Today in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser signed a comprehensive migration and mobility partnership agreement with the Republic of Uzbekistan on behalf of Germany’s Federal Government. The agreement focuses on boosting immigration by skilled workers and on achieving closer cooperation on returns of people who have no right to remain in Germany. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Uzbekistan’s President Shakvat Mirziyoyev also attended the signing ceremony.

Federal Minister Faeser said: "I am very grateful to the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan that we have been able to agree on such comprehensive cooperation through our migration agreement. Effectively carrying out returns of people who have no right to remain in Germany is important in order to reduce irregular migration. We have agreed on good rules for achieving this. At the same time, we are offering opportunities for skilled workers from Uzbekistan in our labour market and for initial and further training in Germany, because in many sectors we urgently need well-trained skilled workers from abroad."

Special Commissioner Dr Joachim Stamp said: "Uzbekistan is an important partner of ours in Central Asia. It holds major potential in terms of well-trained, productive skilled workers. Germany will benefit from this, and new opportunities are being opened up for young people in Uzbekistan. At the same time, we are setting out clear rules for cooperation on returns."

The migration agreement includes provisions on cooperation in migration for work and education in order to attract urgently needed skilled workers to the German labour market. It also provides for closer cooperation in the field of initial and further training.

It additionally sets out uniform procedures for effective cooperation on returns so that people with no right to stay in Germany can be returned more quickly.

The negotiations on the agreement were successfully concluded within a year and a half after Dr Joachim Stamp, the Federal Government Special Commissioner for Migration Agreements, signed a joint declaration of intent with Uzbekistan on migration and mobility. An agreed new joint working group to deal with all relevant issues on an ongoing basis will play a key role in implementing the agreement.