Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that the establishment of this new position in the structure of the Presidential Administration indicates an increasing attention of Kazakhstan’s leadership to the problems of international cooperation in the light of the dynamically changing global and regional agenda.
Among the main priorities of the Special Representative's activities, President Tokayev identified close coordination with foreign partners to overcome the severe consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, attracting external resources in order to speedy restoring the national economy and social sphere.
In this regard, special attention was paid to the need to implement breakthrough investment projects with an emphasis on digital and green technologies, to boost cooperation with multilateral financial and economic organizations, and to actively participate in building an updated world trade architecture within the WTO.
Furthermore, the issues of expanding international cooperation in the humanitarian sphere, climate diplomacy, as well as promoting Kazakhstan’s key foreign policy initiatives will also be among the important areas of Erzhan Kazykhanov's work.
Taking into account the above-mentioned tasks, President Tokayev drew attention of the Special Representative to the importance of feedback from domestic and foreign “think tanks”, civil society of Kazakhstan in line with the “listening-state” concept.
The President expressed confidence that Erzhan Kazykhanov’s rich track record, who held the responsible posts of Foreign Minister, Aide to the President, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the UN and the OSCE, Ambassador to Austria, the United Kingdom and the United States, will allow him to honorably fulfill his new duties.