Addis Ababa — Kazakhstan is keen to have a strong cooperation with Ethiopia, the fastest growing nation with huge potential, Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Roman Vassilenko said.
The deputy minister told ENA in the capital city Astana that even if the two countries established diplomatic relations 12 years ago they have been collaborating in meeting their mutual interests during the relatively short period.
Similar positions of the countries on many things such as issues of landlocked countries, combating drought and climate change, fighting terrorism and organized crime, drug trafficking, stipulate joint actions in these spheres, he stated.
According to the deputy minister, Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the development acceleration with Ethiopia and the relationship between the countries is growing dynamically.
In order to give impetus to trade and economic cooperation, Vassilenko said that a number of seminars and conferences have been organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Addis Ababa.
The former Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome and business people had for instance traveled to Kazakhstan to participate in the Astana International Forum held in June this year, it was learnt.
The business delegations had a very productive set of meetings with state and private organizations, the deputy minister said.
"We want to have strong ties with Ethiopia. We believe Ethiopia has really a very bright future and is one of the fastest growing nations with huge potential."
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There is a huge demand for tropical fruits such as avocados and citrus that Ethiopia exports to Kazakhstan.
Vassilenko stated in this regard that Kazakhstan is the largest economy in Central Asia and the trade, economic and investment cooperation between Ethiopia and Kazakhstan is on the path of dynamic development.
He further said that Kazakhstan shares diplomatic relations with some countries in Africa and it has established diplomatic relations with the African Union.
"We, share a common goal with the African Union in the fight against terrorism and extremism, as well as in the field of food security, WTO reforms as sustainable development goals as well as public access to essential services such as vaccines, health care, and education," the deputy minister elaborated.
Africa is recognized as one of the fastest growing economy geared towards having development economic cooperation.
Very small portion of trade comes to Kazakhstan Vassilenko noted adding that there is a big potential despite the distance and some other challenges related with logistics and transportation.
Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia which has diplomatic representation in sub-Saharan Africa.
