30th anniversary of Kazakhstan-UK relations commemorated in House of Lords

LONDON, 24 March 2022 – An event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom took place in the House of Lords of the UK Parliament. The British-Kazakh Society (BKS) hosted the dinner which was also dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Society.

BKS Chairman Rupert Goodman opened the event by announcing he had received a message from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in which he noted the Society’s important role in promoting trade and investment opportunities and developing Kazakhstan-UK cooperation.

British Ambassador to Kazakhstan Kathy Leach highlighted the recent State-of-the-Nation Address by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the large-scale reform programme “New Kazakhstan”. Among the recent bilateral achievements she noted the Joint Statement of The Republic of Kazakhstan and The United Kingdom on Strategic Partnership and Joint Efforts to Respond to Climate Change adopted at the Global Climate Change Summit in Glasgow, as well as the opening of a new campus of the UK’s De Montfort University in Almaty.

Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to the UK Erlan Idrissov congratulated the guests on the Nauryz spring equinox holiday and expressed confidence that the reforms carried out in Kazakhstan will give a new impetus to the development of bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and the UK. The BKS plays an important role in this process, contributing to the further expansion of comprehensive interaction between the public, academicians, politicians, and businesses of the two countries.

The Ambassador highlighted the significant contribution made by British partners to strengthening cooperation with Kazakhstan and presented the “30 years of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan” jubilee medals to the BKS Chairman Mr Goodman, Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Kazakhstan Colonel Bob Stewart MP, and the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Kazakhstan Baroness Emma Nicholson.

About 120 guests attended the event, including members of the British Parliament, prominent British entrepreneurs and representatives of the Kazakh diaspora in the UK.

For reference: The British-Kazakh Society was founded in 2002 to promote and expand bilateral relations between the UK and Kazakhstan.