Brussels, 04/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - As announced (EUROPE 9319), the President of the Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, signed a protocol to the reinforced energy cooperation agreement between the Union and Kazakhstan, in Brussels on Monday. Kazakhstan's oil and gas reserves are estimated at 9 billion barrels and 2 billion cubic metres respectively. This agreement protocol puts forward two road maps to reinforce cooperation in the field of security of energy supply and in the industrial field, via regular exchanges of information on respective energy policies, cooperation concerning energy transport infrastructures of mutual interest and the development of environmentally-friendly technologies. "Kazakhstan's role as a reliable supplier of hydrocarbons will increase", said Mr Nazarbayev, who states that he intends to diversify Kazakhstan's network of pipelines, to make it less dependent on the countries it goes through. "I hope to guarantee that any route which is feasible and efficient to transport Kazak hydrocarbons will be looked at", he added. The parties also initialled a cooperation agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, to be signed at a future date, and which will add to existing cooperation in the field of the safety of nuclear fusion, by providing a stable framework for bilateral trade in fissile material. With nearly 20% of the Earth is known uranium reserves, Kazakhstan is the third-largest producer of uranium in the world.
Mr Barroso and Mr Nazarbayev also discussed the human rights situation and the democratic process in Kazakhstan, questions which are the reason for the reluctance of certain members of the OSCE to grant Astana the Presidency of the organisation in 2009. "We held extremely open and constructive discussions", said Mr Barroso, who acknowledged progress made in the process of democratisation in the former Soviet republic, and pledged his support to Astana's ambitions. "The geopolitical position in this country is vital for international peace and security", he added. "Since 1992, we have shown economic development and societal liberalisation. And we enjoy the peaceful coexistence of more than 130 ethnicities and 46 religions", insisted the Kazakhstan President. However, at a meeting in Brussels as part of the OSCE's ministerial meeting, several countries, led by the United States, on Monday remained opposed to Astana's application, taking the view that Kazakhstan does not merit the OSCE presidency as it has never held free elections. Washington has, however, proposed that the country might like to wait until 2011, to give it sufficient time to build upon its democratic reform process. (eh)