Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Kairat Abdrakhmanov has held a series of bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Kazakhstan-European Union Cooperation Council meeting taking place in Brussels. At the meeting with Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the two sides exchanged views on a wide range of topical international and regional issues, including the situation in Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, as well as the DPRK nuclear programme.

Talks with Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, were devoted to the process of updating the EU Strategy for Central Asia. Minister Abdrakhmanov underscored Kazakhstan's readiness to actively participate in the development of a new document with a view to contributing to its effectiveness and taking into consideration the interests of all states in our region. Particular attention was also devoted to cooperation and assistance for Afghanistan, including in education field.

The Kazakh Minister also had a noteworthy meeting with Iveta Grigule, the Chair of the European Parliament delegation for Central Asia, during which parties sides discussed the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation, including in the legislative field. The next meeting of the Kazakhstan-EU Parliamentary Cooperation Committee is planned for the fall of 2018.

At the meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of Belgium, Didier Reynders, Kazakh Foreign Minister discussed the prospects for developing bilateral trade, economic cooperation, and attracting Belgian investment and technologies to Kazakhstan. In the light of Belgium's bid for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council in 2019-2020, Minister Abdrakhmanov provided a detailed briefing about Kazakhstan's activities on the UNSC and President Nursultan Nazarbayev's peace-building initiatives.

During his trip to Brussels Minister Abdrakhmanov also met with Foreign Ministers Carmelo Abela of Malta and Simon Coveney of Ireland.