On Kazakh-Canadian political consultations

Nur-Sultan, March 17, 2021 – Political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and Canada at the level of deputy heads of the two departments were held in the format of a videoconference.

The Kazakh delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yerzhan Ashikbayev, and the Canadian delegation was headed by Assistant Deputy Minister, Europe, Arctic, Middle East & Maghreb Sandra McCardell. During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the regional and international agenda, and also expressed the need for further intensification of bilateral cooperation.

The diplomats noted the importance of the meeting between President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, held on the sidelines of the 56th Munich Security Conference in February 2020, the results of which gave a significant impetus to the political dialogue and trade and economic relations between the two countries.

In addition, the meeting discussed the results of the 4th meeting of the Kazakhstan-Canada Business Council, held in November 2020 online. The parties confirmed their readiness to actively work out all the agreements reached during this event.

Special attention was paid to the issues of cooperation in multilateral formats, the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, the economic empowerment of women, as well as strengthening ties between the business circles of the two countries.

In order to further expand the legal framework between the states, the parties reviewed the current status of the air transport agreement between Kazakhstan and Canada. The conclusion of this document will simplify the mutual travel of citizens, which will have a positive impact on business, tourism and cultural exchange between the countries.

In general, the political consultations confirmed the mutual interest of the parties in further strengthening the Kazakh-Canadian cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats.