1. The European Union welcomes the Head of the OSCE Program Office in Astana, Ambassador Alexey Rogov, to the Permanent Council. We thank him and his predecessor, Dr. Volker Frobarth, for their excellent work. We look forward to continuing the good cooperation with the Program Office in Astana. 

2. We welcome the Office’s important programmatic activities across all three dimensions, designed to contribute to Kazakhstan’s development objectives and implemented on the basis of excellent cooperation with the national, regional and local institutions.  We also value the Office’s regional engagement, as well as its longstanding cooperation with local partners, including civil society, media, academia, and the private sector. We equally appreciate that programmatic activities often incorporate a gender perspective and prioritise engaging youth. We highly value the Office’s close cooperation with the EU Delegation in Astana and EU Member States on the ground.

3. Russia’s war of aggression has a heavy impact and wide-ranging consequences for Kazakhstan. We welcome the mission’s work in defending the principles and commitments our organization is founded on.

4. The visit of Chairperson-in-Office Elina Valtonen, including the meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is a testimony to the long-standing and mutually beneficial cooperation between the OSCE and Kazakhstan.

5. The relations between Kazakhstan and the European Union have further intensified, as highlighted during the visit of High Representative Kaja Kallas in March 2025, and the meeting of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Antonio Costa with President Tokayev in the margins of the first-ever EU-Central Asia summit in Samarkand in April 2025. At the 22nd meeting of the EU Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee on 17 June in Astana, both parties acknowledged the positive dynamics in EU-Kazakhstan bilateral relations. Border management, rule of law and renewable energies figure among the highlights of bilateral cooperation. 

6. The European Union takes good note of the political and socio-economic reforms undertaken under the leadership of President Tokayev. We encourage Kazakhstan to pursue the reform process towards a more open, democratic and inclusive society.

7. We express our appreciation for the cooperation between the Program Office and Kazakhstan in the Politico-Military Dimension, notably in the fields of border security and management, countering trans-national threats, cybercrime and radicalization of youth, and confidence-and security-building measures.

8. We welcome the intensified cooperation on environmental issues, as well as in the fight against corruption, money laundering, and terrorism-financing, in improving the transport infrastructure and in supporting for SMEs. The EU reiterates its support for the development of the Trans Caspian Transport Corridor, which provides an alternative sustainable transport route between Europe and Central Asia that also reinforces inter-regional interconnection.

9. In the Human Dimension, we welcome the work of the Office in supporting legal reform and legal literacy. We hope to see increased cooperation in the field of media freedom. We commend the efforts for citizens with disabilities, and hope to see further improvements in the fields of human rights. Kazakhstan and the EU lead a structured human rights dialogue since 2008 and cooperate in the fields the protection of human rights, good governance and the rule of law, covered by their Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.

10. The EU appreciates the good cooperation on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, and encourages further work on women’s economic empowerment and the protection of persons in vulnerable situations. We hope the implementation of the Law on Domestic Violence adopted last year is generating visible impact.

11. Finally, Ambassador Rogov, since you have taken up your new function only recently, we wish you a good start and successful work in Kazakhstan. Please convey our gratitude and our appreciation to your whole team at the OSCE Programme Office in Astana.

Albania,, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine amd the United Kingdom align themselves with this statement