In the Latvian Saeima, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador Timur Primbetov met with members of the Parliamentary Group on Cooperation between the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia and the Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The head of the group is a well-known and authoritative Latvian politician Uldis Augulis. The group consists of more than 30 deputies, many of whom are heads of specialized committees of the Latvian Saeima, El.kz cites MFA.
Primbetov informed the deputies about the current state and prospects of development of Kazakhstan-Latvian relations, and familiarized them in detail with the most significant events in the domestic political and economic life of our country.
The diplomat paid special attention to the State-of-the-Nation Address of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev “Economic course of fair Kazakhstan”. It was noted that the current Address has an economic orientation, in which the Head of State clearly formulated economic guidelines and priorities for the coming years. This is about a new model of economic development of Kazakhstan, which is based on such principles as – inclusiveness, fairness and pragmatism. The key emphasis of the new economic course is on the creation of a powerful production base with high-tech manufacturing industry. Primbetov said that the Address contains specific proposals and steps to achieve the goals.
Taking into account the high development of the transport industry in Latvia and the presence of international seaports in the country, Primbetov drew special attention of the meeting participants to the tasks set by President Tokayev to unlock the transport and logistics potential of Kazakhstan, including the promotion of international transport corridors – the Trans-Caspian route and the international North-South corridor. In this regard, he called on Latvian deputies to fully support the further development of mutually beneficial co-operation in the transit and transport sector between the two countries. In the context of the measures proposed in the Address on market liberalization, new tax benefits and preferences for domestic and foreign investors in the manufacturing industry, he noted the significant potential for the implementation of joint investment projects in the agro-industrial complex, pharmaceuticals and IT-technologies.
Latvian deputies, for their part, stressed the pragmatic nature of the Address. They emphasized the consistent and systematic approach of Kazakhstan's leadership to the implementation of reforms in the country. They reaffirmed their interest in the further development of multifaceted co-operation with our country, including through parliamentary cooperation. They agreed on the need to combine efforts to search for and form new areas of bilateral cooperation. They spoke in favor of intensifying cooperation in the field of science and innovations. In this regard, Primbetov informed the interlocutors about the forthcoming visit to Latvia on 21-23 September this year of the Head of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the President of Kazakhstan, Kunsulu Zakarya, which will give an additional impetus to cooperation between the scientific centers of the two countries.
At the end of the meeting the deputies were given copies of the Address in Latvian and English languages.