BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 8. In the years and decades to come, the EU will be focusing on green transition of our entire economies, which opens up huge new opportunities for cooperation with Kazakhstan, Head of EU Delegation to Kazakhstan Kestutis Jankauskas told Trend.
Commenting on areas of economic cooperation that will be on the agenda of Kazakhstan-EU relations in the near future, Jankauskas noted that the short answer is “all areas”.
"It is indeed so, because the new Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between European Union and Kazakhstan, in force since 2020, covers all 29 areas of the economy and cooperation. We already started working together on full implementation of this important agreement," he said.
He noted that at the moment, with economic and financial sanctions against Russia in place, it is important for everyone to enhance and develop alternative ways of connectivity between Kazakhstan and the EU, EU and Central Asia, Europe and Asia in general.
"That connectivity concerns not only transport, infrastructure and cargo handling, but also digital, e-commerce and most importantly – people-to-people relations," he pointed out.
“In the years and decades to come, the EU will be focusing on green transition of our entire economies. This opens up huge new opportunities for cooperation with Kazakhstan. We need partners in our quest to stop climate change, and Kazakhstan would benefit from Western technologies, energy efficiency, refurbished grids, and new electricity generation and storage capabilities,” he said.
Kazakhstan is naturally a rich country, but well-planned investment into the manufacturing of added-value products on the spot would help more sustainable economic development, Jankauskas said.
“We strongly encourage the Government to pursue structural reforms, increase competitiveness, and reduce the state’s footprint in the economy. Crucial in this regard is the development of MSMEs as the backbone of the economy, ensuring that competitive and transparent banking system would be able to provide affordable loans, and to involve more women in business. The EU, its Member States and the European banks (EBRD, EIB) are increasingly active in this area. We also back several of projects that facilitate trade and closer cooperation in the Central Asia region and with the EU,” Jankauskas said.