Kazakh Senate Speaker meets with Governor General of Canada
The Senate Speaker underlined that Julie Payette's visit to Kazakhstan is an event of great importance, which can boost bilateral relations. Mr. Toqayev said that the two countries have much in common and that this, in turn, offers opportunities for the trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation including the energy, agriculture, technology, education, and aerospace industries.
Ms. Payette shared her impressions about the trip to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, from where the spacecraft with Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques aboard was launched. She also informed of Canada's intention to sign a memorandum of cooperation with KazCosmos (the National Space Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
The chairman of the upper house of the Kazakh Parliament informed the high-profile guest of the Senate's role in the political system of Kazakhstan and MP's work to implement the political, social and economic modernization programs initiated by the Head of State, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The interlocutors exchanged views on the prospects of the Kazakhstan-Canada inter-parliamentary dialogue. Qasym-Jomart Toqayev underscored the Senate's interest in developing contacts between the legislative bodies of the two countries and the productive interaction with Canadian MPs in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Inter-Parliamentary Union. The Senate Speaker conveyed an invitation to his Canadian colleague to make an official visit to Astana.
In turn, Ms. Payette reiterated Canada's interest in developing ties with Kazakhstan on a wide range of issues on the bilateral agenda and as part of multilateral cooperation. In particular, in the context of the Ottawa campaign for being elected as a UN Security Council non-permanent member, the governor general expressed interest in the experience of Kazakhstan as the latter country's term of the non-permanent membership in the highest body of the international organization ends this year.
Mr. Toqayev informed the Canadian delegation of Astana's priorities in the UN Security Council, the Kazakh President's initiatives in the field of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, global security. The Senate Speaker shared the results of the 6th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which is the world's most representative platform that gathers leaders of religious denominations and political leaders at one table to tackle the key problems of humanity. Qasym-Jomart reminded that the UN Secretary-General, heads of state, and the world's leading politicians, including former Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien, took part in the annual forum over the years.