Kazakh-Dutch relations discussed in The Hague

While meeting with Pieter-Jan Kleiweg de Zwaan, Deputy Director-General for Political Affairs of the Foreign Ministry of the Netherlands, the sides pointed out constructive political dialogue established between the countries and went over the further perspectives of bilateral cooperation.

The Kazakh deputy foreign minister stressed Kazakhstan considers the Netherlands as one of the key political, trade and economic partners in Europe, noting the high dynamics of contacts at the highest level, the confidential nature of the dialogue between the leaders of the two countries, as well as the positive experience of the interaction of diplomats during the recent simultaneous membership of Kazakhstan and the Netherlands in the UN Security Council.

“The Kingdom of the Netherland is the number one investor in terms of gross direct investment in Kazakhstan. We hope that this trend will continue and the flow of Dutch investments in our economy will only grow and diversify,” he said, noting the importance of the cooperation documents in agriculture, housing and communal services and remote sensing of land signed as part of the Kazakh PM’s visit.

The Kazakh diplomat shared the information about Kazakhstan’s plans to open a European office of KazakhInvest in the Netherlands.

In turn, the Dutch side emphasized that it welcomes the ongoing political and economic reforms in Kazakhstan aimed at further strengthening the rule of law and creating favourable conditions for business.

Given the current high level of cooperation, the sides agreed that it is important to maintain regular contacts in the format of political consultations between the foreign affairs agencies of Kazakhstan and the Netherlands. The Deputy Director General of the Dutch Foreign Ministry expressed his readiness to pay a return visit to Nur-Sultan to conduct such negotiations.

Both sides also noted with satisfaction the successful cooperation of the countries in a multilateral format, the ratification of the agreement on enhanced partnership and cooperation of Kazakhstan with the EU by the Netherlands. The diplomats paid special attention to the prospects of cooperation in the framework of the new EU Strategy for Central Asia, Kazakhstan's experience of returning its citizens from combat zones under the operation Zhusan, as well as cooperation on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The Kazakh side expressed readiness to participate in the international conference "Call for a world free of nuclear weapons", which will be held on 26 November this year in The Hague in the context of the 50th anniversary of the Netherlands office of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War organization.

During his stay in The Hague, Roman Vasilenko also met with the members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of the States General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The deputy foreign minister spoke in detail about the internal political processes taking place in the country and the priorities that President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev outlined in his 2 September 2019 address to the people of Kazakhstan.

The multi-vector diplomacy of Kazakhstan aroused great interest of Democrats 66 Deputy Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, who noted the visit of the Kazakh PM as an important step in strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan and the EU.

Anne Mulder, who represents the Netherlands at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, MP from the ruling People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, noted the importance of further expanding inter-parliamentary cooperation. The issue of Kazakhstan’s interaction with parliamentary institutions such as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Europe was separately discussed. Dutch lawmakers expressed their desire to meet more often with Kazakh deputies on the sidelines of these inter-parliamentary structures, as well as to visit our country.

During the meeting, the issues of regional cooperation in Central Asia, Kazakhstan’s participation in the EAEU and the Belt and Road initiative, the country's contribution to helping stabilize Afghanistan, as well as the fight against terrorism and extremism also came under discussion.