Kazakhstan seeks closer ties with EU: FM

16:30, 26 January 2012

ALMATY. January 26. KAZINFORM Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov said Wednesday that seeking a new expanded partnership agreement with the European Union is a priority for Kazakhstan, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

Such a new agreement will replace the 1999 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the EU, Kazykhanov said after talks with EU Special Representative for Central Asia Pierre Morel in Astana.

"The drafting and conclusion of a new expanded agreement of partnership and cooperation is a priority issue," Kazykhanov was quoted as saying, Xinhua reports.

During their talks, Kazykhanov and Morel discussed global and regional issues of common concern and both pledged to further develop Kazakhstan-EU ties, said the statement.

According to the ministry, trade volume between Kazakhstan and the EU surged 36 percent in January to November in 2011 compared with previous year.

"The EU is a leading trade and investment partner of Kazakhstan. Today the EU accounts for 50 percent of Kazakhstan's foreign trade and one third of investments," the ministry said.

Kazykhanov will meet EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton in Brussels in early February, it added.

Diplomacy Foreign Mass Media about Kazakhstan Government

Zhanna Nurmaganbetova

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