Kazakhstan Prime-Minister meets Jose Manuel Barroso

Kazakhstan Prime-Minister Serik Akhmetov has had a meeting with Chairman of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the Prime-Minister’s press-service. They discussed a wide range of issues related to Kazakhstan-European cooperation and exchanged opinions on the regional and international agenda. Discussion of a new agreement on expanded partnership and cooperation was one of the key topics of the meeting. They agreed to speed up preparation of the document. According to Kazakhstan Prime-Minister, the agreement will take the relations between Kazakhstan and the EU to a new level. “Our relations with the European Union have been one of our strategic priorities,” Akhmetov said stressing that Kazakhstan was interested in active cooperation. Barroso also talked about further enhancement of interaction on a whole range of issues. They also discussed the prospects of Kazakhstan’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). “Kazakhstan government is thankful for your support at the negotiations on entering the WTO. We hope that after walking the uneasy path, Kazakhstan will soon enter this organization,” the PM said. “The European Union and the European Commission will continue supporting Kazakhstan’s efforts on entering the WTO,” Barroso said.