29 Years of Friendship and Mutually Beneficial Cooperation

Today Kazakhstan and the European Union are celebrating the 29th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Immediately after the establishment of diplomatic relations, Kazakhstan opened its representation office in the European Union in 1993, a year later the EU opened its representation office in our country.

The European Union is one of the most important strategic partners of Kazakhstan in the international arena. Relations between the parties are characterized by high dynamics of visits at the highest and highest levels, active trade, economic and investment activities, as well as a very broad agenda of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

As President K. Tokayev noted during his visit to Brussels in November 2021, over the past three decades, Kazakhstan and the EU have built strong relations based on trust, mutual respect and common priorities.

An important component of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the EU is the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (entered into force on March 1, 2021), which covers 29 areas of cooperation from trade and investment to science and tourism. The parties attach great importance to the full implementation of the SRPS, in particular, important areas are cooperation in the field of transition to a green economy, the use of green technologies within the framework of the European Green Deal, the fight against climate and the coronavirus pandemic, etc.

The EU is the largest investor in the Kazakh economy with a total investment of US$160 billion. In turn, our country is the leading trade partner of the EU in the region. The total volume of bilateral trade is 24 billion US dollars.

Equally important is Kazakhstan's cooperation with the EU within the framework of the Union's Strategy for Central Asia.

We can say that 2021 has become a breakthrough year for Kazakh-European relations. The first official visit of the Heads of State K. Tokayev to Brussels took place, during which he held talks with the leadership of the European Council and Commission Ch. Michel and U. von der Leyen. The visit gave a powerful impetus to cooperation, allowed the parties to compare notes on all topical issues and outlined promising areas of relations.

Also, visits were made by the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan M. Tleuberdi, Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan for International Cooperation E. Kazykhan, Chairwoman of the Committee on external affairs, defense and security of Mazhlis A.Kuspan, Minister of Justice M. Beketayev, Minister of Trade and Integration B. Sultanov and others.

We hope that 2022 will be just as eventful and fruitful, and we expect a return visit from the EU leadership, which would further strengthen friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation.