Astana, Kazakhstan, June 11
By Daniyar Mukhtarov - Trend:
Foreign ministers of Kazakhstan and France discussed the possibility of opening direct flights between Astana and Paris, the press service of Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported.
"The official visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Yerlan Idrisov to France has started, during which he met with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius, French President's advisor Jacques Audibert , as well as co-chair of Kazakh-French business council, the President of "Total Upstream" Yves Louis Darricarrere.
Idrisov and Fabius also discussed the possibility of establishing direct flights between Astana and Paris, which would give a serious impetus to the Kazakh-French cooperation, including the development of tourism, enhancing business contacts and encouraging investment," the report said.
In general, the foreign ministers of the two countries discussed a wide range of bilateral and multilateral cooperation and exchanged views on topical issues of the international agenda.
"The main theme of talks between the two ministers was the preparation for the planned visit of French President Francois Hollande to Kazakhstan at the end of year at the invitation of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The parties noted that the visit should be marked as the achievement of new mutually beneficial agreements that will expand the field of joint activities, primarily on economic sphere," the press-service noted.
As of 2013 France was fifth among the leading trade partners of Kazakhstan - trade turnover exceeded $6 billion, according to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry. France also ranks in the fourth place in terms of direct investment in the economy of Kazakhstan, the figure was more than $10 billion during the years of cooperation. The two sides expressed their intention to further develop mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as partnership in aerospace, manufacturing "Eurocopter" helicopters, cooperation in the nuclear energy, in the field of mechanical engineering. The main themes in the talks in the field of multilateral cooperation was the conclusion of a new agreement on enhanced partnership and cooperation between Kazakhstan and the European Union.
"The new agreement is the opportunity to consolidate personal and privileged nature of our partnership, in which should be taken into account mutual interests in equal proportions," Idrisov said. He expressed the hope that the negotiating teams of the parties will be able to finalize the text of the document during the next round of negotiations, in order to initial it in October in Brussels.
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry also reported that also during the visit it is planned for Idrisov`s attendance in the approval procedure of the General Assembly of the International Exhibitions Bureau dossier of the "Astana EXPO-2017", the meeting with the leadership of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and UNESCO.
Edited by CN