Kazakhstan, Astana, 9 April / Trend D. Mukhtarov /
The next meeting of intergovernmental commission of Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia will take place in the autumn in Riyadh. Such an agreement was reached during a meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Kazykhanov with Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Saud al-Faisal, Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Ilyas Omarov told Trend on Monday.
He said the delegation headed by the Kazakh Minister has visited Saudi Arabia.
"The sides discussed bilateral relations, international and regional issues of mutual interest, and discussed measures to further develop bilateral cooperation between the two countries, including the investment sphere. In addition, the two foreign ministers discussed the possibility of opening direct flights between the countries," Omarov said.
He noted that the two foreign ministers exchanged views on topical issues of contemporary international relations, discussed the current situation in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, discussing ways to resolve the current situation in Syria.
Touching upon cooperation within multilateral international organizations, the sides discussed issues of cooperation within the framework of Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Following the talks, Kazykhanov noted that Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia seek to expand the list of bilateral economic agreements. He said "we are opening a new page in relations especially in the economic sphere, and we plan to significantly expand the legal base." It first of all concerns economic agreements, including investment protection, abolition of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and service passports.
During the visit to the Kingdom a member of the Kazakhstani delegation, Minister of Economic Integration Zhanar Aitzhanova signed a protocol on completing bilateral negotiations between Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia on the republic's joining WTO.