Kazakhstan renews Dialogue on Cooperation in Asia

ASTANA, Oct. 20—The seventh summit of foreign affairs ministers in the ‘Dialogue on Cooperation in Asia’ was held under Kazakhstan's rotating chairmanship in Astana on Oct. 16, and gathered delegates of 30 Eurasian nations.

The Dialogue was started in 2000 and brings together Asian and Middle Eastern nations in an intergovernmental forum for consultation, decision-making, and practical implementation of consensus agreements relating to political and economic cooperation.

“The underlying idea of the Dialogue is to raise Asia's profile on the world arena so that this region is viewed as a tight-knit community that uses its authority to encourage global development,” Kazakhstan's Foreign Affairs Minister Marat Tazhin said in his opening remarks. “This position is entirely in line with the principles underpinning Kazakhstan's foreign policy."

The ministers' discussions centered on furthering Pan-Asian cooperation, including issues relating to energy, food, security, transportation, finance and IT development.

Kazakhstan also used the Dialogue to tackle its goal of increasing trade turnover with other Asian nations. "In light of the dynamic growth of the banking and finance sectors in Kazakhstan, we plan to renew the Dialogue's work on creating an Asian securities market through such instruments as a regional financial centre," Tazhin said.