A new bilateral agreement was signed this Wednesday, September 14, between the Holy Apostolic See and the Republic of Kazakhstan

Newsroom (09/15/2022, 13:40, Gaudium Press) The Holy See and the Republic of Kazakhstan signed a bilateral agreement on Wednesday, September 14.

The agreement was signed in the capital of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, and is an update of the agreement signed previously in 1998.

The Holy See Press Conference reported that article number two, of the fifteen articles that made up the 1998 agreement, has been strengthened in this new agreement.

Facilitating the issuance and stay of religious in the country

The article deals with the issuance of visas and the permission of foreign religious and persons engaged in Catholic pastoral work in Kazakhstan to stay.

The signatory of the Holy See was Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for relations with states, and the representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mukhtar Tileuberdi.

The signed text “further strengthens the ties of friendship and cooperation already existing between the two parties,” the Holy See affirmed.

30 years of diplomatic ties

October 17 will be the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic reestablishment between the Holy See and Kazakhstan.

The Holy See pointed out last June that throughout these three decades the bonds of friendship have grown closer between the States thanks to “mutual respect and shared priorities.

In fact, Kazakhstan was the first country in Central Asia to sign an agreement with the Holy See, and also the first to receive a visit from Pope John Paul II. (FM)

Compiled by Teresa Joseph