During the 20th [meeting of the] Cooperation Council between the European Union and Kazakhstan that was held in Luxembourg on Monday, 23 October, to mark the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations, the two parties reaffirmed their commitment to deepening their Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.
The EU, which is Kazakhstan’s top trading partner and foreign investor, expressed its support for the country’s reform and modernisation process and welcomed Kazakhstan’s cooperation in combating sanctions circumvention as well as in pursuing efforts to “stop the re-exports of common high priority items”.
On the margins of the council—following his meeting with Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Murat Nurtleu—the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, was pleased with the “[o]pen exchange on strengthening our cooperation in key areas[:] connectivity and people-to-people contacts”.
The dialogue on facilitating visas and [European-Kazakh] cooperation on education and human rights [issues] were also discussed, as were regional programmes and the situation in Afghanistan as well as Kazakhstan’s role in the EU’s energy security.
The meeting concluded with the Joint Roadmap for Deepening Ties between EU and Central Asia being approved (see EUROPE 13277/4). (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)