EU Plan for the Stans

Winding down a week-long of Central Asia Steinmeier said the EU needed to "take a new look at the region."

"The need for an initiative for Central Asia by the European Union has never been clearer to me than after this trip," he told reporters in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, the final stop on his five-nation tour.

After noting that conflicts in Afghanistan and Iran, two of the region's neighboring countries, were central concerns in Germany and the rest of Europe, Steinmeier said it is crucial for the EU to pay attention to an area of the world already closely watched by Russia, China, Japan and the United States.

"The region is too important for us to push out to the edge of our consciousness," he said. "It is absolutely justified that we (the EU) be present here with our strengths."

EU to devise developmental plan

While praising the progress made in the five former Soviet republics since they achieved their independence in 1991, Steinmeier promised them European additional support in developing fair judicial systems and democratic governments.

"We are not only going to support this bilaterally, but also with an initiative from the EU that will take a new look at Central Asia," he said.

Though Steinmeier did not provide a timetable, the foreign minister added developing a European policy for the region to the list of tasks Germany would like to accomplish during its six months at the head of the EU's rotating presidency in the first half of 2007.

The bloc currently has a delegation in Kazakhstan's biggest city, Almaty, which is responsible for EU relations with that country as well as Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. While the EU has no representation in Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan and the bloc's member states currently have differing views on diplomatic relations with the "stan" nations.

A European example of cooperation

Kazakhstan is rapidly increasing its crude oil output, while Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have large natural gas reserves that Steinmeier said could play a role in diversifying Europe's energy supply.

The region's proximity to Iran and Afghanistan, however, is seen by the West as a potentially destabilizing influence, and much of the opium produced in Afghanistan travels through Tajikistan before finding its way to Europe.

The European Union itself, however, could be a solid example for Central Asia, Steinmeier said, adding that the countries would benefit from increasing economic cooperation in a manner similar how the European Economic Community expanded to the now 25-member bloc.