NUR-SULTAN, November 11, 2019 – Kazakhstan’s effective participation in European development programs within the new EU Strategy for Central Asia is likely to become an important tool for ensuring sustainable development of our country and the region. This was the keynote idea of the talks between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi and European Union's Special Representative for Central Asia Peter Burian, who arrived in Nur-Sultan to attend the 5th anniversary meeting of the Astana Club.

The sides exchanged views on a broad range of relevant issues of the international and regional agenda, including strengthening partnerships between Kazakhstan and the European Union in such promising areas as environmental issues, digitalization, humanitarian exchanges and sustainable connectivity.

The foreign minister stressed that 2019 became an important year in the history of bilateral relations in the context of the adoption of the new Strategy for Central Asia and the finalization of the ratification of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) between Kazakhstan and the EU, signed in 2015 in Nur Sultan.

“We have high hopes for these strategic instruments, which mark the beginning of a fundamentally new stage of Kazakh-European relations. I am convinced that their successful implementation, first of all, will lead to the growth of mutually beneficial trade, economic and investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and the European Union,” he said. 

The European diplomat emphasized that the European Union considered Kazakhstan as a crucial partner in the context of the Strategy for Central Asia. Mr Burian commended our country’s contribution to strengthening political, trade and economic cooperation, international security in Central Asia and Afghanistan. In this context, the European side informed about the launch of three new programs for the region with a total budget of 55.6 million euros. These projects are aimed at supporting investment, competitiveness and trade in Central Asia.

The meeting also paid special attention to joint participation in the prospective calendar of events for 2020 through the Kazakhstan-EU and Kazakhstan-Central Asia cooperation, which includes high-level visits, participation in the Cooperation Council, conferences and round-tables. 

Following the talks, the parties agreed to maintain regular working contacts in order to realize the potential of constructive cooperation of the European Union with Kazakhstan and the region.

In January-September 2019, Kazakhstan's foreign trade turnover with the EU countries amounted to $23.8 billion (export - $18.8 billion, import - $5 billion). In 2018, the trade amounted to $37.7 billion (exports - $31 billion, imports - $6.7 billion).

According to the results of the first half of 2019, about $5.4 billion of direct investments were attracted from the EU countries. The gross inflow of FDI from the EU in 2018 amounted to $11.6 billion, which is 18.4% higher than in 2017 ($9.8 billion).

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/35635?lang=kk