Kazakhstan participates in 1st Central Asia – G7 ministerial meeting
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko participated in the first ministerial meeting of the Central Asia – Group of Seven (G7) countries held online, Kazinform News Agency cites the press service of the Kazakh ministry.
The meeting discussed the prospects for cooperation in regional security, economy, transport, energy and investment, combating global warming and protecting the environment, water management, as well as tourism.
Roman Vassilenko noted the importance of expanding trade ties, increasing the involvement of the G7 economies in the region, as well as developing the potential of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route in linking the key industrial centers of Europe and Asia.
He reaffirmed Kazakhstan's committment to jointly counter the modern global and regional challenges, in particular, climate emergencies, food crisis, and water issues as well as saving the Aral Sea.
He also outlined Kazakhstan’s plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
The Kazakh diplomat also called on the meeting participants to back Kazakhstan's initiative to establish the UN Regional Center for SDGs for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty and to participate in the Regional Climate Summit under the UN auspices in Kazakhstan in 2026.
Representatives of the Central Asian countries agreed on the importance of boosting cooperation in priority areas for the region's development and expressed readiness to develop further dialogue in this format.
In turn, G7 foreign ministers and Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – Vice-President of the European Commission, confirmed their commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Central Asian states in accordance with the UN Charter. They noted that active cooperation between individual G7 members with the Central Asian states is already underway through bilateral and multilateral channels.
They called for further expansion and deepening of cooperation in security, infrastructure development, trade and economy spheres. They pointed out mutual interest in improving connectivity, including through the development of regional projects under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), a major G7 initiative envisaging the attraction of 600 billion US dollars for infrastructure projects around the world until 2027.
The delegates also exchanged views on the impact of geopolitical turbulence on Central Asia, including the challenges associated with global instability and disruption of supply chains, as well as the ways to overcome them.
G7 is an association of leading economically developed countries, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, while the European Union also participates. Japan currently holds the presidency of the group.
The G7 countries are major trade and investment partners of Kazakhstan, accounting for more than 20% of the country’s foreign trade balance. Last year, G7 investments in the economy of Kazakhstan rose by 30%, exceeding 8 billion US dollars, while trade turnover reached 30 billion US dollars.
