NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is a key partner of the European Union (EU) in Central Asia, said Christian Sagartz, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament (EP) Sub-Committee on Human Rights, during his Aug. 22 meeting with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, reported the ministry’s press service.
Christian Sagartz (Austria), Vice-Chair of the European Parliament Sub-Committee on the Human Rights. Photo credit: wikipedia
Sagartz commended the political dialogue between Kazakhstan and the EU, particularly between members of the EP and the Kazakh Parliament.
Along with Sagartz, the EP delegation included Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Petitions and Chairman of the EU-Kazakhstan Friendship Group Ryszard Czarnecki (Poland), member of EP Committee on Foreign Affairs Nacho Sanchez-Amor (Spain), and member of EP Committee on Environment, Health and Food Safety Silvia Sardone (Italy).
“I first visited Kazakhstan in 1993. Kazakhstan and its society have achieved tremendous economic and political success over the last 30 years,” said Czarnecki during their meeting with the deputies of Mazhilis, the lower house of the country’s Parliament.
Human rights, the EP resolution on the situation in Kazakhstan, the investigation into the events of January, and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s democratic reforms were among the main topics of discussion.
The EP’s official visit schedule includes meetings with representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Ministry of Information and Social Development, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Energy, the Anti-Corruption Office, and the country’s Commissioner for Human Rights.
EP delegation meets with Foreign Ministry officials. Photo credit: press service of Foreign Ministry
The visit of this delegation comes a few months after Andris Ameriks, First Vice-Chair of the EP Delegation for Cooperation with Central Asia and Mongolia and Vice-Chair of the EP Committee on Transport and Tourism, also visited the Kazakh capital. He met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev back then saying the country’s political reforms are a “serious step towards democracy.”
