Asia

Germany & Kazakhstan Improving Bilateral Relations

Ambassador of Kazakhstan and German representatives meet to discuss the countries relationship

July 22nd, 2019
Frankie Fraser, News from Berlin
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On July 16th the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dauren Kaprov, welcomed the German political scientist and journalist Urs Unkauf at the Kazakh Embassy in Berlin. Unkauf, who is a member of the German-Russian Forum and the German Council on Foreign Relations, is a specialist in the ex-soviet countries.

A wide range of topics came under discussions, with a focus of bilateral cooperation, covering politics, economics and education. Ambassador Kaprov advocated the holding of conferences with representatives of Germany, centering on economic cooperation between the pair of states, the EU and Central Asia more generally and on the prospects of a bilateral dialogue regarding the recent presidential elections within Kazakhstan. These discussions have been scheduled to begin at the end of the year and will continue into 2020. There were also agreements regarding a working partnership with the German Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, which will hold an information session on investment into Kazakhstan, a move both parties welcomed. The Ambassador also showed interest in the Expatrio digital platform, which allows Kazakh’s to apply for study in German from abroad.

Culturally Germany and Kazakhstan have close links, with 800 000 ethnic Germans having migrated back from Kazahkstan and 180 000 ethnic German still living with the state. These cultural links are mirrored in the pairs economic relationship, as Kazakhstan is the most important trading partner in Central Asia for Germany, with over 5 billion euros in trade in 2018. At the conclusion of the meeting, both parties committed to strengthening the bilateral relations between the states.

References

News from Berlin