Kazakhstan boosts economic, cultural relations with France

    Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov traveled to Paris for a two-day working visit to meet with French officials in a bid to strengthen bilateral relations, especially economic and cultural ties.
    Idrissov met in Paris on Tuesday with his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, the presidential adviser for multilateral affairs, Jacques Audibert, and the co-chair of the board of Franco-Kazakh businesses and president of Total Upstream, Yves-Louis Darricarere.
    Kazakhstani Embassy spokesmen in the French capital told EFE that expanding trade cooperation was one of the main focal points of the minister's trip.
    "France in late 2013 was one of the main economic partners of Kazakhstan, with a trade turnover of more than $6 billion (some 4.4 billion euros)," Idrissov said.
    Cooperation in industry, nuclear energy and aerospace were the main areas of discussion during the Kazakhstani minister's meeting with Fabius, during which the possibility was raised of beginning direct flights between Astana and Paris as a way to contribute to the development of tourism and business activities.
    The embassy spokesmen said an improved visa process was another topic covered during the talks, adding that "the current system does not correspond to reality or to the objective of developing political dialogue."
    The foreign ministers also discussed the expanded partnership and cooperation agreement between Kazakhstan and the European Union, which, according to Idrissov, "offers the possibility of consolidating the individual and privileged character" of cooperation that "should take into account respective interests."
    Kazakhstan, the minister said, sees in France "an important and reliable partner in the context of international organizations" and appreciates the "high level of political understanding" between their heads of state.
    French President François Hollande is due to visit Kazakhstan at the end of the year and it is expected that his trip will result in the closing of "mutually beneficial" deals.
    Also included on Idrissov's agenda in Paris were meetings with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, UNESCO and the International Exhibitions Bureau, where the minister was slated to participate in the validation act of the dossier for Astana EXPO 2017 pertaining to the Universal Exposition to be held in the Kazakhstani capital that year, according to EFE.