Kazakhstan, Astana, March 2 / Trend D. Mukhtarov /
France supports Kazakhstan's accession to the WTO. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius made this statement during a meeting with Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, Yerlan Idrisov on Friday.
"We discussed some issues with my colleagues. In particular, he said that Kazakhstan would like to join the WTO soon. I reiterated that it can count on the full support from the French side, but here we are talking not only about WTO, but also realization of a new strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the European Union in the near future," Fabius said following the meeting.
He said the meeting also discussed issues of regional security. In particular, the sides discussed issues related to Afghanistan and Iran. According to Fabius, Kazakhstan and France have a common position and very similar views on many regional issues, particularly on Afghanistan.
"We discussed issues related to higher education and culture. We have just signed an agreement on higher education and science. A series of events are planned, which I am sure, will attract many visitors. Also an agreement was signed between Kazakhstan Railways and French Alstom on manufacturing actuators for turnout system," Fabius said.
He also congratulated the Kazakh side for winning the right to host the exhibition EXPO-2017 and said that France will take part in the exhibition.