The 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the European Union and Kazakhstan will be accompanied by several visits at the highest level in the coming year, QazMonitor reports citing inbusiness.kz.
According to the vice-minister of foreign affairs Roman Vasilenko, Astana expects the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in 2023. At president Tokayev’s request, her visit will involve a joint review of the MoU implementation roadmap on rare earth metals.
The capital also expects delegations led by the president of France Emmanuel Macron, leaders of Germany and Austria – Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Alexander Van der Bellen, respectively. A couple of other upcoming visits are due in 2023 as well, including the prime minister of Andorra Xavier Espot, foreign secretary of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland James Cleverly and minister of foreign affairs of Spain Jose Manuel Albares.
Discussions are expected to focus on the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). Its technical feasibility will be assessed in a joint study by the European Commission and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Following the assessment, the launch of several projects is expected.
In addition to that, the annual meeting of the EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation Council will also take place in the capital.
According to Vasilenko, the high interest is due to EU being one of Kazakhstan’s largest trading partners, accounting for 30% of the country’s foreign trade. The volume of which in the 10 months of 2022 has already exceeded figures from the previous year, reaching $33.3 billion, while investments rose to $5.3 billion.