Kazakhstan deserves full membership in Council of Europe ? Vice President of PACE Paul Ville

During the meeting the Ambassador thanked the Belgian Senator, who is also the active participant of ?Belgium-Kazakhstan? Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, for his personal contribution to the development of cooperation with our country. ?Participation of a representative of Belgium which is going to chair the Council of the European Union in 2010 in the International scientific conference ?Modern Kazakhstan and ?Path to Europe? scheduled for May 21 in Astana is of great importance for us?, Y. Utembayev said. P. Ville?s speech at this conference will be devoted to urgent ecological problems of our country. The theme of his report is ?Next step for Kazakhstan and Europe in growing global economy: ?green? economy as a locomotive power in the XXI century?. As is known, Belgium has rich experience in this spehe and uses up-to-date technologies for protection and improvement of the environment. The Senator highlighted promising outlook of bilateral cooperation in this field. The Ambassador acquainted the Belgian Senator with the main provisions of the Kazakh President?s Address to the Nation ?Through Crisis to Renovation and Prosperity? and the anti-crisis measures taken by the Government. Resting on the forecasts of the international institutions and his personal analysis P. Ville expressed confidence that Kazakhstan would make his way out of the recession in 2010 leaving behind many European countries. The Belgian Senator expressed huge interest in the results of the XII Congress of Nur Otan People?s Democratic Party held recently in Astana at which the Head of the State entrusted the Government and the Party with certain tasks on further development and diversification of the national economy. Particular attention was given to the prospects of cooperation of Kazakhstan with the Council of Europe. ?By the level of development, content and paces of the conducted reforms Kazakhstan deserves full-fledged membership in this institution?, P. Ville stressed. In turn, Y. Utembayev informed of our country?s intention to join several main conventions of the Council of Europe which requirements had already been considered in Kazakhstan?s legislative acts and are realized in practice, particularly, in education.