Kazakhstan deputy FM reaffirms close ties with Jordan

AMMAN — Kazakh Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roman Vassilenko on Monday said that Jordan is one of his country’s “most promising partners” in the Arab world.

He told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that from the first day of establishing diplomatic relations between Jordan and Kazakhstan, the two countries have been united by their close positions on major global and regional issues. 

The Kazakh official added that both countries interact on multilateral platforms, including the UN, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), to coordinate action to resolve pressing international problems.

Vassilenko noted that Kazakh-Jordanian relations are developing "dynamically", as the president of Kazakhstan have paid two visits to Jordan and His Majesty King Abdullah visited Kazakhstan seven times. The last time the leaders of the two countries met was on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2022 in New York.

He praised Jordan’s participation and role in the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, and offered support for all international efforts aimed at resolving the Syrian crisis.

The Kazakh official said that his country is aware of the fact that Jordan, as a neighbouring country to Syria, is experiencing negative socioeconomic consequences of this crisis due to the hosting of Syrian refugees.

In this regard, he said that Kazakhstan is providing assistance to Syrian refugees in Jordan, mainly through providing humanitarian assistance to the UNHCR Office for Syrians living in the Zaatari camp. 

On the economic level, the deputy minister expressed Kazakhstan's interest in expanding investment, trade and economic cooperation with Jordan, noting that current trade is below envisioned volumes.

Vassilenko highlighted the importance of the upcoming fifth meeting of the intergovernmental commission in Amman in 2023, which will have a positive impact on expanding trade, economic and investment cooperation between the two countries. 

He also indicated that the establishment of direct communication channels between business communities will contribute to the exploration of wide opportunities for mutual cooperation in various fields.