Official visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan to Spain

Madrid, July 6, 2021 – Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi paid an official visit to Spain. During the visit, an audience with King Felipe VI of Spain, a meeting with the President of the Senate of Spain Pilar Llop and negotiations with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain Arancha González Laya took place.

At the meeting with King Felipe VI, the parties confirmed the strategic nature of relations between the two countries. Thorough exchange of views took place on the prospects for further deepening mutually beneficial cooperation between Nur-Sultan and Madrid, including in terms of strengthening the political dialogue at the highest level. In particular, the King highly appreciated the level of cooperation between Spain and Kazakhstan and conveyed warm congratulations to the First President, Leader of the Nation Nursultan Nazarbayev on the occasion of his birthday.

During the talks with Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya, a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation in the political, trade and investment spheres were discussed. The ministers also “compared notes” on topical international issues, paying special attention to cooperation within the framework of international organizations and European institutions, such as the UN, OSCE and the Council of Europe. The importance of the implementation of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the European Union was noted.

The agenda also included a discussion of the measures taken by the two countries in the fight against the spread and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. To facilitate reciprocal travel of citizens and the development of cooperation in the tourism sector, Kazakhstan proposed to consider the possibility of recognizing national vaccination certificates on a mutual basis. In addition, the parties confirmed their interest in further work on concluding an Air Transport Agreement between Kazakhstan and Spain.

Following the results of the negotiations, an intergovernmental agreement on scientific and technical cooperation, memoranda of understanding in the field of agriculture and environmental protection, as well as a cooperation agreement between the Kazakhstan Agency for International Development (KazAID) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) were signed.

Ways to strengthen inter-parliamentary relations, including through the newly created Kazakh-Spanish inter-parliamentary cooperation group, were discussed with the President of the Spanish Senate Pilar Llop. Particular attention was paid to the interaction of the Parliaments of the two countries within the framework of multilateral structures – the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, etc.

Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi also took part in a “round table” with the leading Spanish companies. Kazakhstan presented investment projects and opportunities for their implementation in such sectors as transport infrastructure, renewable energy, defense and aerospace industry, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, etc. The event was attended by the heads of more than 20 major Spanish companies.

Mukhtar Tileuberdi also held a meeting with former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero and visited the production site and the international training center of Airbus.

Spain is one of the ten largest trading partners of Kazakhstan. Despite the pandemic, the volume of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Spain in 2020 amounted to $1.4 billion. In January-May of this year, the trade turnover increased by more than 80%, amounting to $842 million (mainly due to Kazakhstan's exports). The volume of direct investments from Spain to Kazakhstan for the period 2005-2020 amounted to $245 million.