Canada's Senator Oh praises Kazakhstan's efforts to implement political reforms
From Canadian side, this group is co-chaired by reputable parliamentarians. The Group Co-chair from Canadian Senate is the well-known Senator Victor Oh, a member of the Senate Committees on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, as well as on Agriculture and Forestry, the official website of the Kazakh Embassy in Canada reads.
In the House of Commons, this Group is co-chaired by a Member of the Parliament of Canada, Shafqat Ali, a member of the Standing Committee of the House of Commons on Citizenship and Immigration, as well as the Joint Standing Committee of the Library of Parliament on administrative issues.
On March 31, this year Ambassador Kamaldinov met with the Group Co-Chair in the House of Commons MP Shafqat Ali and discussed the current state and prospects of interparliamentary cooperation.
During the meeting, Kamaldinov acquainted the Canadian parliamentarian with a comprehensive package of reforms to modernize the country's political system within the framework of the President's Address «New Kazakhstan: The Path of Renewal and Modernization». He stressed that Kazakhstan will redistribute powers from the President to the Parliament by strengthening legislative body’s power and responsibility. It was noted that our state will move from a «super-presidential» model to a «presidential republic with a strong parliament» and a fundamentally new stable system of checks and balances will be formed.
He also informed the interlocutor that on April 10, 2022, Kazakhstan and Canada will celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries and noted the high dynamics of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
Kamaldinov stressed that despite the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Kazakhstan-Canadian economic relations, the Canadian business community has demonstrated resilience and a strong will to develop cooperation with our country. He noted that 2021 showed a significant increase in trade and investment cooperation and in last year Canadian investments’ volume to Kazakhstan amounted to 385.1 million US dollars, which is 17 times more than in the whole of 2020 (22.7 million US dollars) and was the highest figure in the last 9 years.
In turn, Group Co-Chairman - MP Shafqat Ali expressed sincere interest in the new political program, which is a continuation of the course towards Kazakhstan’s further democratization. He highly appreciated the large-scale reforms carried out in our country aimed at modernizing governance institutions, increasing political competition, de-bureaucratization of the public sector and creating a favorable investment climate. Canadian MP also stressed the importance of intensifying political, trade and economic cooperation between our countries, including liberalization of Canadian visa regime for Kazakhstan citizens.
On April 4, this year Ambassador Kamaldinov met with the Group Co-chairman in the Senate of Canada, Senator Viktor Oh, during which parties discussed plans to promote interparliamentary cooperation between Kazakhstan and Canada for 2022.
At the meeting’s beginning, Ambassador Kamaldinov informed the interlocutor in detail about implementation of a large-scale program of political and socio-economic reforms in our country and familiarized him with the main provisions of the State of the Nation Address of President Tokayev «New Kazakhstan: the path of renewal and modernization». He stressed that the new fifth package of political reforms presented in the framework of the Head of State's Address was developed on the basis of a constructive dialogue with civil society and NGO experts.
Kamaldinov highlighted that Kazakhstan authorities are carrying out cardinal reforms in the system of public administration, national security and economic policy. He stressed that the country's authorities are implementing a comprehensive program of political reforms and socio-economic measures as part of the construction of a «new Kazakhstan».
Senator Victor Oh praised Kazakhstan's efforts to implement political reforms, de-bureaucratization of the public sector, as well as the creation of conditions for transparent and fair elections and the functioning of competitive and independent media. Canadian parliamentarian also expressed readiness to provide comprehensive assistance and collaboration in establishing strong inter-parliamentary cooperation between Kazakhstan and Canada, as well as in promoting bilateral relations.
Based on held meetings’ results, joint plans in the inter-parliamentary cooperation field and parliamentary diplomacy for 2022 were discussed and coordinated. In general, held meetings demonstrated significant interest of Canadian parliamentary circles in the reforms and transformations being implemented in our country.