Kazakhstan-EU cooperation to receive new impetus
The Kazakh leadership seeks to further foster the cooperation with the European Union as with the new European Commission taking office and the Kazakhstan-EU comprehensive agreement fully taking effect this cooperation will receive a significant new impetus, Roman Vasilenko, Kazakh deputy foreign minister, told the round table dubbed "The new Kazakh leadership: what is the impact on the Kazakhstan-EU relations?” held in the confines of the Euractiv media agency in Brussels, Strategy2050.kz informs with reference to the Kazakh Foreign Minister’s press service.
Andris Ameriks, Member of the European Parliament, deputy head of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the countries of Central Asia, Samuel Vesterbye, managing director of the European Neighborhood Council research center, Philippe van Amersfoort, Deputy Head of the Central Asia Division, European External Action Service (EEAS), Jocelyn Guitton, coordinator for Kazakhstan of the Directorate General for Trade, European Commission were in attendance, as well as representatives of the European Commission, the diplomatic missions of the EU member states in Brussels, the European expert community and the media.
The Kazakh deputy foreign minister updated the audience on the outcomes of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s activities as the President, on the main provisions of his first state-of-the-nation address to the people of Kazakhstan and the priorities of the President’s domestic and foreign policy. He went on to say that 2019 had become an important year in the history of bilateral relations in the light of the adoption of the new Strategy for Central Asia and the end of the ratification process of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the EU (EPCA), signed on December 21, 2015.
He confirmed the Kazakh leadership’s commitment to further enhance cooperation with the European Union, expressing confidence that the Kazakhstan-EU relations will receive a significant new impetus upon the assumption of the office of the new European Commission and the full entry into force of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the EU.
Andris Ameriks pointed out that Kazakhstan is one of the key partners of the EU in Central Asia both politically and economically, as well as in terms of regional security. Philippe van Amersfoort, on his part, welcomed the Kazakh reforms aimed at strengthening the rule of law, the recently established Kazakhstan-EU dialogue platform on economic and business issues involving the Kazakh Prime Minister.
Jocelyn Guitton stressed that Kazakhstan is the largest trading partner of the EU among the countries of Central Asia as 86% of EU-Kazakhstan total trade falls on Kazakhstan, adding that the country’s transit and transport potential, connecting Asia and Europe, could be a powerful driver of the country's economic growth.
In his turn, Samuel Vesterbye, who observed the in June 2019 Kazakh presidential election, outlined the importance of the wide involvement of civil society in the processes of modernizing the country's socio and political life.
All the participants were united in the belief that the Kazakhstan-EU Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement’s effective implementation will become the crucial to greater economic ties and increased trade between Kazakhstan and the European Union, attracting European technologies and investments, and creating new jobs.
