Kazakhstan is interested in further deepening cooperation with Finland and wishes Suomi success in chairing the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2025, DKNews.kz reports.
This was noted during the meeting of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko with Ambassador of the Republic of Finland to Kazakhstan Soili Mäkeläinen-Buhanist.
The meeting focused on the issues of Kazakh-Finnish cooperation in the political, economic and cultural spheres, as well as interaction within the OSCE and other international structures.
The parties underlined the importance of maintaining an active political dialogue at the highest and high level between Kazakhstan and Finland.
According to Deputy Minister Vassilenko, the recent telephone conversation between President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of Finland Alexander Stubb confirmed Astana and Helsinki share mutual intentions to strengthen contacts and collaboration across the whole spectrum of Kazakh-Finnish relations.
Considering further development of partnership in the economic sphere, the diplomats welcomed the results of the visit of Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio to Kazakhstan and the 13th meeting of the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation held in Astana on April 11, 2024.
Furthermore, the parties had an in-depth discussion of the key issues of engagement within the OSCE agenda and Finnish priorities during the Chairpersonship of the Organization in 2025, marking the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act.
The Kazakh side expressed readiness to support Finland’s efforts to enhance Organization’s potential in all three dimensions – the politico-military, the economic and environmental, and the human ones.
The parties underlined the indispensable role of the OSCE in tackling the ongoing regional and global challenges in the area of its responsibility, and they also reaffirmed the intention to further promote the Kazakh-Finnish partnership.
Suomi is an important trade partner for Kazakhstan in Northern Europe. In 2023, the bilateral trade reached 208.2 million US dollars (exports – 3.1 million, imports – 205.1 million) (+3.2% compared to 2022). During January-April 2024, trade turnover reached 67.4 million dollars (exports – 2.8 million, imports – 64.6 million).
