Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom are intending to strengthen strategic partnership
LONDON, December 4, 2018 – Further strengthening of the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the UK was the main topic of the visit to London today of the delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vasilenko.
Within the framework of the first day of the visit, the fifth meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between the two countries was held, co-chaired by R. Vasilenko and the UK Secretary of State for European and American Affairs Alan Duncan. The meeting was held in a constructive manner, allowing “to compare hours” on the international agenda and to discuss in detail bilateral and multilateral cooperation. It was noted that the new impetus to bilateral relations was given by the recent meeting of President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and British Prime Minister Theresa May on the margins of the ASEM summit in Brussels.
The head of the Kazakhstan delegation noted the positive dynamics in the development of bilateral relations, stressing the effective functioning of such interaction structures as the Strategic Dialogue, the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Business Council and others.
The sides discussed prospects for further strengthening the Kazakh-British strategic partnership, focusing on joint work within the UN Security Council, bilateral trade, economic, investment and cultural cooperation, including in the light of the upcoming UK exit from the European Union, the Astana International Financial Center. »(AIFC), as well as the potential of trilateral investment projects in Kazakhstan with the participation of large states of the region.
During the visit, R. Vasilenko held a meeting with deputies of the Parliament of Great Britain headed by the Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cooperation with Kazakhstan, Bob Stewart. The parties discussed the results of the May visit of the delegation of the All-Party Group in Kazakhstan, during which a number of meetings were held with the leadership of the Mazhilis of the Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and various political parties of the country. They discussed plans and prospects for further strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation, incl. organization of the return visit of the delegation of Kazakhstani parliamentarians to the UK.
At the meeting with representatives of British business and members of the British-Kazakhstan Society (BSO), the delegation acquainted the interlocutors with reforms and initiatives aimed at further improving the investment climate in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan’s achievements in this area were confirmed by the recent World Bank Doing Business – 2019 rating, in which the country rose by eight positions compared to last year, taking 28th place among 190 countries.
R. Vasilenko told British businessmen about the large-scale privatization program being carried out in the country, the activities of the AIFC and the Astana Hub International Park of IT start-ups, projects within the framework of the Chinese initiative Belts and Paths, and also answered the questions of the businessmen present.
The meeting was attended by two dozen prominent British entrepreneurs, including regional director of Orion Group, Mark Donnison, chairman of Central Asia Metals, Nick Clark, director of South China Securities, Hugo Jamms and others.
During the visit, a meeting was also held with the leadership of the Royal Institute of International Relations “Chatham House”, during which the Kazakh diplomat informed the interlocutors about the political, social and economic reforms in our country, as well as about the key foreign policy initiatives of Kazakhstan.
The visit will continue with the participation of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan R. Vasilenko at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Eurasian Council on Foreign Relations (ESMO), the outcome of which will be the official presentation of the YESMO with recommendations to the new EU Strategy for Central Asia.
Press office
of Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Republic of Kazakhstan