Roundtable with Kazakh Diaspora was held in Bern

On December 7, 2019, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Switzerland H.E. Alibek Bakayev and Embassy’s diplomats held a Roundtable with local compatriots – the Diaspora representatives and Kazakh students living in the cantons of Bern, Biel and Fribourg.

Given the importance of maintaining and developing relations between the Diaspora and the homeland, such meetings become a good tradition. Earlier, on October 28, 2019, the similar meeting also was held for the Diaspora living in the cantons of Zurich, Lucerne, Vaud and Valais.

During the event in Bern, the Ambassador spoke about Kazakhstan's success and country’s achievements over the years of independence, which were made possible thanks to the policy of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – the Leader of the Nation H.E. Nursultan Nazarbayev, as well as introduced the important and relevant for the local audience provisions of the Address of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev “Constructive public dialogue is the basis of stability and prosperity of Kazakhstan” dated September 2, 2019.

The head of the mission emphasised that the most important priorities of the Address are “civil peace, interethnic and social harmony with the strengthening of social modernisation and the role of youth in the country's public life”.

Against the background of the recent official visit of the President of Switzerland, Ueli Maurer to Nur-Sultan, the Ambassador briefed the audience on the outcome of the visit, the high level of Kazakh-Swiss relations, as well as on measures taken to protect the rights and interests of Kazakh citizens abroad, in particular, talking about activities of the “Otandastar” Foundation.

In turn, representatives of the Kazakh Diaspora and students assured the diplomats that they are happy to actively support the sports and cultural events of the Embassy, as well as international events held in Switzerland with the participation of Kazakh representatives. Particularly, in May 2020, Zurich and Lausanne will host the largest sporting event – the 2020 World Hockey Championship, where the Embassy and the Diaspora agreed to take an active part in supporting the national hockey team “Barys”.