The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan for the first in the history of bilateral relations visited North Macedonia
Skopje, November 1, 2022 - Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tleuberdi made an official visit to the Republic of North Macedonia to address the prospects of bilateral cooperation and interaction within the framework of the upcoming North Macedonia's OSCE Chairmanship in the year 2023. The Minister held meetings with President Stevo Pendarovski and Chair of the Assembly (Parliament) Talat Xhaferi, as well as negotiated with Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani.
Topical issues on the international agenda were discussed with the North Macedonian President. Mukhtar Tleuberdi fully apprised of the implementation of the large-scale program of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the political modernization of Kazakhstan.
During the talks with the Chair of the Assembly Talat Xhaferi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan briefed on the process of strengthening the parliamentary and multi-party systems in Kazakhstan. The parties had a thorough talk on the ways to expand inter-parliamentary ties and intensify the activities of parliamentary friendship groups. They noted the importance of exchanging visits of legislators and their interaction within the framework of international parliamentary institutions.
During the talks in narrow and expanded formats with Minister Bujar Osmani, the parties highlighted the dynamic and progressive development of the Kazakhstan-North Macedonian cooperation. They discussed the schedule of visits at the highest and high levels. The parties stressed the importance of establishing the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, with the first meeting to be held on November 3, 2022 in Skopje. The Co-Chairs of the Intergovernmental Commission are the Ministers of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan A. Kuantirov and the Minister of Economy of the Republic of North Macedonia K. Bekteshi.
The parties considered joint actions to further boost trade and economic cooperation in the agriculture, tourism, healthcare, education, transport and logistics. So, there is almost an 8-time increase in bilateral trade turnover for eight months of this year. Agreements were reached on expanding the legal base of bilateral relations, as well as business, cultural and educational exchanges.
There was an exchange of views on cooperation within the framework of the UN, the OSCE and other multilateral structures. Mukhtar Tleuberdi wished success to North Macedonia during the forthcoming OSCE Chairmanship in the year 2023. As a result of the negotiations, the Ministers of Kazakhstan and North Macedonia adopted a Joint Statement containing the key results of the parties' agreements. It was announced the decision to open the Embassy of Kazakhstan in North Macedonia in 2023, thus giving an additional impetus to the strengthening of traditionally friendly relations between the two countries. The results of the visit demonstrated that Astana and Skopje are reliable partners and can act as agents of mutual interests at the regional and global levels.