Prospects of expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan discussed with Belgian Senate’s Speaker

The Kazakh diplomat informed the Speaker of the Belgian Senate about the political and socio-economic reforms in his country initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, as well as about the international initiatives of the Head of State and of First President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Discussing the prospects of inter-party cooperation, the Kazakh Ambassador congratulated Ms D’Hose on the anniversary of the party: one of the oldest political parties in Belgium, Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open Vld) celebrates this year its 175th anniversary.

Ms D’Hose, who represents Open Vld, noted the positive dynamics of inter-parliamentary ties between the two countries. In her opinion, the trilateral meeting of the Chairman of the Majilis of Kazakhstan Nurlan Nigmatulin with the speakers of both chambers of the Belgian Parliament in September 2021 in Vienna gave a positive impetus to the inter-parliamentary dialogue. Within the framework of inter-parliamentary diplomacy, the parties noted also the recent meeting of the chairs of the committees on international affairs of the two parliaments in October 2021 in Brussels, as well as continuing contacts at the level of parliamentary friendship groups.

In the context of economic cooperation, the parties commended the growing dynamics of direct investments from Belgium to Kazakhstan (more than 9 billion US dollars over the past 15 years) and expressed support for the upcoming business mission of Belgian entrepreneurs to Kazakhstan planned for November 2021. The Mission is co-organized by the Belgian investment agencies – AWEX and FIT.

The parties exchanged views on the ongoing vaccination of the population in Kazakhstan and Belgium. Ambassador Baimukhan presented information on the production and distribution of Kazakhstan's «QazVac».

On the multilateral track, the Belgian and Kazakh representatives discussed the issues of regional security, the situation in Afghanistan, as well as the role Kazakhstan plays in addressing the common challenges. In August, Kazakhstan offered temporary deployment to the UN Mission to Assistance to Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Almaty. The Ambassador of Kazakhstan spoke about the outcomes of the 18th Meeting of the Parliamentary Cooperation Committee «Republic of Kazakhstan – European Union» that took place on October 11, 2021, in Brussels.

Stephanie D’Hose is the youngest President of the Belgian Senate since 1831. She was appointed Speaker of the Upper House of the Kingdom of Belgium at the age of 39. The Belgian Senate has 60 senators.