President of Germany Steinmeier set to pay official visit to Kazakhstan - ambassador
Ambassador Nussupov noted that it's been 25 years since Kazakhstan and Germany established diplomatic relations. Over these years the countries have managed to establish stable political dialogue, trade and economic ties and strengthen cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
"As you know, Germany initiated the new EU Strategy towards Central Asia in 2007 and plays an active role in the development of the strategy. Kazakhstan, in turn, sees Germany as a key partner in terms of implementation of the State Program "Way to Europe", the Kazakh ambassador said.
According to Mr Nussupov, Berlin backed Astana's candidacy for the OSCE Chairmanship, Kazakhstan's membership in the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in 2014 and Astana's bid to host the International specialized exhibition EXPO-2017. Germany has always supported Kazakhstan in its strive to join the WTO, whereas Kazakhstan stands by Germany in its efforts to become one of the UN Security Council permanent members.
The ambassador reminded that the two nations constantly exchange top-level visits. For instance, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has paid 7 official visits to Berlin so far. Current Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel visited the Kazakh capital twice in 2010. New President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier is about to pay his official visit to Astana as well.
"As for the program of Steinmeier's official visit, he is expected to hold negotiations with Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev and participate in the unveiling ceremony of the National Day of Germany at Astana EXPO-2017 and presentation of the German Pavilion. It should be mentioned that the German side has more than once stressed the relevance and importance of EXPO theme for Kazakhstan and the entire humankind," Nussupov noted.
"I must say that Kazakhstan will be the first country in the post-Soviet space and one of the first countries in the world after Israel, which the President of Germany will visit after assuming the office this March. In my opinion, it demonstrates that Germany attaches great importance to Kazakhstan," he added.
Ambassador Nussupov revealed that the German leader will lead a representative delegation, consisting of MPs and businessmen, to Astana. The meetings with the Kazakhstani authorities and Steinmeier's participation in the bilateral events will allow to step up the entire spectrum of cooperation between the two countries and compare notes on international agenda.
He also announced that the so-called German Week - a number of bilateral Kazakh-German events, is scheduled to be held in Astana from July 10-13. Those include the sitting of the Berlin Eurasian Club, the Business Council for strategic cooperation, the Intergovernmental Working Group on trade and economic cooperation, the German Energy Dialogue forum and many more.
The Kazakhstani diplomat stressed that both sides have high expectations for the visit as a package of economic agreements and projects worth of $1 billion is set to be signed at the session of the Kazakh-German Business Council in Astana. It should be noted that 5 of 22 investment projects that are to be inked are high-tech manufactures in the sphere of renewable energy sources.
Ambassador Nussupov emphasized that Germany not only supported Astana's bid to host but has been actively involved in the preparations for Astana EXPO-2017 from day one. Two big German companies - Siemens and DHL are official sponsors of the exhibition in Astana. The exhibition sparked interest of German businessmen. For example, Astana expects over 350 German businessmen to attend Kazakh-German events during the German Week in Astana.
Bolat Nussupov also mentioned that two-way trade between Kazakhstan and Germany totaled €4 billion in 2016 and has already demonstrated a 30% growth making €1.6 billion this year. Both sides hope they will be able to reach the 2013 level of two-way trade when it exceeded €6.5 billion.
It was noted that Kazakhstan remains Germany's key trade partner in the Central Asian region. In 2016, 85% of total volume of Germany's trade turnover with all five Central Asian states fell at Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is the fourth largest oil exporter to Germany and plays a key role in ensuring energy security in Germany and Europe. Germany, in turn, is Kazakhstan's strategic partner in the sphere of energy efficiency and conservation and development of the system of dual technical and vocational education in Kazakhstan.
Ambassador Nussupov also pointed out that the fact that Kazakhstan had introduced visa-free travel for 45 countries, including Germany, positively affected development of inbound tourism in the country and led to a significant increase in number of tourists from Germany.
Besides, the German side is particularly interested in the project of revival of the Great Silk Road. It is believed that tourists from Germany can be lured to walk the paths and routes once mapped by well-known German travelers Alexander von Humboldt and Alfred Brehm.
According to Mr Nussupov, close trade and economic cooperation between Astana and Berlin also plays its role in attraction of tourists from Germany. German businessmen visit not only Astana but also Almaty city on a regular basis and have many projects across Kazakhstan. One shouldn't forget about large German and Kazakh diasporas in Kazakhstan and Germany who stay in touch with their relatives in both countries. For instance, many former compatriots who now reside in Germany prefer to spend their holidays in Kazakhstan.
The ambassador also told about the events organized by the Kazakh Embassy in Germany to support our compatriots there, including kurultais of the Kazakhs residing in the European countries, Togyz kumalak competitions, readings of the books penned by the Kazakh writers and courses of the Kazakh language for children at the Berlin center of culture. It is worth mentioning that over 1,000 Kazakhs live in Germany nowadays. They mainly reside in Cologne, Munich and Berlin.
Speaking of Kazakhstan and Germany fight against terrorism and extremism, Ambassador Nussupov reminded of the intergovernmental agreement that the two nations inked to cooperate in fight against organized crime, terrorism and other serious crimes. The Kazakh and German law-enforcement agencies actively cooperate in the sphere of anti-terrorism, exchange information and experience. For example, the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) arranges various seminars and conferences for Kazakh law-enforcers annually.
The Kazakh diplomat also talked about some of the most exciting projects implemented by Kazakhstan and Germany. One of them is the Berlin Eurasian Club established in 2012 on the initiative of President Nursultan Nazarbayev and former Vice Chancellor of Germany Hans-Dietrich Genscher as a dialogue platform for discussion of a wide range of issues related to cooperation between Kazakhstan and Germany as well as Central Asia and the EU. Since then, the club has held 20 sessions in Astana, Brussels and Berlin.
Another project that has been implemented since 2007, according to the ambassador, is the Kazakh library in German created to make the Kazakh literature and culture more popular in Germany. The presentation of the project under the motto "25 Years of Kazakhstan's Independence - 25 books of the Kazakh library" was held at the Frankfurt Book Fair last year.
And last but definitely not least, in his words, is the course called "Kazakhstan and the Kazakh language" taught at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Over the past 7 years, it has been attended by many Germans who are now involved in the processes of bilateral cooperation.