Kazakhstan, EU agree to further boost political, economic cooperation
ASTANA. March 10 (Interfax) - Attendees of the 15th meeting of the Kazakhstan-European Union cooperation committee in Astana, have discussed pressing issues concerning trade, bilateral investment, energy and transport development, environmental protection and regional cooperation, Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry has said.
The Kazakh delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vasilenko; the EU delegation, by the head of the Central Asian Division of the European External Action Service, Toivo Klaar.
The parties also discussed joint efforts in countering new threats, as well as human rights issues. Separately, they discussed the implementation of an updated EU Strategy for Central Asia (CA) and the results of an EU-CA conference held in Astana last December, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Particular attention was given to a discussion of prospects for the implementation of the EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) signed in Astana on December 21, 2015.
Vasilenko stressed in his speech, that with the introduction of the EPCA, the relations between Kazakhstan and the EU will reach a whole new level, and implementation of this document will mark, for both sides, a new stage in bilateral cooperation, and help to significantly extend the horizons of cooperation, and open up new opportunities for cooperation in all spheres of mutual interest.
"We have agreed to reinforce our cooperation in economy, investment, energy, environmental protection, transport, new technologies, as well bilateral trade development. A particular focus on the agenda was on discussing prospects to ease visa requirements for Kazakh citizens traveling to EU countries, and assigning Kazakhstan the status of a country with a market economy," the deputy foreign minister was quoted in the press release as having said.
Klaar said that the ECPA is a new-generation document, and the first such document to have been signed by the EU with a Central Asian state.
The ECPA covers areas of cooperation such as economy and finance, transport, energy, environmental protection, education and research, data protection, migration, the rule of law, the fight against corruption, terrorism and transnational organized crime, as well as assistance in international security and stability.
The EU is Kazakhstan's biggest trade partner and investor. The EU accounts for 51.4% of Kazakhstan's foreign trade. Bilateral trade in 2015 exceeded $31 billion.