in the global landscape, adding that Rome will serve as a bridge between Europe and Central Asia. The leaders underlined their commitment to peace, security, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and sustainable development. At the conclusion of the summit, it was agreed to hold the event biennially, with the next summit scheduled for 2027 in Kyrgyzstan, and the fourth foreign ministers’ conference to be held in Italy in 2026.2- Emphasizing the Diversification of Future Cooperation Pathways: The summit highlighted the need to enhance trade cooperation in several areas, including small and medium-sized enterprise development, natural resource extraction, renewable energy, and telecommunications under EU projects with Central Asian countries. They also stressed the importance of collaboration on environmental issues to address climate change challenges in Central Asia, such as the Aral Sea crisis, glacier melting, mountain sustainability, and effective water management. Rome proposed transferring Italian expertise in technological innovation to Central Asia and announced the launch of joint activities under the ‘Central Asia + Italy’ framework in energy, water, and sustainable agriculture. A roundtable on ‘Water Cooperation’ was proposed for 2026, followed by another on ‘Sustainable Energy’ in 2027.3- Establishing a Strategic Partnership Between Italy and Kazakhstan: Meloni praised her cooperation with Kazakh President Tokayev and his role in Central Asia, emphasizing Rome’s recognition of the importance of strategic collaboration with the region. She expressed Italy’s determination to enhance cooperation in (critical raw materials, energy, gas, and infrastructure). Tokayev proposed establishing an Italian Chamber of Commerce in Almaty, his country’s capital, and intensifying collaboration between entrepreneurs from the region and Italy to strengthen economic ties. Meloni and Tokayev signed several economic agreements worth around €4 billion, covering energy, water resource management, and agribusiness. They also witnessed the signing of memoranda of understanding on (migration issues and the development of innovative energy infrastructure). Italy is Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner after Russia and China, with bilateral trade exceeding $20 billion in 2024. Kazakhstan can help Italian companies mitigate risks, diversify supplies, and access Central Asian and Eurasian Economic Union markets.4- Enhancing Energy Cooperation: Given Central Asia’s oil and gas reserves, Meloni proposed strengthening cooperation in both traditional and renewable energy, including hydrogen production, to meet Italy’s long-term energy needs. Tokayev confirmed Kazakhstan’s readiness to increase oil supplies to Italy, currently at 30 million tons annually. A joint Italian-Kazakh declaration was issued on critical minerals and rare raw materials extraction. Meloni also discussed ways to enhance energy cooperation with Turkmen President Berdimuhamedov. Meanwhile, Uzbek President Mirziyoyev affirmed Uzbekistan’s commitment to transitioning to "green fuel" with Italy and investing in renewable energy. Additionally, Italy and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement on investment protection and promotion.5- Promoting the Importance of Scientific and Cultural Cooperation: Mirziyoyev proposed establishing a "Central Asia-Italy" business club and called for leveraging technological projects with Italian companies. He also advocated for creating a joint tourism products alliance and holding a tourism forum in 2026. Mirziyoyev praised the opening of branches of Italian universities—including Politecnico and Pisa—in Tashkent and suggested forming a "Central Asia-Italy" scientific and educational alliance for research and funding studies in engineering, design, and water technology. Notably, Uzbekistan named a street in Samarkand "Rome" in honor of the visit, reflecting the historical and cultural ties between the two countries.6- Strengthening Security Cooperation Between Rome and Central Asia: The final declaration of the Italy-Central Asia summit emphasized enhancing security and intelligence cooperation among the six nations to combat terrorism and address non-traditional security threats. These include: cyber warfare, illegal migration, as well as trafficking of drugs, weapons, and humans. The leaders stressed the need to improve information sharing, expertise exchange, and training in various security fields. Rome is particularly concerned about the potential influx of migrants from the region via land and sea routes through Turkey and Greece, as well as the infiltration of terrorists from Afghanistan—a hub for several extremist groups in the area, particularly ISIS-Khorasan and Al-Qaeda.Multiple GainsIt can be said that Meloni’s visit to Central Asia carries several key implications, including the following:1- Positioning Italy as a New Player in Central Asia: Meloni’s tour of Central Asia marks a pivotal moment in relations between the two sides, as Rome is reassessing its foreign policy in light of current geopolitical shifts within the European Union. The nationalist currents to which Meloni belongs are gaining momentum, driving efforts to diversify political, economic, security, and cultural partnerships outside the EU framework—despite Italy’s involvement in all of the bloc’s future projects with Central Asia. This serves Italy’s strategic interests in bolstering its role as an influential actor in regional affairs.2- Strengthening Economic Ties: Meloni’s visit will enhance Italy’s partnerships across Central Asia, particularly with Kazakhstan, which Rome views as the region’s largest economy, as well as Uzbekistan, where Italy aims to expand its geopolitical presence. Additionally, Italy has begun exploring defense and military cooperation with Astana through joint training programs and arms production, either bilaterally or in alignment with NATO, of which Rome is a member. The alliance is likely to welcome this move, given its desire to deepen its military footprint in a region often described as "Russia’s backyard"—especially amid the military escalation in the Ukraine war and ongoing European military support, despite divisions within NATO. This could shift military balances in Central Asia and solidify Italy’s political and military role in the region.3- Italy's Efforts to Expand Its Role in Regional Corridors: Rome announced its support for developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) to connect Central Asia with European countries. Italian companies expressed interest in contributing to infrastructure development projects in Central Asia, including new railway lines and logistics services. Tokayev highlighted the opportunities offered by the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (the "Middle Corridor"), as it will establish transport links between Central Asia and Europe—especially since a significant portion of land freight traffic between China and Europe passes through Central Asia. He invited Italian companies to participate in these projects.4- Escalating Regional and International Competition in Central Asia: If Italy succeeds in consolidating its economic and military presence in Central Asia, it will intensify regional and international competition with key regional and global powers active in the area—most notably Turkey, Israel, China, and Russia. During his visit to Uzbekistan in April 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that "Moscow categorically opposes Western attempts to dominate Central Asia," signaling that Russia may take direct and indirect countermeasures to hinder cooperation between Central Asia and European countries, including Italy. Rome views Meloni’s tour as a strategic opportunity to shape EU influence in Central Asia and counterbalance Russian and Chinese pressure on regional states. However, Italy’s expanding role in the region may draw attention from Turkey, a key regional power, and could introduce challenges to Ankara–Rome relations and their cooperation within NATO.In summary, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s tour of Central Asia marks a strategic effort to expand Italy’s political and economic presence in the region, following the inaugural summit with Central Asian leaders. The initiative is expected to deepen their multidimensional partnership and reinforce Europe’s engagement amid growing Russian and Chinese influence. However, it may also intensify geopolitical competition between Rome, Moscow, and Beijing.

How Is Italy Expanding Its Influence in Central Asia?