Kazakhstan and EU to launch formal talk on visa facilitation – Deputy FM
Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko revealed that Kazakhstan and the European Union have reached an agreement to launch a formal talk on visa facilitation, Kazinform News Agency reports.
In his interview for “New Time” TV show, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko noted that the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed between the EU and Kazakhstan envisages that the sides launch negotiations over visa facilitation, which means that they will conduct these negotiations with the European Union over the easing of requirements for Kazakh citizens to get European Schengen visas.
He reminded that Kazakhstan has abolished visa regime and introduced a visa free regime for the citizens of all European Union Member States back in 2017. Right now, Kazakhstan is asking our European partners to facilitate, not to cancel visa regime for Kazakhstan, but to facilitate the issuance of visas for our citizens.
“I'm glad to say that earlier this year, in a meeting between our Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu and Commissioner Ylva Johansson, a member of the European Commission for Home Affairs, an agreement was reached that we will launch such a formal talk on visa facilitation. I'm glad to say even further that these formal talks have now been launched. We are now in the process of consultations with the European Union and Member States. We expect that in a not-too-distant future. I can't put a more definitive, definitive time frame, but this process will be easier for Kazakh citizens,” Vassilenko stressed during the interview.
Vassilenko went on to add, however, that this is just the first step of the process, because the sort of the proper visa facilitation to which Kazakhstan and the EU are both aspiring means that eventually Kazakhstan will sign a visa facilitation agreement with the European Union, which traditionally goes along with the agreement on readmission meaning that Kazakhstan is thus committing itself to take back those citizens that illegally are found to be on the territory of the European Union.
“We are glad that our European partners reciprocate and they work with us, and we hope that at some point in the not-too-distant future we will be able to share some good news with our citizens,” he added.
