DUSHANBE, April 7, 2011, Asia-Plus -- Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi departed for Tashkent, Uzbekistan today morning to attend a meeting of the EU Troika with its Central Asian Counterparts that is opening there today, according to the Tajik MFA information department.

The EU Troika is meeting the Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to continue developing the partnership between the EU and Central Asia.  

On the agenda are implementation of the EU Strategy for Central Asia, regional issues including cooperation in fields of economy, trade, energy and environment, water resources as well as common threats and challenges (border management, the fight against drug trafficking).   

On the sidelines of the EU-Central Asia Ministerial Troika, Zarifi will hold bilateral talks with Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martoni.  It is to be noted that Hungary chairs the EU Presidency in the first half of 2011.

The previous EU Troika-Central Asia meeting took place n Dushanbe on May 29-30, 2009.