Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko and Spanish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Fernando Valenzuela agreed to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries during the Kazakh-Spanish political consultations held in Madrid on March 29.
Among the main topics of the political consultations were issues of the political, economic, trade and cultural-humanitarian areas.
Consultations took place during the year of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and Spain, the agreement on which was signed on July 2, 2009. Since then, great progress has been made in bilateral relations, evidenced by the constant exchange of visits at the highest level, solid legal agreement base of cooperation, the volume of bilateral trade that has increased several times and an established mechanism of mutual support within the framework of international structures.
Fernando Valenzuela emphasized the constructive role of Kazakhstan in the region and its active position in the international arena, noting the importance of the country’s initiatives to strengthen regional and global security.
The parties noted the success of the Kazakh-Spanish “road show” that took place in Madrid on March 19-20 with the participation of more than 80 Spanish companies. The event was a successful platform to find promising cooperation projects between the business communities of the two countries. Political consultations highlighted the wide potential for deepening cooperation in the field of digitisation, infrastructure projects, agriculture and agroindustry, renewable energy, construction, engineering, defense and aerospace industry. The attention of the Spanish side was drawn to the attractiveness of possible projects of joint ventures to produce products with added value, which, taking into account the geographical location of Kazakhstan and the transport and logistics routes passing through the country, are highly promising. The Kazakh side paid special attention to prospects for the development of business relations on the basis of the Astana International Financial Center.
Speaking about strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties, the Spanish side announced the opening in the nearest future of the “Corner of Cervantes” in the new residence of the Spanish Embassy in Nur-Sultan, where those interested would be able to learn Spanish.
Roman Vassilenko informed that this year the book of the First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev “The Era of Independence” and the anthology of Kazakh prose and poetry, both in Spanish language, will be presented in Madrid. Also, at the end of April in Madrid, the premiere of the documentary “Equus: A History of the Horse” will take place.
During Vassilenko’s visit, a Memorandum of Cooperation between the aviation authorities of Kazakhstan and Spain was signed and the text of the Intergovernmental Air Service Agreement was initialed. The memorandum provides for a legal basis for the opening of direct flights between the two countries.
Spain is among the ten largest trading partners of Kazakhstan. In 2018, bilateral trade grew by more than 20% to $2.041 billion. From 2005 to the third quarter of 2018, the gross inflow of direct investment from Spain to Kazakhstan amounted to $205.4 million.
