General information
On January 30, 2008, diplomatic relations were established between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Principality of Andorra by signing a corresponding joint communiqué in New York.
From August 14, 2023, D.Mussayev was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Principality of Andorra (concurrently).
Political cooperation
The dialogue between Kazakhstan and Andorra is developing primarily within the framework of international and regional organizations. On July 17, 2010, the Head of the Foreign Ministry of Andorra X. Espot Miro (father of the current head of government X. Espot) took part in the work of the informal OSCE Ministerial Council in Almaty, expressing interest in the development of bilateral cooperation, especially in the field of tourism.
At the OSCE summit in Astana (December 1, 2010), Andorra was represented by the Minister of Tourism, Trade and Industry K. Benet.
In September 2013 and September 2015, within the framework of the 68th and 70th sessions of the UN General Assembly, bilateral meetings were held between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan E. Idrissov and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Andorra J. Saboya, and between the Heads of Foreign Affairs B. Atamkulov and M. Ubach in July 2019, during the informal OSCE Ministerial Council.
On December 2, 2021, a meeting was held between the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs M. Tileuberdi and the Minister of Foreign Affairs
M. Ubach within the framework of the 28th OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Stockholm.
On August 2-6, 2022, the first in the history of bilateral relations official visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Andorra, M. Ubach, to Kazakhstan took place.
During the visit, negotiations took place between the heads of foreign affairs departments, M. Tileuberdi and M. Ubach. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Andorra was received by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan A. Smailov and the Deputy Head of the Administration - Special Representative of the President for International Cooperation E. Kazykhan, held meetings with the leadership of the Senate and Mazhilis of the Parliament, as well as with the Akim of Almaty, Manager of the International Financial Center "Astana" K. Kelimbetov and Deputy Minister of Culture E. Erkinbaev. M. Ubach also visited Almaty, where she met with the Akim of the city E. Dosayev and visited the “Shymbulak” ski resort.
The heads of foreign affairs departments signed an Agreement on mutual exemption from visa requirements, which became the first intergovernmental agreement between our countries.
In honour of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (January 30, 2023), the parties expressed their intention to organize the Day of Andorra in Kazakhstan and the Day of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Andorra.
On the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, in September 2022, a meeting was held between President K.Tokayev and the Head of Government of Andorra X. Espot, during which the current state and prospects of bilateral relations were discussed.
Kazakhstan and Andorra effectively support each other within various international structures. Andorra, in particular, was one of the first to support Kazakhstan’s candidacy for the chairmanship of the OSCE, as well as Astana’s initiative to hold the Summit in 2010, and twice supported Kazakhstan’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council (for 2013-2016 and for 2022- 2024). In October 2015, Andorra officially confirmed the decision to support Kazakhstan’s candidacy for the post of non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2017-2018. In December 2020, Andorra supported the candidacy of K. Abdrakhmanov for the post of OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities. In January 2024, Andorra officially supported Kazakhstan's candidacy for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) for the period 2025-2028.
There is potential for the active development of bilateral dialogue in the field of interparliamentary diplomacy.
On October 3-5, 2017, the delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, consisting of senators D. Kustavletov and M. Bortnik, made a working visit to Andorra la Vella, where they took part in the autumn meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
The Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Spain and concurrently in Andorra maintains contacts with Andorran parliamentarians representing the entire spectrum of political parties, including the Head of the delegation to PACE,
M. Bonel and the OSCE PA, F. Costa. Andorran deputies are determined to develop inter-parliamentary cooperation, conduct bilateral contacts on the sidelines of the Parliamentary Assemblies.
In November 2023, in Andorra la Vella, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan D. Mussaev held negotiations with the Speaker of the Andorran Parliament K. Ensenyat. Following the meeting, it was confirmed that the first Kazakhstan-Andorra interparliamentary friendship group is ready to begin work soon. The creation of a new instrument for dialogue between the parliaments of the two countries was also discussed with the leadership and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Andorran Parliament.
Ambassadors of the Republic of Kazakhstan systematically make working visits to Andorra, regularly meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Co-Prince of Andorra, Archbishop of Urgell, Joan-Enric Vives i Sicília, and the Head of the Government of Andorra X. Espot, as well as with members of the Government, representatives of the political and business circles of the country.
Trade and Economic relations
Contacts in the field of skiing and mountain-ecological tourism are actively developing. Over the years, Andorra has been visited by representatives of the Republic of Kazakhstan working in this area, including the Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources M. Mirzagaliyev.
In 2014, the president of the largest network of ski resorts in Andorra “Grandvalira” (has more than 140 snow slopes with a total length of about 210 km), which is one of the 20 largest ski resorts in the world, J. Viladomat was invited by the management of “Kok Zhailau Ski Resort” LLP as an independent expert to implement this project. He continues fruitful contacts with Kazakh partners.
In March 2022, a delegation headed by the Minister of Culture and Sports D.Abayev visited Andorra to participate in the 11th World Congress on Mountain Tourism under the auspices of UNWTO.
Within the framework of the visit, talks were held with the Head of the Government of Andorra J. Espot, Minister of Foreign Affairs M. Ubach, Minister of the Presidency, Economy and Business G. Gaillardo, Minister of Tourism J. Torres, Minister of Culture and Sports S. Riva and Vice President of the Grandvalira Ski Resort J.Viladomat.
During the meeting of the Minister of Culture and Sports D.Abayev with the Minister of Presidency, Economy and Business of Andorra G. Gaillardo (March 2022), issues of attracting Andorran investments and know-how in mountain tourism of the Republic of Kazakhstan were touched upon.
The potential for possible cooperation in the field of trade and investment is being worked out. Taking into account the functioning of free economic zones in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the plans of the Government of Andorra to create FEZ in the near future, there are prospects for the exchange of experience and possible cooperation in this area.
Another interesting area for cooperation could be digitalization, given the attention paid to this issue in Kazakhstan and Andorra.
Cultural and humanitarian cooperation
In December 2020, as part of the celebration of the 175th anniversary of Abai, a solemn ceremony was held by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to donate to the Public Library of the Government of Andorra the Spanish version of the “The Book of Words” by the great Kazakh poet and educator and the article by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev “Abai and Kazakhstan in the XXI Century”.
The Address of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the people of Kazakhstan "Kazakhstan in a New Reality: Time for Action", the book of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev “The Era of Independence”, the Anthology of Kazakh prose and poetry, as well as publications on the history, traditions and nature of our country, translated into Spanish, were also transferred to the library's collection.
During the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Andorra M. Ubach to Kazakhstan, an agreement was reached with the Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports E. Yerkinbayev to study the issue of a possible performance of artists from Andorra at the Opera House in Astana.