INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
EU chief Charles Michel called on Thursday for closer ties with Central Asia on his first official visit to Kazakhstan, the main economic
powerhouse in a region where Russia's influence has come under question.In the first European Union-Central Asia summit, Michel met the
"much more than just a policy dialogue between two regions.""It's a powerful symbol of our reinforced cooperation and a strong signal of
Ukraine, which has made Moscow's former Soviet neighbors nervous and intensified the Kremlin's clash with the West.In a joint statement,
Michel and the Central Asian leaders said they agreed to "continue building a strong diversified and forward-looking partnership underpinned
and becoming more and more connected," Michel had told a press conference with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana.The head of
the EU Council said Kazakhstan was a "crucial partner" and the EU hoped to "develop our cooperation."He singled out Kazakhstan as a major
trading partner for the EU and called for investment in transport infrastructure in the country, which has looked to reduce dependence on
slapped on Russia, "Central Asian countries have been trying to strike a geopolitical balance," Kazakh political analyst Dosym Satpayev told
it.Tokayev even clashed with Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly in June, refusing to recognize the self-declared separatist republics
expected on Friday.Meanwhile Astana is seeking new routes for oil exports, around three-quarters of which transit Russia.In early July,
Tokayev pledged greater energy cooperation with the EU.In a joint statement on Thursday, Tokayev and Michel said they discussed how to avoid
"unintended negative impact on Kazakhstan's economy" of EU sanctions against Russia, imposed over the Ukraine conflict.They also discussed
relocating to Kazakhstan "European manufacturing companies", whose products are not subject to sanctions.Since the outbreak of war in
