The Minister of Foreign Affairs negotiated with European and Chinese counterparts in Madrid

MADRID, 15 December 2019 — A two-day visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi to Spain for the 14th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers' Meeting (ASEM FMM 14) has begun.

During the event, Mr. Tileuberdi held bilateral negotiations with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Wang Yi.

Mr. Tileuberdi congratulated Mr. Borrell on assuming the office of Vice-President of the European Commission - the High Representative of the EU. The official visit of President of the European Council Donald Tusk to Kazakhstan this May provided considerable momentum to the high-level political and security dialogue between Nur-Sultan and Brussels. 

The High Representative of the EU, in turn, emphasized the pivotal role of Kazakhstan in Central Asia and expressed gratitude for the peacekeeping efforts related to Afghanistan.

Mr. Borrell welcomed the upcoming visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan to Brussels in January 2020 and the 17th meeting of the Republic of Kazakhstan-European Union Cooperation Committee. 

Mr. Borrell further expressed his willingness to visit Nur-Sultan next year, as well as his interest in the earliest entry into force of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.

During the meeting with Mr. Wang Yi, both parties were satisfied to note the establishment of a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership following the successful state visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to China this September.

The ministers emphasized the current dynamic growth of trade and investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and China, facilitated by the implementation of infrastructure projects within the Nurly Zhol State Program and the Belt and Road Initiative. At the same time, special attention is paid to modern high-tech projects, including the ones in the fields of IT technologies and renewable energy.

 

During the meeting between Mr. Tileuberdi and Mr. Wang, an agreement was reached on further strengthening bilateral cooperation by exchanging high-level visits as well as on mutual support within multilateral platforms such as the UN, CICA, SCO and ASEM.