The bilateral agreement aims to facilitate the entry into Germany of qualified workers from Uzbekistan, especially those working in the healthcare sector.
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Three-day institutional visit to Central Asia for the German Chancellor Olaf Scholzwelcomed on Sunday in Samarkand by the President UzbekShavkat MirziyoyevThe two signed eight cooperation documents.
Among these, the bilateral agreement stands out, signed in the ancient city of Silk Road of Samarkand, which aims to facilitate the entry of qualified workers into Germany coming from Uzbekistan, especially those working in the healthcare sector.
The agreement will also speed up and simplify the repatriation of Uzbeks living in the EU country without a legal residence permit.
What does the Germany-Uzbekistan Migration Agreement include?
The German news agency dpa estimates that approximately 13,700 Uzbek citizens are currently living in Germany and that, although most of them do so legally, around 200 could be repatriated.
“With the agreement on migration and mobility signed today in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, we are enabling people with great talents to enter our country. In addition, we have committed not to make the processes bureaucratic, so that those who cannot stay in our country will have to go back,” he said. Scholz in a post on X.
Scholz and Mirziyoyev signed seven other agreements covering areas such as sustainable water management and a partnership in the minerals sector.
Scholz will travel to Kazakhstan to focus on oil and gas supplies to Germany and sanctions imposed on Russia after theinvasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Central Asian republics have traditionally been close to Moscow, and Astana has been accused of allowing Russia to circumvent trade restrictions.
Scholz’s trip to Kazakhstan under fire
In Kazakhstan Scholz is due to attend a summit with the heads of all five former Soviet republics (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan), the first German chancellor to do so.
The international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) argues that the summit would be a wasted opportunity if Scholz did not raise alleged human rights deprivations in all five countries.
“The German government cannot pretend that closer ties with Central Asia are possible without a significant improvement in human rights in the region. The upcoming summit offers the opportunity to make this clear,” he said. HRW in a statement.
The New York-based non-governmental organization cited persistent human rights violations in the region, including the suppression of the right to protest and express opinions, including online, the imprisonment of activists, torture in detention, the repression of civil society, violence against women, impunity for security forces who commit abuses, and the lack of free and fair elections.
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