30 years of fruitful cooperation between Kazakhstan and Lithuania

Nur-Sultan, June 15, 2022 – Today marks 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Lithuania.

On the occasion of this significant date, Ambassador of Kazakhstan Viktor Temirbayev and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Mantas Adomenas held a solemn ceremony of exchanging congratulatory messages on behalf of the heads of the two states.

Over three decades, a trusting dialogue has been established and maintained between the countries at the highest and high levels, contributing to the strengthening of constructive relations and mutually beneficial cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats.

November 7, 1993, the Almaty Agreement on mutual understanding and cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Lithuania was signed, laying a solid legal foundation for bilateral relations.

Inter-parliamentary interaction occupies a special place in bilateral relations. In the Senate and Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan and the Seimas of Lithuania, there are groups of inter-parliamentary friendship and cooperation, which contribute to the expansion of contacts between deputies through visits, profile meetings and roundtables. In the first half of this year, mutual visits to Nur-Sultan and Vilnius of the chairmen and members of the inter-parliamentary friendship groups “Kazakhstan-Lithuania” took place.

Mutual support on various international platforms has become a characteristic style in the interaction of countries. For example, Lithuania supported the non-permanent membership of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the UN Security Council in 2017-2018, as well as the candidacy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UN Human Rights Council for the period 2022-2024.

Lithuania was one of the first in 2016 to ratify the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the European Union. The implementation of the agreement contributes to the horizons expansion of political interaction and the deepening of economic ties between Kazakhstan and the EU member states both in a bilateral format and at the regional and global levels.

The high level of political relations between Kazakhstan and Lithuania created favourable conditions for the potential implementation in the trade and economic sphere. Lithuania is one of the ten main trading partners of Kazakhstan among the countries of the European Union and the thirty largest partners in the world. At the same time, our country is among the twenty largest trading partners of Lithuania. In 2021, the volume of mutual trade amounted to USD 454 million, including exports from Kazakhstan - USD 356.3 million, imports to Kazakhstan - USD 97.5 million, it increased by 311% compared to the same period in 2021 (USD 71.6 million) and amounted to USD 294.4 million, while the export of the Republic of Kazakhstan increased by 382% and amounted to USD 265 million.

An effective mechanism for strengthening and developing interaction between the two countries is the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation (IGC), established in 2000. In September 2021, the 13th meeting of the commission was held via videoconference, during which the parties discussed the condition and prospects for interaction in such areas as investment, transport and logistics, IT, agriculture, tourism, healthcare, and education, as well as the legal framework expansion.

The IGC has working groups on road transport and tourism. Today, about 170 Lithuanian companies are represented in the Kazakhstani market.

In general, Kazakhstan and Lithuania are successfully interacting in a number of areas and are ready to work on further expanding and strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation.