Kazakhstan and Palestine strengthened bilateral relations

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov held talks with Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Malki, who came to Astana with the official visit. How the meeting was held and what did the parties discuss? Read in the material of the "Strategy2050.kz" Information Agency.

Kairat Abdrakhmanov noted that this visit provided an opportunity to exchange views on topical issues concerning the regional and international agenda, to discuss the current state of bilateral relations and to outline the prospects for their further development.

"We signed a Memorandum of Understanding on political consultations between our Ministries, as well as a Memorandum of Cooperation between the two countries in the line of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry. I hope that this official visit will contribute to the strengthening of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Palestine in the political, trade-economic, cultural-humanitarian and other spheres. Among them, we can mention agriculture, medicine and education", the Kazakh Minister said.

The Kazakh Foreign Minister stressed that Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations with Palestine and recalled that the foundation of this cooperation was laid during the visit of leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, head of the Palestinian National Administration the late Yasser Arafat to our country in 1991, the year of proclamation of its independence by Kazakhstan, as well as the return visit of President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev to Palestine in 1995.

This year marks the twenty-sixth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. During this time, along with bilateral relations between our countries, multilateral cooperation also successfully developed within the framework of the United Nations, OIC and other international organizations. The State of Palestine supports the main international initiatives of our country on an ongoing basis within the framework of international organizations.

K. Abdrakhmanov also added that Kazakhstan convinces that the settlement of the Palestinian problem is a prerequisite for the establishment of long-term peace and stability in the Middle East and recognizes Palestine as an independent state and consistently stands for its full membership in the international community.

According to him, Kazakhstan's position on this issue remains unchanged. The settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict should be based on the principle of "two states for two peoples", which provides for the establishment of the Palestinian State within the borders of 1967 with the capital in East Jerusalem.

"Despite the existing difficulties, we believe that the peace negotiations should continue. Kazakhstan, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, will continue to fully support the process of restoring stability in the Middle East as a necessary condition for peace in the region, and will continue to encourage the peaceful aspirations of friendly Palestine", K. Abdrakhmanov concluded.

It should be noted that this is the first official visit to Astana by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine, Dr. Riyad Al-Malki.

Saltanat Suraganova

Photo by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan