Official Visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan to Switzerland Has Begun

Bern, September 6, 2021 – Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi is in the Swiss Confederation on an official visit.

Kazakhstan and Switzerland intend to develop mutually beneficial, multifaceted cooperation across the entire spectrum of bilateral relations. This was the main keynote of the talks between Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi and Vice President, Federal Adviser (Minister) of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis.

“Switzerland is one of the most important political and economic partners of Kazakhstan in Europe. We have built strong relationships based on trust, mutual respect, and shared priorities. These relations are supported by the reliable partnership in ensuring global and regional security, dynamic trade cooperation, as well as political and interpersonal ties,” - Tleuberdi said.

Noting the intensification of contacts between the top leadership of Kazakhstan and Switzerland and the growing mutual interest in strengthening bilateral cooperation, the parties agreed to further promote the development of intergovernmental, inter-parliamentary, and business ties. In this respect, special attention is paid to the preparation of the forthcoming official visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Switzerland in November 2021.

During the exchange of views on international issues, the parties discussed interaction within the UN, OSCE, and other multilateral structures. The agenda of the talks included regional issues, in particular the situation in Afghanistan, cooperation with Central Asian countries, and water resources management. The parties touched upon the aspects of joint work in the area of official development assistance between the Kazakh Agency for International Development KazAID and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Following the negotiations, the heads of delegations signed two intergovernmental agreements on the mutual exemption from visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and service passports, as well as on paid labor activities of family members of employees of diplomatic missions, permanent missions to international organizations, and consular offices.

Taking into account the priority of economic diplomacy in the foreign policy agenda, Minister Tileuberdi on the same day held meetings with the heads of the following large Swiss companies: Stadler Rail, Ammann Group, Sandoz, KS Genetics, Inoks Capital, and Philip Morris International.

Presenting the measures taken to improve the investment climate in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Minister acquainted the Swiss partners with new incentives to stimulate investment attraction – the Strategic Investment Agreement.

The great potential for the development of trade and economic cooperation is confirmed by the interest of Swiss business in the implementation of mutually beneficial projects in Kazakhstan in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and machine-building industries, the field of new technologies and energy, the agro-industrial complex, and the financial sector. Kazakh side noted the role and importance of Switzerland as one of the largest foreign economic partners of Kazakhstan. In 2020, Switzerland took third place in terms of foreign direct investment attracted to Kazakhstan, and tenth place in terms of bilateral trade with our country.

Within the framework of the visit, memorandums of cooperation were also signed between KazakhInvest and the Swiss companies on the implementation of investment projects in the agro-industrial complex and mechanical engineering.

The Kazakh delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs visited a special exhibition in the Berne Historical Museum dedicated to unique archival materials from the history of Kazakh statehood. The museum also hosted the signing ceremony of the agreement “Heritage of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia and Switzerland” between R.B. Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies and the Berne Historical Museum.