Athens celebrated Independence Day of Kazakhstan

Yesterday in the Greek capital, a traditional diplomatic reception was held on the celebration of Independence Day and the Day of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Athens. 

High-ranking representatives of political, academic and business circles of Greece, well-known public and cultural figures, as well as numerous friends of Kazakhstan attended the festive event, which took place in the historical building of the Grande Bretagne Hotel, next to the former Royal Palace, and now the Greek Parliament. Among the guests, there were also heads of diplomatic missions and international organizations, journalists, former compatriots and representatives of the Kazakh diaspora.

Opening the gala evening, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan Alexey Volkov made a welcoming speech in which he acquainted the guests with the economic and international achievements of the republic since independence on December 16, 1991, as well as the latest political events in the republic. He emphasized that the outgoing year was marked by a landmark historical decision made by the First President and the Leader of the nation N.A. Nazarbayev on the early resignation of the powers of the Head of State, after which general elections were held, in which the famous diplomat and politician K.-Zh. Tokayev won.

Ambassador Alexey Volkov noted that Kazakhstan faces a large-scale task of achieving sustainable growth and becoming one of the thirty most developed countries in the world by the middle of the century due to the transition to an innovative and diversified model of the economy. In this regard, he highlighted the President's Address to the Nation “Constructive public dialogue - the basis of stability and prosperity of Kazakhstan”, in which President K.-Zh. Tokaev outlined a number of concrete initiatives aimed at strengthening the foundations of democracy, the unity of Kazakhstani society and the further development of the economy.
 

Speaking about bilateral relations, the Kazakh diplomat emphasized the special friendly nature of relations between Kazakhstan and Greece, based on trust and mutual respect. He also noted the role of the Greek diaspora in Kazakhstan and our former citizens living in Greece in developing strong ties between the two countries.
 

The attention of the guests was also drawn to investment opportunities in Kazakhstan. Since gaining independence, Kazakhstan has attracted more than $ 300 billion of foreign direct investment. Ambassador Alexey Volkov noted that in 2019, Kazakhstan took 28th place out of 190 countries in the World Bank rating “Ease of Doing Business”. “Today we offer international investors the services of a regional center with potential access to the market of 500 million consumers in neighboring regions,” said the Ambassador of Kazakhstan.

At the end of his speech, the Kazakh diplomat reminded the guests about the presentation of the famous Golden Man taking place in Athens these days in the framework of the Great Steppe: History and Culture exhibition. He emphasized that this exhibition has already caused a real sensation in the capital of Greece, becoming a kind of culmination of the focused work of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Athens to familiarize the Greek inhabitants with the culture and rich historical heritage of the country of the Great Steppe.

At the end of the reception, guests were also shown video films about tourism and the investment climate in Kazakhstan.