Uzbekistan trying to carve out more opportunities for labor migrants in European Union

Uzbekistan is engaged in negotiations with the Netherlands to expand an arrangement it already has with Germany, under which Tashkent accepts rejected Afghan asylum seekers in return for an increase in quotas for skilled Uzbek guest workers.

The Afghan-migrants-for-guest-workers deal figured centrally in German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Uzbekistan in September. According to a report distributed by the Dutch news outlet NL Times, Dutch officials are in “early discussions” with their Uzbek counterparts on a similar framework. “The Cabinet is examining the extent to which agreements can be made with Uzbekistan,” Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber is quoted as saying. 

The topic of asylum seekers for guest workers may well have come up during the visit of a French Defense Ministry delegation to Tashkent earlier in October. But an Uzbek government statement issued October 11 made no specific mention of Afghan asylum seekers.

Such deals are attractive for Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s administration as it strives to reorient the country’s economy to become mainly a manufacturer of finished goods, instead of a raw materials supplier. As part of its initiative, the Uzbek government is trying to reorganize the country’s labor market by creating more opportunities for skilled workers abroad, especially in EU member states.

Source:Eurasianet