OREANDA-NEWS. On July 02, 2008 at the meeting, the sides exchanged views on issues of Kazakhstan’s forthcoming chairmanship in the OSCE in 2010 and discussed prospects of developing the Kazakhstani-Finnish trade-economic cooperation, reported the Official website www.akorda.kz. 

Alexander Stubb conveyed to President Nursultan Nazarbayev official invitation form Finland’s President Tarja Halonen to pay official visit to Finland in 2009.

“Kazakhstan’s forthcoming chairmanship in the OSCE has both historical and symbolical meanings. In 2010, the OSCE will celebrate its 35th anniversary, and Kazakhstan will be the first Central Asian country chairing the organization. This will be an opportunity for the OSCE to demonstrate its uniqueness and status and that it is comparable to the UN and EU,” Alexander Stubb said.

Concerning issues of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Finland, Finland’s foreign affairs minister said that Kazakhstan was an important partner to his country.

“I am going to examine the issue of establishing Finland’s permanent representative office in Astana. First, Kazakhstan plays a crucial role in the region of Central Asia. Second, Finnish companies are interested in entering the Kazakhstani market of information technologies, energy and services,” Alexander Stubb underscored.