Paris - The first EU-Central Asia Forum on security issues opened Thursday in Paris.

The forum has brought together ministers from the 27 EU member nations, the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan and EU member candidate nations, such as Turkey, Croatia and Macedonia.

Representatives from Russia, China and Japan are also taking part. Afghanistan is attending as an observer country because of its geographical proximity and the problems it shares with regional neighbours.

Discussions at the one-day meeting will focus on three main issues: the threat of terrorism, the fight against human and drug trafficking, and energy and environmental security.

According to a statement issued by the French foreign ministry, "The aim of the Paris Forum is to reaffirm the commitment by the European Union in Central Asia one year after the adoption, under the German presidency... of an EU strategy toward the countries in the region."

Security in the region is of utmost importance to Europe, because of its dependence on gas supplied by pipelines through Turkey and Georgia.

But Islamic rebels and regional conflicts are threatening to destabilize the area. One of the aims of the Forum is to work toward the resolution of the conflicts.