On July 9, 2025, the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KazISS) hosted a meeting with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Kazakhstan, Mr. Sylvain Guiaugue.
Special attention during the meeting was given to enhancing cooperation between analytical centers of Kazakhstan and France.
Director of KazISS, Zhandos Shaimardanov, expressed readiness to expand interaction with French think tanks and invited their representatives to take part in the Think Tank Forum, organized by KazISS and scheduled for autumn 2025.
“In the context of an unstable geopolitical environment, the exchange of opinions and assessments on issues of international security, sustainable development, as well as water and climate-related risks, is especially in demand,” emphasized Z. Shaimardanov.
The meeting also discussed the initiative to launch a multilateral expert cooperation format –“Central Asia – France” – with the involvement of think tanks from countries across the region. This initiative could serve as a logical extension of the ongoing dialogue within the framework of the sustainable strategic partnership.
Representatives of the French side, in turn, highlighted the importance of maintaining regular contact between expert communities.
Mr. Sylvain Guiaugue also noted that a significant event for the development of Kazakh-French relations was the opening of the representative office of the French Development Agency in Astana in April 2025. The agency’s activities are aimed at financing socially significant projects. The agreement to open the representative office was reached during the state visit of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to France in November 2024.
During the conversation, the parties discussed the current state and prospects for the development of Kazakh-French relations, which are currently experiencing steady growth. In conclusion, it was noted that close cooperation at the expert level would help deepen mutual understanding of the parties’ positions and find common approaches to addressing global challenges.
