Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 19th June 2023 – Today, The President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser and H.E. Mr. Sadyr Japarov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, held a highly productive meeting on the sideline of the GCC-Central Asia Summit. The esteemed leaders engaged in fruitful discussions, expressing their unwavering commitment to strengthening the bilateral partnership between the IsDB Group and the Kyrgyz Republic, with a shared vision of fostering mutual development and growth in the region.

At the meeting, Dr. Al Jasser expressed sincere gratitude to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic for its steadfast support to the IsDB Group over the years.

Dr. Al Jasser emphasized the potential for fruitful cooperation between the IsDB and the Kyrgyz Republic, particularly in light of the priority projects identified during the last ACG roundtable meeting. These projects, amounting to US$ 1.9 billion, offer significant opportunities for sustainable growth and development.

Furthermore, Dr. Al Jasser highlighted the ongoing efforts of the IsDB in preparing the Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS) for the Kyrgyz Republic. This strategy aims to align projects coherently with the IsDB’s new strategic direction and the national development agenda of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Dr. Al Jasser conveyed his congratulations to President Japarov on the signing of the financing agreement and Technical Assistance (TA) for the reconstruction of the Suusamyr-Talas-Taraz Road, Phase IV (km 104.6-197.6). The IsDB eagerly anticipates the commencement of this crucial project, which will undoubtedly contribute to the country’s infrastructure development.

Both leaders expressed great optimism about the future of the IsDB-Kyrgyz Republic partnership, reinforcing their commitment to working together for the collective prosperity and well-being of the project beneficiaries.

Source: Islamic Development Bank

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President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with Luxembourg’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Jean Asselborn, noting that his official visit opens up good prospects for the development of bilateral cooperation.

Tokayev warmly recalled a dialogue with Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly about the long-term prospects for deepening the partnership between the countries.

“Kazakhstan treats your country and people with great respect. We are optimistic about the future of our co-operation,” the President said.

Speaking about the positive dynamics of interaction, Asselborn mentioned the agreement on increasing the number of flights to 21 per week. The Kazakh Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry signed a second memorandum of understanding in this regard.

The parties also reviewed the prospects for cooperation in transport and logistics, digitalization, green energy, and within the Astana International Financial Centre.

Following the meeting, Asselborn held talks with Murat Nurtleu, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, stating that Luxembourg will do its utmost to facilitate a visa regime for Kazakh citizens.

Asselborn noted Kazakhstan will soon become one of Luxembourg’s key energy, transport, and trade partners. His visit, which coincided with the 31st anniversary of diplomatic relations, shows that the European Union and Kazakhstan can build a sustainable partnership.

With an increasing interest in strengthening and expanding their partnership with Kazakhstan, Asselborn mentioned bilateral memorandums of understanding signed on cooperation in aviation, exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

Nurtleu described trade and economic cooperation as effective driver for developing bilateral relations. He said the trade turnover grew nearly 2.5 times in 2022, increasing by 4.5 times this year. The inflow of foreign direct investment from Luxembourg in 2022 totaled $202.5 million.

“Kazakhstan and Luxembourg fully support territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, peaceful conflict resolution, good neighborliness, and cooperation,” said Nurtleu.

After exchanging views on pressing issues of the regional and international agenda, the parties agreed to continue inter-ministerial consultations. The next round of talks will take place in Astana in 2024.

“We highly appreciate the reform process launched by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The EU will continue to support Kazakhstan on its path of democratization and political reform,” Asselborn said.

Source: EU Reporter

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AKIPRESS.COM – Deputy Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Farhod Salim met with UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Europe Leo Docherty, the Foreign Ministry of Tajikistan said.

During the meeting the key aspects of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the United Kingdom, including in the political, economic and trade, education, environmental and energy spheres were discussed, and the importance of further strengthening of the legal basis of relations between two countries was emphasized.

Part of negotiations was dedicated to the issues of regional security with focus on the current situation in Afghanistan, current threats and challenges and the significance of expansion of bilateral cooperation in the framework of international organizations.

Source: Akipress

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This year carries unique significance for both countries as it marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, while domestically, the Communist Party of China (CPC) held its 20th National Congress, and Kazakhstan will hold its presidential elections in November. 

Over the past decades, the ties between the two countries have reached unprecedented heights – a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership based on the spirit of mutual trust and benefit as neighboring countries, said Nuryshev. “This is unique for the diplomacy of both countries, and it is an exemplary state-to-state relationship,” he said.

Specifically, the boundary dispute between the two countries has been completely resolved; good cooperation has been established in various fields such as economy and logistics; culture and people-to-people exchanges became the pillars of our friendship and dialogue, and we also support each other in many multilateral mechanisms, the ambassador told the Global Times.

Nuryshev said that Kazakhstan was impressed by the 20th National Congress of the CPC, saying it was enlightening for the development of neighboring countries and even the whole world.

“We are eager to know the next step of China’s development policy, so we read the report carefully. We also look forward to learning more about China’s grand blueprint through the two sessions next year,” Nuryshev told the media.

Chinese President Xi Jinping picked Kazakhstan as the destination of his first foreign trip since the COVID-19 pandemic on September 14 this year, which experts said underscored the fact that he highly values bilateral relations with the Central Asian country and indicates that such a visit will inject new growth momentum for the country.

Xi reiterated that the Chinese government attaches great importance to China-Kazakhstan ties and always supports Kazakhstan in maintaining national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It is worth mentioning that the meeting between the two leaders was held ahead of the most important domestic political events in both countries – the 20th National Congress of the CPC and the presidential elections in Kazakhstan, according to Nuryshev.

Kazakhstan and China are on the path of modernization and rejuvenation, committed to the same goal of improving people’s well-being, and committed to the strategic task of developing good-neighborly friendship, the envoy said.

“Our two countries were among the first to resolve the border issue, turning our common border into a solid bond of friendship. There are no outstanding questions between us, and all the problems that have arisen have been resolved jointly through friendly negotiations on the basis of mutual benefit,” Nuryshev noted.

Kazakhstan and China are among the earliest states to start cooperation in production capacity and investment, setting a model for coordination within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, he added. 

China is Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner. In the past 30 years, mutual trade has increased more than 70-fold, reaching $25.2 billion in 2021, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Moreover, Nuryshev expressed hope for a quicker resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peaceful negotiations. 

He told the Global Times at the meeting that Russia is also an important strategic partner of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan has maintained good cooperation with the European Union, Russia and China on many multilateral platforms, as Kazakhstan has always pursued a multivector and balanced foreign policy, Nuryshev reiterated, refuting the smears on Kazakhstan-Russia relations made by some media.

The ambassador said Kazakhstan continues to communicate with both Russia and Ukraine, while providing channels for solutions to the conflict, as it concerns the restoration of a stable economy across the Eurasian continent.

“Amid the current geopolitical complex situation, mutual trust between major powers is drastically declining. That means meetings and consensus between states’ leaders on pressing issues are crucial,” he said.

Nuryshev believes that it is important for China and Kazakhstan to support international initiatives launched by each other, as the two countries share many similar positions on global development and security issues.

“Kazakhstan and China continue to carry out close cooperation under the framework of multilateral organizations such as the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and the Central Asia-China model. The SCO and CICA are complementary rather than contradictory and not competitive as some media have claimed,” said the ambassador.

Kazakhstan will hold presidential elections on November 20, and a legislative election is set to be held in Kazakhstan in early 2023, which means that, according to Nuryshev, all the major political organs will be updated by the first half of 2023. He said he believes the newly elected Kazakh president will continue to be committed to the development of the China-Kazakhstan friendship.

The diplomat, who has been in China for a total of 19 years, said he hoped to work with Chinese counterparts to push bilateral cooperation to a new height, and make the new decade a “golden chapter” in the history of bilateral cooperation just like the past 30 years.

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