Kazakhstan wants to take its place in Europe

ANKARA. February 18. KAZINFORM There are two countries that are members in the Council of Europe despite the fact that part of their territories is outside Europe: Turkey and the Russian Federation. More than half of their territories are not part of the European continent.

The entire territory of the Southern Caucasus countries (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) is outside Europe. The third country, which territory is partly outside Europe, after Turkey and the Russian Federation, is Kazakhstan. The Ural River crosses Kazakhstan and divides the country between Asia and Europe. Because of this, two important cities of this country, Atyrau and Oral, are both European and Asian -- just like Эstanbul. Most of the province of West Kazakhstan and half of the province of Atyrau are in Europe. The European part of Kazakhstan is pretty large. Ten percent of its entire territory is in Europe. Kazakhstan is also the ninth largest country in the world. Likewise, it is the largest predominantly Muslim country in the world by area. A complicated and multidimensional country, Kazakhstan now wants to become part of Europe on political terms as well. Kazakhstan established diplomatic ties with the European Union on Feb. 2, 1993. In December 1993 Kazakhstan opened an embassy in Brussels, and in November 1994 the Delegation of the Commission of Europe was inaugurated in Kazakhstan. In 2008, 58 percent of the total exports of Kazakhstan were to European countries. A member of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Kazakhstan has formally applied to join the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) as an observer. While rapprochement between Kazakhstan and Europe started in 1993, its work toward integration with Europe has gained momentum since 2008. It is a crucial country not only for Asian stability but also for European stability. Despite the ethnic conflicts that have erupted in many former Soviet satellite countries and Soviet republics in the aftermath of the breakup of the Soviet system, Kazakhstan has preserved its stability; because of this, it has been elected to the term presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for the year 2010. For the first time, a former Soviet republic that is also a predominantly Muslim country will serve as term president of this organization. As part of its foreign policy concept, Kazakhstan has focused on developing a multidimensional cooperation with EU countries to maximize its strategic interests. In June 2007 ?The EU and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership? was adopted at an EU summit. This strategy document serves as a roadmap for improving the cooperation between the EU and Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. In an attempt to create the best conditions in preparation for its OSCE term presidency in 2010, Kazakhstan developed the ?Road to Europe? state program for 2009-2011 on Feb. 6, 2008. The primary goal of this program is to shift the relations between Kazakhstan and EU countries to the level of strategic partnership in the political, economic and social fields. The program also seeks to ensure further legal and institutional integration with the EU, to increase the foreign trade volume with the EU by 10 percent annually and to implement EU standards in Kazakhstan. To this end Kazakhstan also wants to open trade missions in EU countries. Kazakhstan has started its march toward Europe. The time for Kazakh membership in the Council of Europe is also approaching, Kazinform refers to Today's Zaman.