Kazakhstan, EU to Focus on Trade, Digitalization, Visa Facilitation

ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu met with the European Union Ambassador to Kazakhstan Aleška Simkić on Jan. 27 to discuss strengthening the strategic partnership.

Aleška Simkić and Murat Nurtleu. Photo credit: Kazakh Foreign Ministry.

According to the Foreign Ministry’s press service, the officials focused on enhancing cooperation as well as advancing preparations for EU visa regime negotiations.

Nurtleu noted Kazakhstan’s determination to deepen the strategic partnership with the European Union, emphasizing the importance of effectively implementing the agreements reached in priority areas of cooperation such as trade and investment, transport and logistics, critical raw materials, and digitalization.

Simkić welcomed the high dynamics of interaction and expressed her readiness to make every effort to develop bilateral relations.

The European Union is Kazakhstan’s main trade and investment partner. Trade turnover in January-November last year reached $44.2 billion, increasing by 17.7% compared to the same period in 2023. The volume of European investments into the economy of Kazakhstan since 2005 totaled $180 billion.


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