British Prime Minister inks several trade deals in KazakhstanJuly 1, 2013 - 14:46 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - British Prime Minister David Cameron signed a string of trade deals in Kazakhstan on Monday, July 1 during a groundbreaking but controversial visit to the resource-rich, ex-Soviet state that has been criticized for human rights abuses and political repression, RIA Novosti said. Cameron and Kazakhstan’s long-serving President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a strategic partnership agreement and several business accords, in the first visit by a serving British Prime Minister to the country that occupies a huge swath of Central Asia, a region that gave birth to the Great Game, a period of political rivalry between the British Empire and czarist Russia. Cameron pledged to double trade turnover by 2017 from last year’s $2.3 billion. Britain is already a major investor in Kazakhstan's booming oil sector. At a news conference on Monday, Cameron said that the two nations already cooperate on issues ranging from promoting stability in Afghanistan with a military transit agreement to oil extraction and export. The International Security Assistance Force, to which Britain is a major contributor, has been using a railway line across Kazakhstan to supply its troops in Afghanistan. Some of the troops and equipment there will be transported via the railroad during the planned 2014 withdrawal from Afghanistan. Cameron said he was “impressed” by an oil plant he and Nazarbayev opened late on Sunday in the Caspian Sea town of Atyrau. The plant will process oil from the offshore Kashagan field, one of largest oil deposits discovered in recent decades, which holds up to 9 billion barrels of oil, according to energy company Eni. Prior to his departure to Kazakhstan with a delegation of British businessmen, he said he would sign trade agreements worth $1.1 billion that will secure “jobs back home,” British media reported. British companies have considerable experience of offshore oil production gained from developing the North Sea fields. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | International cybercrime ringleaders arrested in Armenia, Ukraine Europol, Europe's crime agency, has arrested four ringleaders of several cybercrime networks that used botnets. Armenia skips CSTO Defense Ministers meeting A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries began in Almaty. Armenian, Iranian foreigh policy chief talk over the phone The Foreign Minister of Armenia once again expressed condolences to his counterpart on the death of the President of Iran. Armenia, U.S. customs authorities to boost assistance with new deal The government has approved an agreement with the U.S. government on mutual assistance between the customs authorities. |