Royal Visit to Kazakhstan includes discussions with Chinese premier

KING FELIPE has travelled with Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis to Kazakhstan to attend the opening of the Future Energy exhibition.

This fair is being held in the Kazakh capital of Astana until September and forecasts suggest that five million visitors will view the 3,000 exhibits presented by more than 100 countries whilst it is open.

Following a welcome from the President of the country, the king had an important formal meeting with Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China followed by additional meetings with Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres and the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Apart from the opportunity to discuss political and economic matters with the Chinese leader, there may have been a slight coolness in their discussions, if the Mr Xi was aware of the current Spanish tax authority crackdown on Chinese entrepreneurs and shops.

The king was able to visit the exhibition which promotes ‘green energy’ at a time when the USA has decided not to honour the Paris Agreement signed by the previous President Obama.

President Trump announced his decision saying “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris” apparently forgetting that there are 13 towns called Paris in the USA, the most famous being Paris Texas with a population of 25,000.

The mayor of Pittsburgh, a city which had voted overwhelmingly for Hilary Clinton responded saying “Actually, we’re with Paris on this one.”