EU, Kazakh leaders agree to bring relations to higher level.

BRUSSELS, October 26 (Itar-Tass) - The EU and Kazakhstan hope to start
talks already by the year-end on an agreement on advanced partnership,
said on Tuesday chairman of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso by
the results of a meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev,
rounding off his visit to Brussels.
"We intend to raise the level of cooperation with Kazakhstan by
concluding an agreement on advanced partnership. The European Commission
and EU countries are now agreeing a mandate on conducting these talks. We
intend to start this process by the year-end," Barroso said.
"An intention to meet more often was an important result of our talks;
we have many spheres of the dialogue," the head of the European Commission
concluded.
"We discussed today the question on bringing our cooperation to a new
level, and it is necessary for this purpose to improve legislation. Much
importance in this connection is given to signing an agreement on advanced
partnership," Nazarbayev said in turn.
According to the president, the main sector of cooperation between the
EU and Kazakhstan is now energy, transport and engineering, while the
accession of Kazakhstan to the Bologna process opens new opportunities for
cooperation in the sphere of science and technology.
"Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian country that adopted the
strategic programme 'Path to Europe', aimed at boosting cooperation with
the EU and modernising the Kazakh economy," the Kazakh president noted. In
Nazarbayev's words, the European Union is the main foreign investor in the
Kazakh economy; the level of trade is constantly on the rise.
Kazakhstan rates third among countries outside the OPEC on deliveries
of oil and gas to Europe, he noted.
A EU-Kazakhstan business forum was staged during Nazarbayev's visit to
Brussels. Several agreements were signed on developing practical
cooperation between Astana and European Union countries at the forum and
during the visit.
For instance the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Kazakh
Development Bank signed a memorandum on financing projects on cutting
damage from global climatic changes, calculated for five years, with the
ceiling volume of investments of 1.5 billion euros by the EIB. The matter
in question is, above all, projects on the use of sources of "clean and
renewable energy" and on raising energy efficiency of the economy.
Belgium and Kazakhstan also signed on Monday an agreement on
scientific cooperation between the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, the
Kazakh National Nuclear Centre and Kazatomprom state-owned company.
"Belgium and Kazakhstan will cooperate in research on peaceful uses of
nuclear energy and efficient development in this sphere," the document
underlines.
The Kazakh president also promised to boost the volume of oil
deliveries to the European Union at a meeting with acting Belgian premier
Ives Leterme.
Other topics of Nazarbayev's visit to Brussels included discussion of
Kazakhstan's accession to the WTO, to which the EU promised every support
and the holding of OSCE summit (first since 1999) to be staged in Astana
on December 1-2.
Nazarbayev also held talks with NATO secretary-general Anders Fog
Rasmussen, the main topics of which included questions on global security
and cooperation on Afghanistan.
During the visit, Nazarbayev brought a practice of speeches to
reporters, new for Europe. All joint news conferences of "the leader of
the nation" together with heads of EU institutions as well as at EU
institutions were made in the monologue style and were limited to
statements of sides. Incidentally, "the packed agenda of visits has left
no time for questions by reporters".
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