03/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - Cooperation agreement - negotiations to accelerate. During a visit to Astana on 3 June, Commission President José Manuel Barroso and President of Kazakhstan Noursoultan Nazarbaïev agreed to “step up the negotiation process” for a new partnership and cooperation agreement, to replace the current agreement which was signed in 1995 and which came into force in 1999. They also agreed to continue cooperation in promoting and protecting human rights and on the reform of the legal framework and legal system in Kazakhstan. Barroso reaffirmed the EU's support to Kazakhstan's accession to the WTO and welcomed the country's efforts in energy cooperation and its involvement in the EU initiative for transparency in the mining industries. (EH/transl.fl)