Europe and the migrant workers of Central Asia

Germany finalized a migration deal with Uzbekistan, but not much detail was given publicly.

The agreement allows the “necessary immigration of highly talented workers that we need in Germany,” German chancellor Olaf Scholz said after talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev.

At the same time, simple, “unbureaucratic” procedures were agreed to “so that those who have to go back must go back,” Scholz added in comments made in Samarkand and published on his office’s website.

Germany is one of many Western countries where migration — illegal migration in particular — is a hot- issue being used by the political right.

Migration is also one of the few areas in which Western countries can, in the short term, deepen ties with Central Asia, a region which grew in importance since the Russian war in Ukraine.