Kazakhstan, Astana, July 4 / Trend, D. Mukhtarov /
On Tuesday Kazakh Foreign Minister, Yerzhan Kazykhanov held a meeting with U.S. Congress delegation led by chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Dan Burton in Astana, Kazakh Foreign Ministry said.
The sides discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation, including enhanced dialogue on trade, investment, energy, and the issues of global and regional security, in particular, the Afghan problem. The two sides stressed the importance of the conferences on Afghanistan, in particular, which was held in Kabul on June 14, and to be held in Tokyo on July 8, the report said.
U.S. Congressman expressed his gratitude to Kazakhstan for supporting the U.S. efforts on economic reconstruction of Afghanistan, including fulfillment of educational programs for Afghan students, providing humanitarian assistance to the country, etc.
Kazykhanov stressed that Kazakhstan is interested in stability in Afghanistan, remains a reliable partner of the United States and countries of coalition on restoring peace in the country, stressing the need to intensify the Istanbul process, including in the context of Astana's initiatives within the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia.
With regard to enhancing of trade and economic cooperation, the Kazakh foreign minister stressed the dynamics of the growth in bilateral trade turnover last year, which is higher than the figure of 2010 by more than a quarter and amount to $2.7 billion.
In this regard, Kazakh Foreign Minister said that "within the work of the Commission on Strategic Partnership Astana and Washington hold extensive dialogue on a whole range of bilateral relations, with particular emphasis on the development of innovative, scientific and technological cooperation."