Jordan one of Kazakhstan’s ‘most important partners’ in Arab world — deputy FM

AMMAN — Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko noted that Jordan is now one of his country's most important partners in the Arab World.

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, which was published on Monday, Vassilenko expressed his country's eager anticipation of Jordan's membership in the OIC's Islamic Food Security Organisation, which Kazakhstan helped found. 

He pointed out that the organisation provides a platform for member governments to collaborate on a range of innovative, high-impact initiatives to ensure that all people have access to sufficient food.

Vassilenko said that since the beginning of diplomatic ties between the two nations in 1993, their stances on important global and regional issues have been "remarkably" similar. 

He added that the two countries are successfully cooperating in multilateral forums, such as the UN, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). 

Jordan actively participates in the Congress of World and Traditional Religions, which is regularly held in Kazakhstan, he noted, emphasising that the strategic vision of the leaders of the two nations “made this example of collaboration possible”.

Ties between Kazakhstan and Jordan are now advancing quickly, the Kazakh official said, citing the two nations' ongoing meetings, the most recent of which took place in September 2022 in New York on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

Vassilenko emphasised the parliamentary ties between the two countries, noting that the inter-parliamentary friendship group is actively involved in this process.

As for the Syrian conflict, the deputy minister said that his country supports all international efforts to end the crisis, citing the Kingdom's active participation as an observer in the Astana process on Syria and its major contribution to solving the conflict.

He also noted that Kazakhstan is keen on developing economic ties with Jordan in investment and trade, stressing the importance of boosting commercial exchange between the two countries.