ASTANA – United Kingdom (UK) Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly and Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi pledged to strengthen cooperation during the sixth Kazakhstan-UK Strategic Dialogue on Dec. 20 in London, reported the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service.
Kazakh delegation arriving in London for sixth Strategic Dialogue. Photo credit: Foreign Ministry press service.
In a joint statement, the sides confirmed their intention to develop bilateral cooperation and their strategic partnership in the political, trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian spheres, energy security, and climate change.
“Kazakhstan is a reliable and leading partner of our country in Central Asia. We are ready to use all available opportunities to diversify British-Kazakh cooperation,” said Cleverly, who noted the need to intensify business cooperation while maintaining interparliamentary dialogue.
The signing of a new Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the UK in 2023 and the holding of the ninth annual session of the Kazakh-British Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation in London in February 2023 are expected to enhance bilateral ties.
United Kingdom (UK) Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly and Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi at a meeting in London. Photo credit: Foreign Ministry press service.
The two sides welcomed growing bilateral trade, which has increased 65.7 percent over ten months this year compared to last year’s period.
The UK is among Kazakhstan’s seven largest foreign investors and ten largest trading partners. Over 600 companies with British capital are registered in Kazakhstan. British investment in Kazakhstan’s economy has exceeded $20 billion over the past 30 years.
The Kazakh-British Strategic Dialogue was established in 2013 and has become an important institutional platform for discussing bilateral and multilateral cooperation issues, including identifying new promising areas of partnership.
Following the meeting with Cleverly, Tileuberdi met with British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Baroness Emma Nicholson, the Kazakh-British Society Chairman Rupert Goodman and heads of international companies, such as Shell, RioTinto and ERG International Group, to discuss bilateral cooperation.
