Images | Kazakh MFA
Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu held talks with Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland David Cameron, who is in Astana with an official visit, press service of the
Kazakh MFA reports.
The discussion focused on issues of bilateral, regional and international cooperation, as well as measures to enhance the entire spectrum of Kazakh-British relationship.
Minister Nurtleu welcomed dynamic intergovernmental and inter-parliamentary contacts that have facilitated deepening of partnership in various sectors over the recent years, and reconfirmed his readiness to broaden dialogue further between the foreign ministries of two countries.
With a view to increase engagement in trade, economic and investment spheres, Kazakh Foreign Minister underlined the importance of promoting institutional mechanism of cooperation, including the Strategic Dialogue and the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation.
Foreign Secretary Cameron noted that the UK pays great attention to developing cooperation with Kazakhstan as the key partner in Central Asia. He also expressed support for the ongoing reforms in our country and the readiness of London to deepen its ties with Astana.
An important outcome of the talks at the Foreign Ministry was the signing of the historic Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the UK that is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations in key sectors, such as foreign policy and security, trade and investment, protection of intellectual property, energy and raw materials partnership, transportation, environment protection and climate change, banking and financial services, employment and social policy, science and education.
According to Minister Nurtleu, "this comprehensive agreement will be a significant step in taking political, trade and investment relations between Astana and London to new horizons… We believe our strong and mutually beneficial strategic partnership will continue to strengthen in all areas, from energy to rare metals, from ecology to education."
A number of bilateral documents in the sphere of healthcare and transport as well as MoUs on opening a branch of Queen’s University Belfast in Almaty and launching Kazakh language courses at Oxford University were also concluded during the visit.
For reference: trade between Kazakhstan and the UK in 2023 reached 1.2 million US dollars (exports - 703 million, imports - 478,7 million).
There are around 600 companies and joint ventures with British capital in Kazakhstan.
The UK is among the top 10 foreign investors in Kazakhstan. Last year, Kazakhstan’s economy attracted 795 million in FDI from the UK and over 17 billion in total since 2005.
