Nazarbayev, José Manuel Barroso eye new Kazakhstan-EU cooperation agreement

Stronger cooperation and pressing issues of the international agenda were touched upon during the meeting.

The Kazakh President lauded Mr. Barroso for paying utmost attention to the development of partnership between Kazakhstan and the European Union.

"Trade volume with the European Union totals $50 billion. Currently, we are working on a number of issues, for instance, the Kazakhstan-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The signing of this document needs to be expedited up, if possible. We are also interested in visa-free regime with the EU member states. Kazakhstan's accession to the WTO is also high on the agenda," Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

The Head of State called on the EU to support the speedy completion of negotiations on Kazakhstan's entry into the WTO. The President of Kazakhstan believes it will be an additional guarantee for the European investors and ensure the further improvement of investment climate in the country amid global competition.

The President of the European Commission, in turn, noted that the EU is the key trade and investment partner of Kazakhstan, and that the European companies are interested in deeper economic ties with the country. "The signing of the new Kazakhstan-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement will give an additional impulse to the strengthening of mutually profitable cooperation and build up a legal framework for a brand new dialogue with the EU," Mr. Barroso stressed.

He also praised the role Kazakhstan is playing in the development of Central Asia and Nursultan Nazarbayev's personal contribution to stability in the region.

Nursultan Nazarbayev and José Manuel Barroso also discussed the issues of interaction between the Customs Union and the EU. "Being purely economic alliance, the Customs Union is beneficial to all members states," the Kazakh leader noted.