Deputy Foreign Minister Discusses Kazakhstan-EU Cooperation in Brussels
Brussels, 31 March 2022 - Roman Vassilenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, held in Brussels a number of bilateral meetings with senior representatives of the European institutions and the Kingdom of Belgium.
The purpose of the visit was to review the whole range of issues on the agenda of relations between Kazakhstan and the European Union in light of the ongoing developments in the international arena, as well as to compare notes on the implementation of the agreements reached during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to Brussels last November.
Particular attention was given to the performance on the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the European Union (EPCA), and the expansion of bilateral relations with Belgium.
On the first day of the visit, the Deputy Foreign Minister met with Terhi Hakala, EU Special Representative for Central Asia. The meetings at the European Parliament included talks with Bernard Guetta, Vice-chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights, Nacho Sanchez-Amor, Member of the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs, Klemen Grošelj, EP Standing Rapporteur on Kazakhstan, and Ryszard Czarnecki, head of the Kazakhstan-EU Friendship Group at the European Parliament.
A roundtable hosted by MEP Christoph Grudler was dedicated to the adaptation of trade relations between Kazakhstan and the EU to the anticipated implementation of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This discussion that took place between the Kazakh representatives, the MEPs, the EU think-tanks and energy companies allowed for the presentation of ongoing green transition in Kazakhstan, and brainstorm potential areas of cooperation.
The meeting with Jeroen Cooreman, Director-General for Bilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, focused on reviewing the bilateral relations between the two countries. In 2021, the Belgian companies made more than ten billion dollars in direct investment in Kazakhstan’s economy while the trade turnover reached 419 million dollars. Today, seventy Kazakh-Belgian joint companies work in Kazakhstan.
During his talks, the Deputy Foreign Minister noted that the first visit of President Tokayev to the EU headquarters that took place on 25-26 November 2021 gave an impetus to the overall relations between Kazakhstan and the EU and highlighted the priority tasks in the fields of trade, transport, and energy cooperation.
The Kazakh diplomat commended the dynamic political dialogue, active economic, trade, and investment cooperation, as well as the consistent exchange in the human rights dimension and political modernization of Kazakhstan.
He briefed his counterparts on the implementation of the large-scale political and socio-economic reforms in Kazakhstan, explaining thoroughly the key points of the recent state of the nation address by President Tokayev.
The European representatives were also updated on the latest findings from ongoing investigation into tragic events that took place in Kazakhstan in January 2022.
The exchange of views on the international issues included the situation around Ukraine, and the necessity to minimize the possible negative consequences of sanctions regime on the economy of Kazakhstan.
Overall, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan praised the level of the cooperation, and called on the European partners to continue the active implementation of the EPCA with greater focus on trade and investment issues, as well as the ongoing transition to green economy with regard to the European Green Deal.
The European partners commended the extensive agenda of the bilateral and multilateral relations with Kazakhstan, and confirmed their interest in strengthening the collaboration under EPCA.