Kazakhstan and Canada Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations
Ottawa, April 7, 2022 - A Kazakhstan-Canadian online conference was held on April 7, 2022 as part of a series of events dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Canada during this period.
In his opening remarks Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Canada, Akylbek Kamaldinov highlighted that that since the establishment of diplomatic relations on April 10, 1992, the two states have been developing friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres. He stressed that Kazakhstan highly appreciates multifaceted cooperation with Canada, based on strong ties of friendship, common values and mutual support. Our countries successfully cooperate in such multilateral forums as the UN and OSCE, as well as in ensuring regional and international security, the rule of law and human rights.
Canadian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Alan Hamson noted that over the 30 years of Independence Kazakhstan has achieved impressive success in its economic development with the highest GDP among the countries of Central Asia and has become a reputable member of the international community.
Kazakhstan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Akan Rakhmetullin highly appreciated the political cooperation between Kazakhstan and Canada during 30 years of diplomatic relations, noting that in February 2020 President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Jastin Trudeau, during which the parties reaffirmed their commitment to the further development of bilateral relations in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres. The Kazakh diplomat noted that a consistent dialogue is developing between Kazakhstan and Canada on the issues of WMD non-proliferation, terrorism and peacekeeping. Kazakh-Canadian cooperation and multilateral engagement are successfully developing within the framework of international organizations such as the UN, OSCE, UN specialized agencies, WTO, etc.
Global Affairs Canada Acting Assistant Deputy Minister on Europe, Arctic, Middle East and Maghreb Jess Dutton warmly congratulated the Kazakh side on the 30th Anniversary of diplomatic relations’ establishment between Kazakhstan and Canada and noted that our countries have built cooperation on a wide range of issues, which is steadily developing.
He stressed that Canada welcomes the political transformation, democratic and institutional reforms currently being implemented in Kazakhstan and aimed at improving the welfare of citizens of Kazakhstan.
Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs, Defense and Security of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan M.Kul-Mukhammed, and Canadian Co-Chair of Kazakhstan-Canada Parliamentary Friendship Group Senator Victor Oh stressed that parliamentary diplomacy plays a special role in strengthening the trust-based dialogue between the two countries and parliamentary friendship groups in the parliaments of the two countries contribute to the promotion of political interaction.
In addition, the conference was attended by Senior Fellow of Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University and Former Ambassador of Canada to Kazakhstan Margaret Skok, Kazakh Co-Chair of Kazakhstan Canada Business Council (KCBC), Chief Executive Officer of NAC Kazatomprom Mazhit Sharipov, Canada, Eurasia, Russia Business Association (CERBA) Chairman Gilles Breton, Former Canadian Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan Shawn Steil noted that our countries have established partnership cooperation based on common interests and priorities, and interact on issues such as investment, trade, civil service reform, immigration, economic reforms, education, technology exchange and know-how.
In general, the event demonstrated a significant interest of the political, economic and research circles of the host country in further strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan and Canada.
By the end of 2021, the volume of mutual trade turnover between the countries reached 496 million US dollars (+34.7%), which is the highest figure in the last 6 years. During the same period, the volume of Canadian direct investments in the economy of Kazakhstan exceeded 385 million US dollars which is 17 times more than in the whole of 2020 ($22.7 million), and is the largest amount in the last 9 years. In total, since 2005, the gross volume of FDI from Canada to Kazakhstan has amounted to more than 5.2 billion US dollars.