BEC meeting takes stock of prospects for development of Kazakh-German cooperation in technical and vocational education
The participants of the 37th meeting of the Berlin Eurasian Club discussed the development of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Germany in the field of technical and vocational education, El.kz cites MFA.
About 100 delegates from two countries, including representatives of government bodies, higher and secondary educational institutions, business associations, the expert community and large German firms such as Deutsche Bank, Siemens Energy, Knauf, MAN, and Rhenus, attended the meeting.
In his welcome address, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko highlighted the steadfast development of Kazakh-German cooperation and underscored the importance of an expanded local pool of professional technical experts to facilitate industrialization and increase our country’s industrial potential.
“Kazakhstan is making a serious bet on the education and development of human capital, which, together with German know-how and advanced technologies, should become one of the key factors contributing to bringing Kazakh-German cooperation to a qualitatively new level,” the diplomat said.
Member of the Presidium of the German Eastern Business Association (Ost-Ausschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft) Manfred Grundke in his remarks noted the active dynamics of trade and economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Germany, and expressed the interest of German entrepreneurs in expanding their presence in the Kazakh market.
In spite of fundamental changes in global supply chains, trade between Kazakhstan and Germany continues to gain impressive momentum year over year. In 2022, it amounted to 2.8 billion US dollars an increase of 24.7% over 2021 figures. At the same time, German statistical data for the same period provides a figure of 9.7 billion Euro. By the end of 2022 Kazakhstan rose 10 positions (to 43rd place) among Germany’s foreign trading partners. In turn, Germany ranked 10th among the Kazakh economy’s largest investors.
Vito Cecere, Director for Research and Academic Relations Policy, Education and Research Policy and Cultural Relations Policy at the German Federal Foreign Office, discussed progress in the implementation of joint projects with the German Foreign Ministry in support of the activities of the Goethe Institute in Kazakhstan, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Schools: Partners for the Future (PASCH-schools) initiative, the Kazakh-German University, the Foundation for the Support of Ethnic Germans Abroad (SVmDA), etc.
Prior to the BEC meeting, Vassilenko met with Cecere to discuss the current state of bilateral political relations and the potential for closer cooperation in the fields of education, science, and research. In particular, the parties confirmed their mutual desire for the progressive development of educational and scientific exchanges, training of a local workforce, including in technical specialties, for the growing number of joint economic and investment projects on Kazakhstan’s territory.
In this context, one of the flagship projects in the field of education is the opening of a new Kazakh-German Institute of Engineering at the Yessenov Caspian State University of Technology and Engineering in Aktau. The Institute plans to accept its first students in the 2023-2024 academic year for the “Energy and Environmental Engineering” and “Logistics” educational programmes. Similar educational institutions are planned to open in other regions of Kazakhstan.
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