The Diplomat
The Governments of Spain and Kazakhstan have signed three agreements on Science and Technology, Climate Change and Cooperation and have addressed the interest of Spanish companies in the aeronautical, food or infrastructure sectors of the Central Asian country.
The agreements were signed last Monday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Mukhtar Tileuberdi, on the occasion of the latter’s official visit to Madrid to participate in the Ministerial Meeting of the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament. Tileuberdi was received yesterday in audience by King Philip VI, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Global Spain, Manuel Muñiz, and later met with the President of the Senate, Pilar Llop, and with Spanish businessmen.
During their bilateral meeting, González Laya and Tileuberd signed an Agreement on Science and Technology and two Memoranda of Understanding on Agriculture, Environmental Protection and Climate Change and on Cooperation between the respective Development Agencies. The Minister also expressed her interest in reducing the bilateral trade deficit and the willingness of Spanish companies to contribute to Kazakhstan’s economic growth, especially in sectors such as aeronautics, food and infrastructure.
González Laya also took advantage of the meeting to congratulate Kazakhstan on the thirtieth anniversary of its independence and the parties highlighted the “excellent state of bilateral relations”, which are framed within the Strategic Partnership Agreement, in force since 2010. In the multilateral framework, Spain and Kazakhstan are committed to the fight against the death penalty. Kazakhstan is a member of the Support Group of the International Commission against the Death Penalty, created at the initiative of Spain in 2010. The ministers also reviewed the international scene, especially the situation in Central Asia.
