President Nursultan Nazarbayev Meets President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso
Today President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev held a meeting with President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso during his working visit to Kazakhstan.
A wide range of issues including the current state of affairs and prospects for political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation was discussed at the meeting. The bilateral meeting also focused on the issues of international agenda, in particular the situation in Central Asia.
The President of Kazakhstan pointed out that President Barroso carried out a fruitful work since the arrival in Astana, and stressed that the European Union is a major partner for Kazakhstan.
In turn, President Barroso said that President Nazarbayev's visit to Brussels in 2010 significantly contributed to widening cooperation between Kazakhstan and the EU.
At the joint press conference President Nazarbayev stressed that Kazakhstan attaches strategic importance to the development of relations with the European Union.
"Over the last years the European Union has become a major foreign trading and political partner for Kazakhstan. It is worth noting that the foreign investments of EU countries into Kazakhstan account for US$ 80 billion. The bilateral trade reached US$ 53 billion. Moreover, Kazakhstan signed strategic partnership agreements with EU countries, such as France and Spain. We also agreed with Germany on delivery of raw materials in exchange of technology. The European Union and European companies actively participate in industrial development of our country," the President of Kazakhstan highlighted.
President Nazarbayev also pointed out there was mutual interest in proceeding with concluding a new enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the Republic Kazakhstan and the European Union.
The President of the European Commission underlined that Kazakhstan's accession to the World Trade Organization opens large potential for investments.
"The European Union always supports Kazakhstan's initiative on the accession of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the World Trade Organization. I am delighted to state that our parties reached an agreement on fundamental elements on the accession to the WTO. We look forward to the signing the corresponding documents. We also support for Kazakhstan's strategy on further diversification of the economy focused on development of "green economy"," President Barroso said.
The President of the European Commission emphasized Kazakhstan's role in promotion of regional cooperation in Central Asia, in particular, in joint settlement of issues of extremism, terrorism, drugs trafficking, and management of water resources.
In conclusion, President Barroso thanked the President of Kazakhstan for substantial and fruitful dialogue that will create the basis for strong partnership in the 21 century.
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