ASTANA – Foreign ministries of Kazakhstan and Germany held political consultations on March 28 in Berlin to strengthen bilateral ties and coordinate positions on priority issues on the bilateral, regional, and international agendas, reported the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service.
Roman Vassilenko (L) and Matthias Lüttenberg (R). Photo credit: gov.kz.
Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko and German Federal Foreign Ministry’s Director for Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia Matthias Lüttenberg discussed key aspects of Kazakhstan’s comprehensive domestic political, social, and economic modernization process. The consultations were also attended by Kazakh Ambassador to Germany Nurlan Onzhanov and diplomats from foreign ministries of both countries.
“Consultations with Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko today on bilateral relations, domestic, regional, and international developments. Expressed German support for reforms and democratization processes in Central Asia’s largest country and biggest economy,” Lüttenberg wrote on his Twitter account.
Vassilenko focused on the results of reforms initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and mentioned the results of the March 19 parliamentary election.
“The results of the parliamentary elections reflect the changes in society and a desire for further modernization of the country’s political system,” Vassilenko said.
Lüttenberg noted the assessment of the elections given by international observers and commended the country’s social and political transformation. He went on to say that Kazakhstan is a “driver of democratic change” in the wider region.
The two parties agreed to maintain the positive dynamics of Kazakh-German cooperation in education and culture and welcomed the rapid growth of trade and investment indicators.
In 2022, Kazakhstan’s trade with Germany reached $2.8 billion, 26.7 percent higher than in 2021. There are currently more than 600 enterprises with German capital in Kazakhstan, including SVEVIND and Goldbeck Solar, both are involved in large-scale green hydrogen production and renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan’s regions.
During the meeting with Eugen Schmidt, chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the States of Central Asia, as well as members of the German Parliament (Bundestag) Petr Bystron, Manfred Grund, and Christian Görke, Vassilenko also addressed the results of the recent parliamentary elections and priorities for cooperation between parliamentary corps of both countries.
The diplomat’s program also included a briefing for German media and a discussion of Kazakh-German global and regional partnerships with the Managing Director of the Center for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) Christian Schaich and ZOiS researcher Beate Eschment.
