OREANDA-NEWS. October 16, 2014. The negotiations of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Erlan Idrissov with Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia in the European External Action Service Luis de la Pena have been held.

During the talks, the sides discussed the state and prospects of bilateral cooperation in economy, energy, security and the withdrawal of Kazakhstan flights from restrictive EU lists, and exchanged views on topical issues of the international agenda, including cooperation in the format of Central Asia - European Union.

The talks’ main topic was the results of the visit of the Head of State to Brussels, where the policy statements on successful completion of negotiations on a new agreement to expand the partnership and cooperation between Kazakhstan and the EU and on completion of bilateral negotiations with the EU in the framework of the accession to the WTO were signed.

"The new agreement with the EU is an opportunity to bring our cooperation to a qualitatively new level in all spheres. Therefore, we are interested in the speedy implementation of all its potential, including the conclusion of sectoral agreements in the field of innovation, technology and visa cooperation," E. Idrissov said.

Noting the growing number of mutual trips of citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the European Union, the parties discussed the prospects of easing the visa regime, which will also contribute to intensification and deepening of political, economic and cultural-humanitarian dialogue between Kazakhstan and the European Union.

"Every year, more than 100 thousand citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan visit the European countries. In this regard, the issue of visa facilitation is of particular interest. Acting visa regime between Kazakhstan and the EU does no longer meet existing realities and objectives of development of political and economic dialogue," the head of the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan said.

Regarding cooperation CA-EU, the Minister said that Kazakhstan is interested in successful implementation of the EU Strategy for Central Asia. "The strategy should not only respond to the interests of the European community, but also to the medium-term and long-term needs of the countries of the region, taking into account the regional challenges. In this vein, Kazakhstan highly appreciates and supports the initiative of the EU High-level Dialogue on security in Central Asia and the EU," he concluded.