Strengthening of cooperation on bilateral relations agenda btw Kazakhstan and Serbia
Images | gov.kz
Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Serbia Madi Atamkulov met with recently appointed State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Goran Aleksić, Kazinform cites the press service of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.
The parties discussed dynamics of bilateral cooperation, noting traditionally friendly nature of relations between Astana and Belgrade.
Special attention was paid to organization of mutual visits of the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan and Serbia during the year, as well as holding of the next meeting of the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission.
The interlocutors agreed that the excellent relations between the two countries in the political sphere provide an opportunity for deeper and diverse interaction in the trade, economic and investment spheres. To do this, it is necessary to intensify contacts of business circles. Along with that, it seems important to resolve the issue of opening direct flights.
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Kazakh-Belarus Inter-Ministerial Consultations were Held in Astana
Images | Kazakh MFA
Kazakh-Belarus inter-ministerial consultations of experts on the inventory of the bilateral legal framework were held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, press service of the Kazakh MFA reports.
The parties reviewed the list of bilateral interstate, intergovernmental and interagency agreements signed between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Belarus from 1991 to 2023 and discussed topical issues of international law of mutual interest.
The meeting participants noted the effectiveness of the consultation mechanism and decided to continue work on inventory and improvement of the legal framework between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Belarus.
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China-Central Asia ties help region stability
Images | China Daily
May is the month when pomegranate and peony flowers bloom and lush greenery covers the city of Xi'an, the starting point of the Silk Road. And it's on May 18-19 that Xi'an, Shaanxi province, will host the China-Central Asia Summit, which will add a new chapter in the development of China and the five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), China Daily reports.
China and the five Central Asian countries are friendly neighbors connected by mountains and rivers. They are connected also by the stories and legends of the ancient Silk Road, which bridged Asia and Europe. And it was the ancient Silk Road through which the inventions and creations of China traveled to Central and South Asia, the Middle East and Europe and left the people there mesmerized.
According to the "heartland theory" of British geographer and politician Halford John Mackinder, Central Asia, as part of Eurasia, has been the "geographical pivot of history" and would remain the pivot of global politics. In a paper, The Geographical Pivot of History, he wrote in 1904, Mackinder said: Who rules Eurasia commands the "heartland", who rules the heartland commands the "world island", who rules the world island commands the world. Mackinder also referred to the "heartland" as the "pivot area" and the core of Eurasia, and considered Europe and Asia to be the world island.
Mackinder's theory is reflected in major powers' foreign policies and strategies even today. His argument that "who rules the heartland… commands the world" has, in some ways, become the driving force behind major powers' foreign policies, resulting in power competitions between them to expand their sphere of influence, thus changing the historical context of Central Asia.
Major powers have tried to meddle in the region many times. Empires have risen and collapsed, but their desperation to expand their influence to or control foreign regions have led to instability in Central Asia. Afghanistan (a country in South-Central Asia) is an apt example of the political instability and economic ruin that major powers' interference can cause in a country. Even more than one year after the withdrawal of US forces from the country following almost two decades of occupation, Afghanistan has been struggling to get a foothold on all fronts.
And although China and Russia are not involved in any power game over Central Asia, the Western media have been spreading lies that the two countries are trying to control the region. Perhaps the Western media are in cahoots with Western politicians' geopolitical game of divide and conquer.
But lies and rumors will always be exposed. In recent years, the Western media have hyped up the non-existent "Xinjiang forced labor" and "Xinjiang concentration camp" issues to deter the five Central Asian countries which, like China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, are Muslim-majority societies, from deepening trade and economic relations with China and Russia.
The China-Central Asia Summit will demonstrate that China and the five Central Asian countries are friendly neighbors and close trading partners. Besides, the Sino-Russian strategic partnership has strengthened, thanks to their deepening mutual trust and good understanding about regional development and security.
But some countries, to fulfill their narrow geopolitical ends, have been creating trouble and trying to trigger disputes among the countries in the region. But the win-win cooperation between China and the Central Asian countries, the strategic partnership between China and Russia, and good relationships between China and other countries in the region will not allow the Western powers to succeed in their design.
Working together, especially over the past 10 years, and driven by the Belt and Road Initiative, China and the Central Asian countries have built solid cooperation platforms, which have benefited all sides.
After years of discussions and exchanges, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have reached an agreement on a railway connecting the three countries, and construction on the project is about to start. The Belt and Road Initiative will help upgrade the infrastructure in the two Central Asian countries, increasing their pace of development, and turn Xinjiang into a bridgehead for the economic hub of Central Asia, which connects East Asia with Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway and other Belt and Road projects will also transform Central Asia from a landlocked region to land-linked region. And the proposed communication networks including roads, railways and flight routes, and infrastructure such as oil and gas pipelines will bring the Central Asian countries much closer to the sea, thus boosting their trade with the outside world.
Apart from becoming a core region of Belt and Road projects and part of a community with a shared future, Central Asia will also become a prosperous region. And soon people in the region will realize that China's call to help build a community with a shared future for mankind is not an empty slogan but a sincere project for the benefit of all.
The global situation has been changing rapidly, with two distinct trends. One is that of China promoting mutual benefit with countries like those in Central Asia and making efforts to unite all countries so they can achieve peace, stability and development. The other trend is that of Western powers forming alliances, forcing other countries to take sides and using sanctions and threats to force China to accept their repressive demands, causing instability and raising tensions across the world.
But despite the Western powers' evil design, peace and development will remain the overriding themes of the times. The voices of peace-loving and development-oriented forces, such as those likely to emanate from Xi'an on May 18-19, will echo throughout the world.
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Kazakhstan, Sweden discussed issues of deepening cooperation in agro-industrial complex field
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Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Sweden Sergey Nurtayev met with Fredrik Alfer, Director General - Head of the Secretariat for EU Affairs and International Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Infrastructure of the Kingdom of Sweden, Kazinform cites the press service of the Kazakh MFA.
During the conversation, the parties discussed the state and directions of development of Kazakh-Swedish cooperation in the sphere of agriculture, and a number of issues on cooperation in the field of agro-industrial complex.
Ambassador Nurtayev told his Swedish colleague about the concept of development of the agro-industrial complex in the country, presented the priority directions for the development of the sector, as well as informed on measures of state support for the industry and the investment attractiveness of Kazakh agriculture. The interlocutors exchanged opinions on improvement of efficiency in using land and water resources, accessibility of markets as well as development of export and agrarian science, transfer of technologies.
At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to cooperate closely in order to bring bilateral relations to a new level, and also agreed to make reciprocal visits.
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Kazakhstan attends 4th Central Asia-China Ministerial Meeting
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The Kazakh delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu took part in the 4th meeting of foreign ministers of Central Asia - China format.
The participants of the ministerial meeting, in accordance with the agenda, discussed preparations for first Central Asia - China Summit to be held in Xi'an in May, prospects and contours of further cooperation in various areas between the participating states of this dialogue format, and exchanged views on topical international issues, Kazinform learnt from the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service.
In his remarks, Minister Nurtleu noted the importance of increasing trade, expanding the range of export goods, improving transport infrastructure, strengthening cooperation in the field of food security, joining efforts to establish cooperation on water issues, expanding cultural and humanitarian cooperation and ensuring regional security between Central Asia and China.
Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the development of our regional dialogue and is ready to actively cooperate for the implementation of specific projects and programs," Nurtleu said. "Trade and economic cooperation is one of the cornerstones of mutually beneficial partnership and the Central Asian countries have sufficient potential to progressively increase exports to China," he added.
It was noted that the planned indicators of trade turnover between the Central Asian countries and the PRC in 2022 of 70 billion US dollars were reached ahead of schedule and this indicates the existing potential. At the same time, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and China in 2022 reached 24 billion US dollars, which is 34% more than in 2021.
Following the meeting, an Information Communique was adopted by the ministers of foreign affairs of the Central Asian states and China.
The initiative to create the Central Asia - China format belongs to the Chinese side. The main goal of cooperation within this format is to improve the mechanisms of political and diplomatic interaction, and strengthen cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, transport, healthcare, science and high technology, environmental protection and culture.
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Kazakhstan and S Korea debate consular coop issues
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Director of consular service of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry Baurzhan Akatayev and visiting director general for overseas Korean nationals and consular affairs of the Foreign Ministry of South Korea Kim Min-Chul held talks, Kazinform reports.
During the 7th round of consultations on consular issues, the sides highly appreciated the level of bilateral relations including consular-legal ties.
They also debated the protection of the rights and interests of citizens of both nations, pressing issues in the legal sector, as well as illegal labor migration of the nationals of Kazakhstan to South Korea.
Following the talks the parties agreed to hold the next meeting in Astana.
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