Kazakhstan and Switzerland Confirmed Course for Further Strengthening Cooperation

Astana, July 5, 2023 - Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu held talks with the Federal Councilor, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis, who arrived in the Republic of Kazakhstan on an official visit.

Welcoming the dynamic development of Kazakh-Swiss relations, the parties discussed the state and prospects for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the political, trade, economic, investment, cultural, humanitarian, scientific, technical and tourism fields, interaction in a multilateral format, including issues on the international and regional agenda.

Foreign Minister Nurtleu noted that Switzerland is an important political and economic partner of Kazakhstan in Europe. “Over the three decades of diplomatic relations, a trusting political dialogue has been established, bilateral trade is successfully developing, investment cooperation is expanding, cultural, humanitarian and interregional ties are growing. There are no political disagreements between our countries,” the Kazakh Minister said.

In his turn, Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis expressed support for political and socio-economic reforms aimed at building a just state, a strong economy and a prosperous society in Kazakhstan. He also noted the high level of relations between the two countries, emphasizing the presence of new promising areas.

The interlocutors stressed mutual interest in strengthening cooperation between the two countries, including by maintaining a regular political dialogue and increasing trade, economic and investment cooperation. They noted with satisfaction the increase in mutual trade, which reached 1.4 billion US dollars at the end of last year.

Switzerland is one of the three largest foreign investors in the economy of Kazakhstan with an accumulated volume of capital investments in the form of direct investments of more than 31 billion US dollars. More than 300 companies with Swiss capital are registered in Kazakhstan, and some of them are industry flagships. In particular, the parties noted with satisfaction the successful implementation of the long-term investment agreement signed last year between Stadler and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy National company.

Particular attention was paid to the issues of expanding and modernizing the bilateral legal framework, including in the consular legal sphere, as well as interaction on the issues of confiscation and return of assets obtained by criminal means.

The heads of the foreign ministries noted the effective interaction within the framework of the UN and OSCE institutions and the similarity of positions on international security issues.

The Kazakh side highly appreciated the interaction within the Bretton Woods institutions and the significant contribution of the Swiss Confederation in the establishment of the IMF Regional Center for Capacity Development in the Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia in Almaty.