AKIPRESS.COM - 19 January 2017 marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan said.

Over the past quarter-century relations between Kazakhstan and UK reached an unprecedented level: relations between the leaders of the two governments are continuously developing; bilateral trade is growing; the contractual legal framework is expanding; and institutions overseeing bilateral relations are working effectively. The United Kingdom is the sixth-largest investor in Kazakh economy, while Kazakhstan has been designated as one of the UK’s top-14 bilateral trading partners.

The Joint Statement on the Strategic Partnership, signed during the 2013 visit of UK Prime Minister David Cameron to Kazakhstan, became a landmark event and highlighted the special status of Kazakh-British relations.

The official visit of President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev to the United Kingdom in 2015 produced a range of commercial agreements and projects, contributing to the strategic partnership’s further strengthening.

The mutual commitment of Astana and London to building and maintaining solid and trustworthy relations led to the creation of the Permanent Strategic Dialogue between Foreign Ministers and the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation, as well as the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for Kazakhstan.

Not only have these bodies contributed to the expansion of bilateral relations, but they have also promoted the institutional and economic reforms announced by our Head of State.

Kazakhstan is determined to continue conducting a foreign policy with the aim of comprehensive strengthening and developing its strategic partnership with the United Kingdom.