Prietenul este cel care spune: am venit de departe ca să-ţi fiu aproape
(Romanian proverb)
First of all, let me, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and me personally, congratulate our dear Romanian friends on the 100th anniversary of the Great Union Day of Romania!
One hundred years ago, the National Assembly of Alba Iulia approved the text of the resolution, which consolidated the Romania.
Today, Romania is a modern, established state with a high level of economic development and with a highly skilled work force. These factors enable the country to take a leading position in the region.
This December we celebrate the 27th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan. These years have not been passed in vain as during this time we managed to create a country which is influential on the global level and is a reliable partner for the international community.
Kazakhstan, as a country that conducts a multi-vector foreign policy, pays special attention for the development of relations with European Union, where Romania acts as a key partner. Our bilateral relations are based on mutual understandings and trust. Astana and Bucharest sustain a regular political dialogue and deepen intergovernmental and inter-institutional ties.
Our relations have always been based on the principles of partnership, consideration of mutual interests, closeness positions on topical issues of regional and international politics.
For a quarter of a century of the Kazakh-Romanian diplomatic relations, the two sides have laid a solid foundation for expanding bilateral cooperation and strengthening interregional ties. Kazakhstan and Romania demonstrate willingness for a broad and constructive dialogue in all areas of activity (including political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian, as well as in the field of multilateral interaction).
This is proven by numerous instances of our successful cooperation. In order to maintain a regular political dialogue, friendship groups function in the parliaments of both countries, meetings of deputies are held annually, as well as political consultations between foreign ministries.
We are very pleased that the two sides coordinate their efforts and provide mutual support in the framework of international organizations. For example, Romania supported candidacy of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the Chairmanship of OSCE-2010, our bid to host the International Exhibition EXPO-2017 in Astana and the election of our country as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2017-2018.
Favorable political dialogue between the two countries has a positive impact on economic cooperation.
The main areas of Kazakh-Romanian trade and economic cooperation are energy, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, transport and logistics, as well as light industry.
Being a co-chairman of the Kazakh-Romanian Intergovernmental Commission on trade-economic, scientific and technical cooperation, I cannot fail to mention that it is one of the most important instruments of bilateral relations since 1996.
Until now, 14 meetings of the Commission have been held, the last one on September 24 this year, in Astana.
Over the years of joint work, the Intergovernmental Commission has become a necessary mechanism and platform for comprehensive discussion of bilateral cooperation issues.
Currently, basics of Kazakhstan’s exports to Romania include oil and oil products, and Romania supplies our market with components for the construction sector, medicines, sugar, machinery and mechanical devices.
The variety of supplied products indicates that the two countries are constantly searching relevant opportunities for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation.
Great importance is attached to the activation of interaction between the business communities, small and medium businesses of the two countries, as well as the development of interregional ties.
The first joint company, registered in March 1997, was “Concorde Kazak LLP”. The main focus of its activities were trade and procurement, export-import operations and commercial-intermediary activity.
At the present time, there are 16 Kazakh-Romanian enterprises in Romania operating in the field of trade, furniture manufacturing, tailoring and footwear, as well as the production of medicines.
In turn, Kazakhstan has 35 joint Kazakh-Romanian enterprises, which are mainly engaged in the oil and gas sector.
Also, there are registered joint ventures for industrial and civil construction, installation of oil/gas and water pipelines and industrial processing of raw materials with producing of final products.
An example of successful Kazakh-Romanian investment cooperation is the activity of “KMG International”, which has a significant share of the Romanian market and operates in the countries of South-Eastern Europe. Investments of “National Company “KazMunaiGaz” JSC in “KMG International” amount to 3.8 billion USD, of which 2 billion are direct investments in the Romanian economy. The company is one of the largest taxpayers in the country (more than 1 billion USD), and employs over 6 thousand people. In addition, about 50 thousand people from among the suppliers, contractors and partners directly depend on company’s activities.
Taking this opportunity, I express the readiness of the Kazakhstan side to fulfill the previously assumed obligations. I am confident that our joint efforts will continue to focus on the effective development of the projects. Positive dynamics in the development of bilateral relations is present in the cultural and humanitarian sphere, as well as in the field of education and the expansion of the contract-juridical base.
Over the years of relations, a solid foundation has been laid for expanding bilateral cooperation and strengthening interregional ties, and both Kazakhstan and Romania demonstrate their readiness for a broad and constructive dialogue in all areas of activity.
Our opportunities are far from being exhausted, and in this connection, I express the hope of their successful development for the benefit of our countries and peoples.
In conclusion, let me once again congratulate our Romanian colleagues and friends on the National Day, wish prosperity to your beautiful country, well-being to the people of Romania, friendship and fruitful cooperation between Astana and Bucharest!
