Kazakhstan’s delegation visited Washington, DC on December 4 to attend the Enhanced Strategic Partnership Dialogue (ESPD) meeting on political, economic and humanitarian issues.
Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Yerzhan Ashikbayev and US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells were the co-chairs of the Commission. The Kazakhstan delegation consisted of representatives of ministries of internal affairs, national economy, trade and integration, justice, information and social development, labor and social protection of population.
The main aim of the ESPD meeting was to discuss bilateral cooperation in 2019 as well as to identify the prospects for further strengthening of the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the United States.
The agenda of the event covered a wide range of topics, including cooperation in global and regional security, countering terrorism and drug trafficking, repatriation and reintegration of Kazakhstan citizens from war zones in Syria and Iraq. The issues of cybersecurity, trade, economic and investment cooperation, strengthening regional trade relations in Central Asia, interaction within the framework of international organizations, cooperation in the humanitarian dimension and human rights were also discussed.
Participants of the Commission noted the importance of further deepening business partnership on the path of diversification of the Kazakhstan economy, in particular in such areas as industrial production, agriculture, healthcare and finance.
In addition, issues of expanding bilateral trade were discussed, including within the framework of the General System of Preferences. The parties emphasized the importance of intensifying the work of the bilateral Commission on scientific and technical cooperation. An agreement was reached on establishing cooperation during the preparation of the WTO ministerial meeting in Kazakhstan, as well as on Kazakhstan’s accession to the OECD.
During the meeting of the humanitarian dimension committee, the parties discussed ways to build cooperation in the field of education and culture, media development and support for the Kazakhstan non-governmental sector. The American side praised Kazakhstan’s efforts in these areas.
