Czech Republic promotes further EU – Central Asia partnership
31-01-2009
The Czech EU Presidency features a continuation of the Union’s policy of intensifying its cooperation with Central Asia.
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek paid an official visit to Kazakhstan on 12 February and held talks with President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Karim Massimov in Astana.
“We discussed a number of important issues concerning our bilateral ties, such as the relations between Kazakhstan and the EU”, the Kazakh Prime Minister said after the meeting.
“The Czech Republic currently holds the Presidency of the European Union, and the EU is Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner and consumer of its energy resources”, he added.
In his turn, the Czech Prime Minister expressed the EU’s interest in expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan. “We look favourably upon your OSCE Chairmanship in 2010, and your ambition to join the WTO, and we appreciate your efforts in Afghanistan and in the ensuring of regional security”, said Mr. Topolánek.
Prior the visit of Prime Minister Topolánek, Kazakh Foreign Minister Marat Tazhin met with the First Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, Tomash Poyar, in Astana on 20 January.
During the meeting, the two ministers exchanged views on topical issues of contemporary international relations and discussed key aspects relating to the Czech EU Presidency, in particular in the context of the Central Asia – EU dialogue, as well as the prospects for bilateral relations between the two countries. Minister Tazhin provided information about the implementation of Kazakhstan’s “Path to Europe” State Programme.
On 29 January, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, speaking to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, also emphasized the significance of partnership with Central Asia, especially in the energy field. He also stressed the necessity of further intensifying and expanding cooperation between the EU and Kazakhstan over a wide spectrum of partnership.
At the picture: Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov in Astana, February 2009
