Kazakhstan, Czech Republic mark 25 years of diplomatic relations
The quarter of the century has passed under the sign of a strong and steady growth of bilateral interaction in all areas of cooperation. We have established a trustful political dialogue, significantly increased the volume of bilateral trade, expanded the base of bilateral agreements, built up cultural, humanitarian and educational exchanges, Kazinform has learnt from the Kazakh MFA's press service.
The key events which have greatly contributed to the development of bilateral relations include the official visit of the President of the Czech Republic His Excellency Vaclav Klaus to Kazakhstan in 2004, official visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev to the Czech Republic in 2012, official visit of the President of the Czech Republic His Excellency Milos Zeman to Kazakhstan in 2014, and the working visit by the Czech leader Milos Zeman to Kazakhstan in 2017 to participate in the opening ceremony of the International Exhibition EXPO-2017 in Astana.
The history of diplomatic relations has witnessed the establishment of an active cooperation between the legislative bodies of two countries where the Inter-Parliamentary Kazakhstan-Czech Friendship Group have been playing a major role. The Parliament of the Czech Republic became the one of the first legislative bodies in the European Union to ratify on September 15, 2016 the Agreement between Kazakhstan and EU on Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation.
Two countries have defined and have been developing the priority areas of economic cooperation, including energy, machine building industry, agriculture, logistics, education and tourism. To a large extent, the progress in economic dimension have been achieved due to the activities of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Industrial, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, which was established in 2005. The inclusion of Kazakhstan in 2009 into the list of 12 priority trade and economic partners of the Czech Republic contributed to further expansion of ties in the area of trade and investment.
A growing inflow of tourists from Kazakhstan to the Czech Republic has served as a live bridge between two countries. The higher educational institutions of the Czech Republic became the centre of attraction for Kazakh students. Since January 1, 2017 all Czech citizens have been granted non-visa regime for 30 days visit to Kazakhstan.
The Republic of Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic enjoy constructive cooperation in the international arena and contribute to peace and global security through the mechanisms of the UN, OSCE and other international organizations.
Kazakhstan is determined to further promote comprehensive and strong relations of friendship and trust with the Czech Republic.