Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Sadenov's working visit to Brussels  

Brussels, October 2-4, 2023 – Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Sadenov paid a working visit to Brussels to strengthen international cooperation in the field of law and order.

During this important visit to the capital of the European Union, Minister Yerzhan Sadenov met for the first time with the leadership and experts of the European Commission's Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs, responsible for regulating the visa policy of the Schengen countries.

The main topic of negotiations with the Deputy Director General of the European Commission for Migration and Home Affairs, Johannes Luchner, was the harmonization and simplification of visa requirements for citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as ways to implement them as quickly as possible. In this context, Minister Sadenov provided detailed information to European partners about the advanced socio-political reforms that are taking place in Kazakhstan, and about the improvement of all aspects of migration policy, based on the standards of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other international organizations.

The Minister also reported on the positive migration statistics of Kazakh citizens traveling to the countries of the European Union, emphasizing the absence of migration risks and the excellent compliance with the laws and regulations of EU countries by our compatriots.

Johannes Luchner emphasized that “the European Union views Kazakhstan as a strategic partner and highly appreciates the changes being carried out in Kazakhstan.” He noted that Kazakhstan “is a reliable partner of the EU in the Central Asian region, and our cooperation has significant potential for further constructive development.” In this regard, the European diplomat confirmed the readiness of the European Union to begin joint work on harmonizing visa requirements, which will simplify the process of obtaining Schengen visas for citizens of Kazakhstan. Specific areas were also identified where visa requirements for Kazakh citizens could be simplified, which could be agreed upon during subsequent consultations. The parties agreed to conduct a joint analysis of the current visa issuance process and identify steps to begin a dialogue in this area.

Special attention was paid to strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan and the European Union in the field of law and order, including the fight against illegal migration, improving border control and applying the experience of European internal affairs agencies.

As part of the visit to Brussels, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan also held negotiations with his Belgian counterpart Annelies Verlinden. At the meeting, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium emphasized Belgium’s interest in strengthening the partnership with Kazakhstan and expressed support for simplifying the visa regime for citizens of Kazakhstan. Annelies Verlinden highly appreciated Kazakhstan's efforts to improve the border control system and strengthen cooperation with neighboring countries. The parties agreed to continue the dialogue and identify areas of cooperation and exchange of experience in the future.