Kazakhstan and Switzerland mark 30 years of diplomatic relations
On the occasion of this significant date, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Roman Vassilenko and the Ambassador of Switzerland to Kazakhstan David Grichting, held a solemn ceremony of exchanging congratulatory messages on behalf of the heads of the two states.
«Over these memorable years, an excellent political dialogue has developed between Kazakhstan and Switzerland, as well as fruitful economic ties» – the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted in his letter.
In turn, the President of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis stressed that «Switzerland highly appreciates the long-standing relations between the two countries and cooperation within a number of financial institutions». He also expressed support for ongoing political, social and economic reforms.
Vassilenko said that Switzerland is one of the most important partners of Kazakhstan in Europe. Despite the restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic, the parties were able to ensure an unprecedented increase in cooperation across the entire spectrum of key areas. In particular, in 2021, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi paid official visits to Switzerland. The Chairman of the National Council of the Federal Assembly of the Swiss Confederation A. Aebi made an official visit to Kazakhstan, thereby giving a significant impetus to the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation.
In his turn, D. Grichting confirmed that over the three decades of diplomatic relations between the two states, a high level of trust and interaction has been achieved in all key areas, a solid legal framework of cooperation has been laid, and bilateral institutional mechanisms are effectively functioning.
The Swiss diplomat also noted the importance of further development of cooperation between our countries in such areas as energy and mining, renewable energy and new technologies, transport and logistics, manufacturing and construction industries, finance, agriculture and tourism.
An important tool for bilateral cooperation is the Kazakh-Swiss Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, the next meeting of which is scheduled for this year. The activities of the commission are aimed at deepening investment ties, both at the government level and among the business circles of Kazakhstan and Switzerland.
Switzerland is one of the top three investors in the Kazakhstan’s economy with a cumulative investment of nearly US$30 billion since 2005. Equally significant are the indicators of mutual trade - by the end of 2021, it amounted to more than 1.3 billion US dollars.
More than 200 operating legal entities, branches and representative offices with varying degrees of participation of Swiss capital are registered in Kazakhstan.