Mutual interest in strengthening interparliamentary ties between Kazakhstan and Slovakia

BRATISLAVA – Strengthening and further development of inter-parliamentary ties between Kazakhstan and Slovakia has great potential and is of mutual interest. This was stated at the meeting between Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Slovakia Roman Vassilenko and Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Juraj Blanár that took place on May 15, 2020. 

During the meeting, Roman Vassilenko and Juraj Blanár noted Kazakhstan and Slovakia have much in common. Both countries gained independence less than thirty years ago, with a difference of only one year, and have been building a sovereign state and a market economy facing similar challenges. Both countries are landlocked and multinational. Against this background, and despite of the numerous remaining problems both states managed to establish themselves as dynamically developing free and independent countries. 

The Ambassador emphasized Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the comprehensive development of mutually beneficial relations with Slovakia. The Slovak Republic is one of Kazakhstan’s key and promising partners in Central and Eastern Europe and the European Union, and the strengthening of inter-parliamentary relations is one of the most important dimensions for cooperation.  

The interlocutors noted a significant widening of the prospects for bilateral cooperation in light of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) between Kazakhstan and the European Union and its member states. The Agreement entered into full force on March 1 and covers 29 areas of interaction. 

Speaking about the most promising areas of bilateral cooperation, the interlocutors highlighted the areas of engineering, automotive, defence and energy industries, IT and pharmaceuticals, noting the importance of providing all-round assistance to entrepreneurs of both countries in developing cooperation in post-pandemic conditions. At that, about 40 companies with the participation of Slovak capital are already successfully working in Kazakhstan. 

In this context, Roman Vassilenko praised the efforts of the Slovak government in counteracting the spread of coronavirus. Today, thanks to those efforts, Slovakia has the most successful experience in containing the pandemic in Europe (for the whole time there were fewer than 1,500 infected, almost 1,200 have already been cured, while 28 people died which is the lowest rate in Europe adjusted for the size of the population). The Ambassador informed Mr. Blanár of the measures taken in Kazakhstan, thanks to which the country also manages to effectively confront the pandemic. 

For his part, Juraj Blanár informed about the activities of the committee that he chairs and of the priorities of the new Slovak parliament, formed after the February elections. Noting the positive dynamics of inter-parliamentary relations in recent years, including the visit of the Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic to Kazakhstan in September 2019, the interlocutors discussed the possibilities of continuing and expanding cooperation at a new stage. In this regard, both sides noted the importance of the activities of friendship groups in the parliaments of the two countries. The establishment of such a group in the National Council of the Slovak Republic is already at the final stage. 

The parties expressed interest in the further development of inter-parliamentary relations overall, including the continuation of bilateral visits, in order to create new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation that could help overcome the consequences of the pandemic for the economies of both countries.