Kazakhstan is an important partner for Germany. In addition to the good economic and political relations between our two countries, the ethnic Germans from Kazakhstan traditionally form another pillar of our close cooperation.

In the context of the EU Central Asia strategy, Germany is seeking to strengthen the Central Asian states and Central Asia as a bridge between Europe and Asia, not least in light of global challenges such as climate change. With Green Central Asia, our climate change and security initiative, we want to make a very concrete contribution towards implementing the EU strategy. Political dialogue at regional level, underpinned by data on climate‑induced security risks, is intended to strengthen countries’ resilience.

Kazakhstan’s Government wants to undertake important reforms, but at the same time faces major challenges in terms of the rule of law and respect for democratic principles. I am looking forward to this my second visit to the country and to my talks with numerous contacts.

Full of fresh impressions from Kazakhstan, I will be going directly to the Raisina Dialogue in Delhi, one of Asia’s most important political conferences, to discuss with the international audience how Germany and the EU intend to grow their relations with Central Asia.