President of Kazakhstan visits Brussels to deepen relations-EURACTIV.com

President Kassim-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan made a rare official visit to Belgium on Thursday and Friday (November 25th to 26th), aiming to demonstrate his country as a reliable partner of the European Union , And open the door to new opportunities.

The visit was conducted at a time when the relationship between this Central Asian country and the EU is at a high point, and in the context of the imminent humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the EU’s contacts with the region are becoming more and more important.

Unlike other countries in the EU’s neighboring countries, Kazakhstan is only seeking to develop relations with the EU in an effort to maintain a balance of relations on the global stage, including its two other close neighbors-Russia and China.

After Tokayev met with the President of the European Council Charles Michel on Thursday, the EU revealed few details. Michelle said in a tweet that they discussed post-COVID-19 recovery, human rights, regional cooperation and Afghanistan.

Website of the President of Kazakhstan More details are provided, but human rights are not mentioned. Kazakhstan has begun to gradually democratize, but Western rights organizations condemn these reforms as a cover.

Tokayev and Michel discussed the prospects of Kazakhstan and the European Union establishing a strategic partnership, focusing on the effective implementation of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) that came into effect just before the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic.

Kazakhstan is the first Central Asian country to reach an agreement to strengthen partnership and cooperation with the European Union.

Kazakhstan stated that the two sides attach importance to strengthening interaction and exchanges in the fields of politics, trade, economy, and investment, and jointly respond to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, including mutual recognition of vaccines and passports for vaccination. Kazakhstan has developed its own COVID-19 vaccine QazVac.

According to Tokayev’s office, the two sides reviewed international and regional agendas, including the situation in Afghanistan and efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the country.

The EU is the largest investor in the Kazakhstan economy, with a total investment of 160 billion U.S. dollars. In turn, Kazakhstan is the EU’s main trading partner in the region, with a bilateral trade volume of 24 billion U.S. dollars.

Water and Energy Initiative

Speaking of the situation of water resources in Central Asia, Tokayev told Michel that an international water and energy alliance needs to be established, whose activities aim to balance the interests of countries in the region in the fields of hydropower, irrigation and the environment. protect.

At the same time, President Tokayev talked about the European Union’s “Green Agreement”, saying that Kazakhstan is willing to establish partnerships with the European Raw Material Union and the European Battery Union to ensure reliable and sustainable access to raw materials and integrate my country into the European Union. Battery value chain.

Kazakhstan is the ninth largest resource country in the world, Express interest Integrate the battery supply chain in terms of material extraction and processing.

Tokayev also met with Ursula von der Lein, President of the European Commission, as well as representatives of the European business community, Jean-Luc Moranche, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Belgian company John Cokerrier, and President of the German Enterprise Group Wolfgang Krop.

It is said that he discussed with Morangi the prospects of implementing investment projects in Kazakhstan aimed at modernizing existing train engines and using renewable energy. During the meeting with Kropp, the issue of the implementation of the Hailasian No. 1 project in the field of green hydrogen production in the Mangistau region was discussed.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]