Romania and Central Asia

Central Asia is increasingly important to Romania. Over the past few years, Bucharest has taken significant steps
to strengthen its relations with the Central Asian republics, particularly with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Political dialogue between Romania and
Central Asia focuses mainly on energy matters.

Romania is strategically located on the coast of the Black Sea, the key access route to the European market for Caspian
Sea energy resources. Establishing new transport routes for Caspian oil and gas to reach Europe through the Black Sea
will help reduce European dependence on Russian gas. Romania’s policies towards the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance and the rule of law are
compliant with European Union (EU) policies for Central Asian republics, as outlined in the 2007 EU Strategy for Central Asia.

However, Romania delegates the majority of these matters to EU institutions. Bucharest is more interested in promoting its own – primarily economic and energyrelated – interests.