New Avenues of Kazakh-Swedish Cooperation Discussed in Stockholm
The political consultations held in the capital of Sweden today provided a comprehensive overview of Kazakh-Swedish cooperation, El.kz cites MFA.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko held talks with State Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden Jan Knutsson and Deputy Director General of the Swedish Foreign Ministry Peter Ericson. The parties praised fruitful development of the bilateral political dialogue, trade and economic cooperation, people-to-people ties and expressed strong commitment to promoting further mutually beneficial partnership in priority areas.
Having underlined the interest in broadening the Kazakh-Swedish engagement, Deputy Minister Vassilenko noted the importance of strengthening trade and economic cooperation and diversifying the legal framework of bilateral relations.
Representatives of the Swedish Foreign Ministry stressed their intention to further promote dialogue and deepen cooperation with Kazakhstan as the leading partner for Sweden in Central Asia.
Global issues and multilateral agenda were prominently featured during the political consultations. Stressing their commitment to achieving the goals of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the parties emphasized the importance of further effective cooperation within the framework of the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament and the promotion of other international endeavors in this area.
Moreover, Deputy Minister Vassilenko informed about Kazakhstan’s key foreign policy priorities and the work to promote interfaith dialogue, including the organization of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
The parties underlined the importance of preserving and strengthening interreligious accord on the international arena.
For reference: Sweden is a key partner for Kazakhstan in Norther Europe. Political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and Sweden act as an important tool of engagement between the two countries. The previous round of consultations was held online in 2021.
Last year, the volume of Kazakh-Swedish bilateral trade increased by more than 40% compared to 2021 and reached 325.9 million dollars (Kazakh export – 96.1 million dollars; import – 229.8 million dollars). During January-September this year bilateral trade grew to 365.8 million dollars (export – 47.5 million dollars; import – 318.4 million dollars).
In 2022, Kazakhstan’s economy attracted 51.5 million dollars in FDI from Sweden and over 600 million dollars in total since 2005. There are also more than 40 companies with the Swedish capital registered in Kazakhstan.
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