Delegations from the Foreign ministries of Kazakhstan and Lithuania held the 10th round of political consultations, comparing notes on the topical issues of bilateral and multilateral agenda, and reaffirming their commitment to strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation in political, trade and economic as well as cultural and humanitarian spheres, El.kz cites MFA.
The Kazakh delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roman Vassilenko, and the Lithuanian side by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Jonas Survila.
During the consultations, the parties explored ways to enhance trade-economic and investment partnership, implement promising projects in transport, energy and infrastructure sectors, as well as improve the legal framework for cooperation.
The interlocutors emphasized the importance of the implementating the agreements reached at the 14th meeting of the Kazakh-Lithuanian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation held in Vilnius on 29 February this year.
The parties confirmed that a stable political dialogue has been built between Astana and Vilnius, and mutual support for the initiatives and candidates of the parties is also provided at various international platforms.
The effective work of the Kazakhstan-Lithuania Interparliamentary Friendship Group was highlighted, which facilitates expansion of contacts between MPs through specialized meetings, round tables discussions, briefings, and cultural events.
During the visit, Roman Vassilenko also held meetings with the Mayor of Klaipeda city Arvydas Vaitkus and Director General of the Port of Klaipeda Algis Latakas, during which he underscored the importance of cooperation in the field of transport and logistics: “I am confident that the visit of the Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev to Lithuania in May this year, along with the signing of the Memorandum on Cooperation within the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route will give a significant impetus to the development of this area and create new opportunities for optimizing transport and logistic chains.”
Overall, the Kazakh-Lithuanian negotiations confirmed the mutual interest of the parties in further strengthening cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats.
The volume of mutual trade between Kazakhstan and Lithuania for 2023 amounted to 223.6 million US dollars (exports – 92.9 million US dollars, imports – 130.7 million US dollars.
From 2005 to September 2023, the gross inflow of direct investments from Lithuania to Kazakhstan totaled 95 million US dollars.
As of January 1, 2024, 190 companies with Lithuanian capital are operating in Kazakhstan.