ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 2. Kazakhstan and the UK are preparing to sign a bilateral Agreement on Strategic Partnership and Cooperation, which will take mutually beneficial interstate partnership to a qualitatively new level, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vasilenko during the 7th meeting of the bilateral Strategic Dialogue, Trend reports.
The meeting was held in Astana under the chairmanship of Vasilenko and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK, Leo Docherty.
The parties discussed current issues of bilateral cooperation and also exchanged views on the international and regional agenda.
"Kazakhstan stands for the consistent and multifaceted strengthening of the strategic partnership with the UK and welcomes the active development of political contacts, the positive dynamics of the trade and investment partnership, as well as the expansion of the legal framework," Vasilenko said.
At the same time, he confirmed his readiness to promote a comprehensive dialogue at the level of the foreign ministries of the two countries.
In turn, Docherty noted that Kazakhstan is a very important partner of the UK, including in the context of regional dialogue and in matters of energy cooperation with Europe.
The parties paid special attention to such key areas of interaction as transport and logistics, critical raw materials and renewable energy sources, ecology, and healthcare.
Strategic dialogue is one of the key mechanisms of interaction between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the UK. The previous meeting of the Strategic Dialogue took place in London in December 2022 under the auspices of the heads of the foreign ministries of the two countries.
The UK is an important political, trade, economic, and investment partner for Kazakhstan. In 2022, the countries celebrated the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
At the end of 2022, bilateral trade turnover increased by more than 60 percent compared to 2021 and amounted to $1.8 billion (exports: $1.5 billion, imports: $384.3 million). In the first eight months of this year, trade turnover reached $879 million (exports: $559 million, imports: $320 million).