Berlin hosts Kazakh-German political consultations

Berlin, December 9, 2020 - Berlin hosted regular Kazakh-German inter-ministerial consultations on the issues of bilateral political dialogue and trade and investment cooperation.

Negotiations led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Margulan Baimukhan and Director for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia at the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs Michael Siebert summed up the results of joint work for 2020, mainly on the implementation of agreements achieved during the visits of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Germany in December 2019 and February 2020.

The parties discussed the issues of interaction within the UN and other international organizations. They exchanged congratulations on the recent appointment of candidates from Kazakhstan and Germany to leading positions in the OSCE: Kairat Abdrakhmanov as the High Commissioner on National Minorities and Helga Schmid as the Secretary General. The diplomats also discussed the implementation of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the European Union and the Green Central Asia initiative.

The parties were satisfied to note that despite the pandemic, Kazakh and German officials continued to fruitfully interact in face-to-face and remotely. They noted the substantial contribution to the bilateral cooperation development of the Working Group of the Government of Kazakhstan on cooperation with German investors, the intergovernmental commission on ethnic Germans, the Working Group on Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Kazakh-German Business Council, and the Berlin Eurasian Club. The parties spoke in favor of enhancing cultural, humanitarian and educational cooperation.

Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Germany Dauren Karipov and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Invest Galym Uzbekov highlighted the investment opportunities and state policies of our country.

Concluding the consultations, the parties agreed to continue to further strengthen the Kazakh-German cooperation across the entire spectrum of bilateral interaction.

Mr. Baimukhan also negotiated with Coordinator for Inter-societal Cooperation with Russia, Central Asia and the Eastern Partnership Countries Johann Saathoff, where they considered a wide range of issues of mutual interest in political and cultural humanitarian issues. The parties discussed the dates of upcoming political events in Kazakhstan and Germany, including parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan on January 10 and federal elections in Germany scheduled for September 26, 2021. The Deputy Foreign Minister also briefed about the implementation of large-scale political and democratic reforms and the concept of a “listening state”.

Mr. Saathoff was interested in changes taking place in Kazakhstan towards democratization, in particular, increased political competition between parties and expressed hope for further fruitful interaction with future MPs of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan.