Foreign Ministry: Kazakhstan and Austria interested in enhancing cooperation
Kazakhstan remains committed to international obligations, said Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tleuberdi at a meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in Vienna. At a briefing for foreign media outlets, he spoke about joint plans for further cooperation and announced the stabilization of the situation in Kazakhstan. He answered in detail all the questions of Austrian journalists about the course of a comprehensive investigation of these events.
“Austria is one of the leading trade partners of Kazakhstan. We are interested in enhancing economic cooperation, attracting advanced technologies and know-how, and diversifying our exports to Austria. Unfortunately, at the beginning of this year, we faced a massive violent attack. Destructive forces inside and outside the country took advantage of the peaceful protests of our citizens. Well-coordinated actions of armed bandits on organizing riots, the preparedness of extremist groups and their funding confirm this. They intended to perpetrate acts of terrorism on Kazakhstan’s population. It was a terrorist attack,” Mukhtar Tleuberdi said. “The CSTO peacekeeping contingent temporarily sent to Kazakhstan included not only soldiers from Russia, but also from Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. They successfully completed their task. The last CSTO peacekeepers have already left Kazakhstan to date”.
In turn, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg stressed that security, peace and stability are now more important than ever.
“We had a fruitful exchange of information. The events in Kazakhstan were disturbing. The photos and news really shocked us. I want to express my condolences to the families of all deceased. Now is the time to fully restore peace and stability in the country. This is not only in the interest of Kazakh people, but also of your partners, including the EU and investors. Security, peace and stability, respect for human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law are of great importance not only for the people of Kazakhstan, but also for the international community and investors,” he noted.
Austrian Foreign Minister spoke about supporting social and economic reforms of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and searching for the new opportunities for collaboration in infrastructure development and green technologies. Kazakhstan and Austria have been connected by thirty years of diplomatic relations and active interaction. According to Austrian authorities, Kazakhstan is the country’s main economic partner in Central Asia.
Translation and editing by Saniya Sakenova
