ASTANA, June 18, 2018 – Ensuring the constitutional rights of citizens is the cornerstone of large-scale reforms on modernizing the public administration system initiated by President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. This was stated by Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov at a meeting with the Italian delegation visiting Kazakhstan. Member of the Senate of the Italian Parliament Roberto Rampi and President of the Italian Federation for Human Rights Antonio Stango attended the meeting.

According to the foreign minister, strategic relations between Kazakhstan and Italy, complementary economic potential, shared positions on regional and global security, dialogue between civilizations and religions, and combating international terrorism open new opportunities for deepening bilateral cooperation.

During the meeting, the Italian side learned more about the institutional reforms aimed at ensuring the rule of law and respect for human rights in Kazakhstan.

Minister Abdrakhmanov said active collaboration with national and international human rights organizations demonstrated Kazakhstan's commitment to values and principles of human rights protection.

MP Rampi assessed the work of human rights mechanisms in Kazakhstan and their impact on the promotion of sustainable development issues in our country. “We are not here to teach, but to jointly promote human rights protection throughout the world,” the senator said.

The sides also discussed the ratification of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the European Union. The Italian MP expressed his willingness to assist in expediting the ratification of this document laying the foundation for a qualitatively new agenda in relations with the European Union.

The program of the visit of the Italian delegation to Kazakhstan also included meetings with Senate member Byrganym Aitimova, representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan.