Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Charles Michel discussed the prospects of strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the European Union with an emphasis on the effective implementation of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.
Particular importance during the talks was given to strengthening interaction in the political, trade, economic and investment spheres. They also touched upon the measures on countering the pandemic.
In addition, the parties reviewed the international and regional agenda, including the situation in Afghanistan and the efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to this country.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev commended Charles Michel's leadership as the President of the European Council, expressing gratitude for his openness and constructive approach to cooperation with Kazakhstan.
President Tokayev stressed that over the past three decades, Kazakhstan and the EU have built strong relations based on trust, mutual respect and shared priorities.
The two leaders underlined the importance of the full-scale implementation of the EPCA that sets the framework for interaction in 29 areas. They also noted the progress in the implementation of the new EU Strategy on Central Asia, as well as an active dialogue between the EU and Central Asia.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev positively assessed dynamic development of trade, economic and investment ties. As he underlined, the EU is the largest investor into the Kazakhstan economy with a total investment of $160 billion. In turn, Kazakhstan is the leading trade partner of the EU in the region. The total volume of bilateral trade has reached $24 billion.
Speaking about the water management issues in Central Asia, the Head of State stressed the need to create an International Water and Energy Consortium, activities of which would aim at balancing the major interests of the countries of the region in the hydropower, irrigation and environmental protection. In this regard, he called on European partners to contribute to the implementation of the Kazakh initiative.
As for the European “Green Deal”, President Tokayev expressed Kazakhstan’s readiness to collaborate with the European Raw Materials Alliance and the European Battery Alliance to ensure reliable and sustainable access to raw materials, as well as integrate Kazakhstan into the battery value chain.
Concluding the meeting, the Head of State invited Charles Michel to pay reciprocal visit to Kazakhstan.
