OREANDA-NEWS. October 05, 2016. The Cooperation Council between the European Union (EU) and Kazakhstan held its fifteenth meeting on Tuesday, 4 October 2016 in Brussels. The meeting was chaired by Mr Miroslav Lajk, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovakia. The delegation of Kazakhstan was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr Erlan A. Idrissov. Jean-Christophe Belliard, Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service was also present.

The Cooperation Council welcomed the start of implementation of the enhanced partnership and cooperation agreement, provisionally applied since 1 May 2015 in a number of areas, including   political dialogue, trade and economic cooperation, rule of law and justice. The Cooperation Council confirmed the mutual interest in consolidating the relations and cooperation, in particular in ensuring regional stability and development.

The Cooperation Council also discussed political, judiciary and economic reforms, the rule of law, trade and economic relations, and international issues, topics that are of importance to both parties. The Cooperation Council addressed the issues of good governance, human rights protection and civil society cooperation. It also underlined the need to maintain the right balance between legitimate security measures necessary in fighting terrorism and individual rights and freedoms.

The Cooperation Council reiterated the importance of a regional dialogue under the EU strategy for Central Asia. Regional security aspects were also discussed in relation to the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, including border management, counter-terrorism and the fight against drug trafficking.

The EU welcomed Kazakhstan's active participation in the EU-Central Asia ministerial meeting and in the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan.