Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana (Photo: governo.it)
Szabolcs Veres
03/06/2025 15:50
As part of her visit to Central Asia, Giorgia Meloni also visited Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and participated in the so-called C5+ platform uniting the Central Asian countries, which also hosted the first Italy-Central Asia summit.
Central Asia is currently undergoing a renaissance in Italian (and French) foreign policy and culture in many respects. From a cultural perspective, the post-Covid-19 era and the resumption of international tourism have led to a surge in interest in Central Asia, a region with a rich historical and cultural heritage reminiscent of the tales of One Thousand and One Nights. The countries of the region, particularly its cities along the ancient Silk Road, such as Samarkand, Khiva, and Bukhara, have experienced a notable increase in tourism, particularly among Italian travelers, in recent years.
However, from a political and economic perspective, the Italian Renaissance in Central Asia can be attributed to the Italian economy's demand for affordable and dependable energy exporters. In this regard, Central Asian countries, notably Kazakhstan, are well-positioned to fulfill this role. Furthermore, Central Asia occupies a pivotal role in China's Belt and Road Initiative, a project initiated in 2013 in Kazakhstan. This dynamic has prompted Rome to prioritize the cultivation of diplomatic ties with regional countries, a strategy that is crucial for the economic revitalization of Italy.
The most recent high-level meeting between Italy and the Central Asian countries was held in Rome in May 2024. This multilateral forum is complemented by frequent visits to Italy by the region's leaders. The following individuals are scheduled to assume the office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan: Shavkat Mirziyoyev in June 2023, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in January 2024, and Emomali Rahmon at the end of April 2024. In November 2023, Sergio Mattarella paid an official visit to Uzbekistan on behalf of Italy, and in March 2025, he paid an official visit to Kazakhstan.
However, Italy has recently decided to elevate the bilateral relationship with Central Asian nations to a more prominent standing. In doing so, the Italian government has directly engaged Meloni and her counterparts in Central Asia. Italy stands as a prominent economic partner in the region, particularly in the context of its relationship with Kazakhstan. At present, the country holds third place in terms of trade with Astana, with China and Russia occupying the top two positions. In 2024, the volume of trade between Kazakhstan and Italy exhibited a 25% increase, reaching a value of nearly USD 20 billion.
Italy's energy sector has cultivated particularly robust relationships with Kazakhstan and other countries in the region. Since 1992, Eni, the Italian national oil and gas company, has maintained a presence in Kazakhstan. In this capacity, Eni functions as a joint operator of the Karachaganak oil field and participates in the North Caspian Sea PSA consortium, which is responsible for the operation of the Kashagan oil field. For instance, in 2024, Italian exports of Kazakh oil and petroleum products amounted to more than USD 18 billion. It is imperative to note that other pivotal sectors of trade between Italy and Kazakhstan encompass agricultural machinery and agricultural production.
In a manner analogous to Kazakhstan, Rome also established a strategic partnership with Uzbekistan in June 2023, with the objective of deepening and expanding cooperation between the two countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally. Moreover, Italy has expressed its endorsement of Uzbekistan's bid to accede to the World Trade Organization, a matter that currently stands as a paramount foreign policy objective for Tashkent. However, trade relations between Rome and Tashkent are comparatively weaker than those between Rome and Astana, given that the Uzbek economy is smaller than that of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan does not have significant oil exports, which are Italy's primary interest in the region. Notwithstanding, the total value of trade between Italy and Uzbekistan amounted to USD 438 million in 2024.
Concurrently, another domain that presently constitutes a pivotal component of Italian-Kazakh and Italian-Central Asian relations pertains to defense and security policy. However, this domain is constrained by factors such as geographical distance and the immediate neighbors of Central Asia, namely Russia and China. Nevertheless, according to data published by the European Union, between 2007 and 2017, Turkmenistan purchased approximately EUR 340 million worth of weapons from EU member states, 76% of which were supplied by Italian companies. In 2021, Italy exported arms to Turkmenistan that constituted 35% of Ashgabat's total arms imports, including aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles. In February 2024, Turkmenistan's President Serdar Berdymuhamedov met with the president of Leonardo, an Italian state-owned enterprise operating in the defense, space, and security domains. During this meeting, a long-term cooperation agreement was signed between the two parties. In the energy sector, Eni has maintained a presence in Turkmenistan since 2008, during which period it has invested over USD 2 billion and has employed more than a thousand individuals, the vast majority of whom are citizens of Turkmenistan.
In contrast, Italy's diplomatic engagement with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan remains comparatively restricted. The Rogun dam in Tajikistan, a project that has been the subject of considerable debate, is being constructed by Webuild, an Italian multinational group that operates in the construction and civil engineering sectors. The agreement between the company and Dushanbe was formalized in 2016, with an estimated valuation of USD 3.9 billion.
A thorough examination of the region in its entirety reveals that Rome also endorses the Middle Corridor initiative. The Italian government's primary objective in supporting this initiative is to facilitate access for Italian companies to the necessary infrastructure for the trade corridor, including railways and ports, with the aim of promoting their development.
Italy perceives Central Asia as a region in which it can assume a leading role and operate autonomously from its European partners. With regard to Central Asia, the Italian Prime Minister's visit and the inaugural Central Asia-Italy meeting were not only notable for the evident disparities in the objectives of the five countries; they were also significant in terms of the diversification of the federal partnership on both sides.
The inaugural Central Asia-Italy summit in Astana signified a landmark achievement in the bilateral relations between Italy and the five Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
On the Central Asian side, the format agreed at the end of May aligns with other regional engagement mechanisms, such as the C5+1 (Central Asia+United States), Central Asia-Germany, and Central Asia-EU platforms. This alignment signifies Central Asia's growing geopolitical importance.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's participation in the strategic partnership with the heads of state from Central Asia is indicative of Italy's evolving non-confrontational and ideology-free approach to international diplomacy, which prioritizes economic interests. This stance positions Italy as a desirable partner in a region influenced by Russia, China, Turkey, and the United States. Moreover, the meeting has positioned Rome as a leader within the EU in fostering collaboration with Central Asia.
Preliminary assessments indicate that the Central Asia-Italy summit has inaugurated a novel chapter in regional diplomacy, which may portend Central Asia's metamorphosis from a peripheral region into a geostrategic nexus, concomitant with its fortification as a cohesive diplomatic and economic bloc. This meeting has enabled Italy to fortify its connections with a swiftly expanding and geopolitically significant region, while concurrently providing Central Asian countries with access to the European market and facilitating innovation as they modernize their economies.
The author is a researcher at the Eurasia Center