Intergovernmental commission on ethnic Germans holds annual meeting in Berlin
The 21st meeting of the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) on Ethnic Germans in the Republic of Kazakhstan discussed the issues of supporting ethnic Germans, strengthening cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Kazakhstan and Germany, El.kz cites Kazakh FM.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko and Germany’s Federal Government Commissioner for Matters Related to Ethnic German Resettlers and National Minorities, Member of the Bundestag Natalie Pawlik co-chaired the annual session in the German capital.
The agenda of the IGC covered issues of cooperation in education, culture, science, youth policies, the studying of German language, archival work, facilitating business contacts and liberalization of the visa regime, focusing on implementation of the joint projects to support the national identity of Germans in Kazakhstan.
The participants welcomed the opening of the Centre for German Language and Culture at the Eurasian National University and the branch of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences at the Almaty University of Power Engineering and Telecommunications in 2024, noting also the important contribution of the Kazakh-German Center in Astana, the Kazakh-German University in Almaty, the Kazakh-German Institute of Sustainable Engineering in Aktau, the National Academic German Drama Theatre and other institutions in strengthening the bilateral interaction.
“Just as the Kazakh land has traditionally connected the West and the East, so the ethnic Germans in Kazakhstan and former citizens of our country in Germany have today created a “living bridge” between Kazakhstan and Germany and are key to perspective development of Kazakh-German relations,” said Vassilenko.
He noted that ensuring favourable conditions for coexistence of various people in a common socio-cultural space remains one of the key objectives of the Government of Kazakhstan. The Deputy Foreign Minister also highlighted the important role of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, in supporting and developing national cultures.
In turn, Natalie Pawlik confirmed the German Government’s plans to continue providing assistance to ethnic Germans in Kazakhstan. “I would like to highlight the dynamic development of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Germany, including support for ethnic Germans in Kazakhstan that play an important role in further deepening bilateral relations”, noted the Member of the Bundestag.
The parties agreed on the implementation of further measures to ensure comprehensive support to ethnic Germans in Kazakhstan that were stipulated in the Communique signed at the end of the meeting.
During his visit to Berlin, Deputy minister Vassilenko also held meetings with Member of the German Bundestag Stefan Rouenhoff and the Director for Central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Konrad Arz von Straussenburg. The parties discussed the current state and prospects for further development of bilateral cooperation, as well as exchanged views on global and regional affairs.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel and be the first to know the news!