Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva met with Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi. The two spoke in Madrid at the 14th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Asia-Europe Forum (ASEM).
 
"Our meeting is taking place today as Kazakhstan celebrates its national holiday - Independence Day. Please accept my congratulations. Kazakhstan is a traditional partner of Bulgaria in Central Asia. We welcome your government's decision to open an embassy in Sofia, "Zaharieva said.
 
"Today our ambassador in Sofia handed over his credentials. I will be glad to visit your country next year in response to your invitation. We have nine draft bilateral agreements that we can sign in Sofia," Minister Tleuberdi said.

Zaharieva presented the opportunities for cooperation between the two countries' businesses. She invited the Minister of Economy of Kazakhstan to visit with the business delegation Sofia for the next meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission for economic and scientific-technical cooperation.
 
This is the first meeting between the two ministers since Mukhtar Tleuberdi was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan on September 18, 2019. Zaharieva has met with his his predecessor, Kairat Abdrahmanov, several times, who visited the country as a student.
 
According to the Bulgarian side, bilateral trade in 2018 is about $ 35 million and is down 19% compared to 2017. The foreign trade balance in 2017 and 2018 is positive for our country.