Astana, November 25, 2024 – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Roman Vasilenko received the Special Representative of the European Union for Central Asia Terhi Hakala, who arrived in Kazakhstan on a visit on the occasion of the completion of her mission.
The sides noted with satisfaction the progress made in strengthening bilateral and regional cooperation, emphasizing the importance of the meetings of the leaders of the Central Asian countries and the European Union in Astana and Cholpon-Ata, which gave a powerful impetus to multilateral cooperation. Special mention was made of the large-scale joint action plan between the Central Asian countries and the European Union, adopted at the meeting of Central Asian-EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg in 2023.
R. Vasilenko welcomed the launch of the Coordination Platform for the Development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and outlined the need to take joint practical steps, including issues of modernization and digitalization of the ports of the Caspian Sea.
The Deputy Minister also drew the attention of the EU Special Representative to the importance for both sides of the early start of negotiations between Astana and Brussels on an Agreement on simplification of the EU visa regime for citizens of Kazakhstan.
For her part, T. Hakala assured of the EU's commitment to deepening long-term cooperation with Kazakhstan, including in the field of combating climate change, water issues, science and education, as well as regional interconnectedness.
At the end of the meeting, R. Vasilenko presented T. Hakala with a letter of thanks from the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev with the badge "Barys" for an important contribution to strengthening friendly relations between Astana and Brussels.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/890798