Council of Europe Leadership: Outlined Reforms in Kazakhstan Will Lead to Strengthening Democracy

Strasbourg, March 28, 2022 – Andreas Kiefer, Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, has expressed his support for the reforms outlined by the President of Kazakhstan regarding decentralization and strengthening local government.

Heads of key Directorates of the Council of Europe, Alexandre Guessel (Political Affairs) and Verena Taylor (Programmes), after careful study of the President's Address, stressed that all the initiatives proposed by the President lead the country towards positive changes, strengthening democracy, observing the rule of law, and protection of citizens' rights. These messages were indicated by the interlocutors during the meeting with the Consul General of Kazakhstan in Strasbourg Anuarbek Akhmetov.

"We welcome the efforts of Kazakhstan in the sphere of decentralization, and we are ready to render the necessary assistance to the country, having the accumulated experience and energy of our local leaders from the countries of Europe. We will be glad to see representatives of local authorities of your country at the events of the Congress. Being completely aware of the depth of transformations coming to Kazakhstan, we want to note from our own experience that it will not be a "sprint race", but a "long-distance marathon", when great endurance and consistency will be required," said Secretary General Kiefer.

"I support the reforms outlined by President Tokayev and see that there are opportunities for cooperation with the Council of Europe institutions in almost all areas," Director Taylor said, leafing through the presentation of the Address, "so we are ready to provide targeted training to Kazakhstan governmental bodies in the near future".

"Having personally watched the President Tokayev Address, I understand the scale of upcoming internal political restructuring in the country and see the strong will of the leadership to improve democratic institutions. On this background, we want to assure the continuation of the course of the Council of Europe for strengthening cooperation with Kazakhstan," Director Guessel underlined.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is aimed at strengthening regional democracy in the 46 member states and monitoring the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The Congress is comprised of 612 representatives from more than 150 thousand local and regional authorities of the Council of Europe member states. The Directorate of Political Affairs and External Relations of the Council of Europe provides foreign policy of the organization, while the Directorate of Programmes administrates technical support for the countries of organization's priority.