4 May

At his meeting with Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Kazykhanov in Astana today, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said that Estonia hopes to achieve visa-free entry into Kazakhstan for Estonian citizens. “We hope that Kazakhstan soon decides to forego the visa requirement for Estonian citizens,” Paet noted. The Kazakh foreign minister assured that visa-free travel for Estonian citizens to Kazakhstan is likely to take effect on 1 June of this year.

Paet added that Estonia would like to sign a social security agreement with Kazakhstan as well as a readmission agreement. “We are also hoping that the agreement on the protection of investments will soon take effect,” Paet said.

At their meeting, Paet and Kazykhanov also discussed EU-Kazakh relations. “We hope that the negotiations on the enhanced Partnership and Co-operation Agreement between the EU and Kazakhstan will proceed quickly and that the agreement is signed soon,” Paet noted. “The expanded EU-Kazakh agreement could be a model for future agreements with other Central Asian states,” he added.

Foreign Minister Paet also met with Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov. During the meeting, Paet emphasised how important the countries of the region and regional co-operation are for Afghanistan’s stability and peaceful development. “We highly value Kazakhstan’s work in supporting Afghanistan and its active participation thus far in the region’s transport matters,” Paet said. “We feel it is necessary to hold consultations with Kazakhstan and other international security partners during the NATO summit in Chicago to discuss the future of Afghanistan.”

Paet also expressed hope that a direct flight would soon be opened between Estonia and Kazakhstan.

In a meeting with Speaker of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Kairat Mami, Foreign Minister Paet said that Estonia would like to have closer trade ties with Kazakhstan. “Estonian-Kazakh trade has grown from 35 million euros in 2009 to 125 million euros in 2011, but there is still room for growth,” Paet noted. “We support Kazakhstan’s aspirations in joining the World Trade Organization and hope that it has a positive effect on trade,” he added.   

According to Paet, Estonia would also like to promote tourism. “This would be helped by starting direct flights between Estonia and Kazakhstan,” he said. “We hope to conclude talks on the aviation agreement this year. We are also interested in the transit of Kazakh goods through Estonian ports,” he added.