Astana and Belgrade plan to expand mutually beneficial ties

TANA. November 18. KAZINFORM Today Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Yerzhan Kazykhanov has held negotiations with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Vuk Jeremić, who has arrived in Kazakhstan for an official visit; the Kazakh MFA's press service reports.

Special attention was paid to the issues on expanding mutually beneficial ties of Astana and Belgrade in the political, trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian spheres.

It was noted that over 15 years of diplomatic relations the sides reached specific results, including in the sphere of improvement of the contractual basis of the relations.

Taking into account importance of further deepening cooperation, the Embassy of Serbia has been opened in Astana in June, 2011.

The exchange of opinions on a wide range of matters of the international and regional problems confirmed similarity of attitudes of the two countries. The Kazakh and Serbian foreign ministers discussed integration processes in Europe and in the CIS space, priorities of the Kazakh chairmanship in the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, situation in the Balkans and Middle East, Afghanistan and North Africa and defined directions of cooperation within international organizations.

Within the visit Vuk Jeremić I also expected to meet with Prime Minister Karim Massimov and other members of the Kazakh Government.

The volume of the Kazakh-Serbian trade turnover made USD 7.7 mln over the period of January-September, 2011.