Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Roman Vasilenko held a series of meetings in Brussels with high representatives of the main institutions of the European Union to “compare watches” on topical issues of bilateral cooperation and the international agenda, Kapital.kz reports citing the press service of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.
During the talks between Vasilenko and Head of the Cabinet of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Camilo Biarino, Deputy Managing Director of the European External Action Service Luc Devigne and Senior Adviser on Foreign Affairs to the President of the European Council Magdalena Grono, they discussed the implementation of the agreements following the visit of EU President Charles Michel to Astana and the talks of the head of state with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, held in autumn 2022.
In the context of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and the EU, celebrated this year, Roman Vasilenko emphasized at the talks the active development of political dialogue at the highest level, economic and trade and investment cooperation, constructive interaction on human rights issues as factors determining the intensive nature of our cooperation for the future.
The discussion focused on further steps for the effective and full implementation of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the EU, covering 29 areas of interaction, and preparation for upcoming events, both in bilateral and multilateral formats. In particular, at the meetings they considered the issues of holding the 20th anniversary meeting of the RoK-EU Cooperation Council, the RoK-EU Cooperation Committees in political and trade configurations, as well as the second Central Asia-European Union Economic Forum.
The Kazakh diplomat separately informed the partners about the implementation of large-scale political and socio-economic reforms of the Head of State aimed at building a "Fair Kazakhstan". Particular attention was paid to preparing the country for the early elections of deputies to the Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and maslikhats, scheduled for March 19, 2023.
A thorough exchange of views took place on topical issues on the international agenda, including the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the need to minimize the possible negative consequences for the Kazakh economy of the sanctions confrontation around it.
The European side noted the rich agenda of the bilateral and multilateral agenda and expressed interest in further strengthening cooperation with Kazakhstan and implementing the provisions of the EPCA. According to Camilo Biarino, effective cooperation between the European Union and Kazakhstan has recently become increasingly important.
The interlocutors agreed on the importance of maintaining the positive dynamics of the political dialogue in order to further strengthen cooperation in the context of global turbulence.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
March 9, 2023