The interlocutors dwelt on the positive outcomes of the recent III Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, which took place in Turkmenistan.
On August 19, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev met with EU Special Representative for Central Asia Terhi Hakala. The interlocutors discussed the current level of relations between Kazakhstan and the EU states, the press office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan reported.
The EU Special Representative conveyed the message of President of the European Council Charles Michel, who invited the President of Kazakhstan to pay a visit to Brussels by the end of the year.
Underlining an impetus given by the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and Kazakhstan, Tokayev emphasised that Kazakhstan valued an economic and investment exchange with European businesses. Kazakhstan was the major trade partner of the EU in the Central Asian region, as vividly evidenced by the bilateral trade turnover that amounted to US$ 24 billion in 2020, the President noted.
The parties identified renewable energy, high technologies, infrastructure innovations and healthcare as priority areas of interaction in the post-crisis period.
Exchanging views on the Afghan problem, the interlocutors expressed concerns that the major burden of potential risks was being borne by the Central Asian states, located in the immediate vicinity of the hotbed of instability.
Terhi Hakala wished the President Kazakhstan fruitful work as the Chair of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva, scheduled for November-December 2021.
The interlocutors also placed special emphasis on the new strategic prospects of the countries of the region in the context of the agreements reached at the recent Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, which took place in the picturesque tourist centre of Avaza in Turkmenistan.
