On May 1, Ambassador Konstantin Zhigalov hosted a farewell reception at Fairmont Chateau Laurier Ottawa upon completion of his tenure as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. He thanked the Canadian Government, Parliament, private sector and all friends of the Embassy, as well as the diplomatic corps, for excellent cooperation over the last 6 years that he had spent in Ottawa.

Since his appointment in January 2012, Ambassador Zhigalov has visited all Canadian provinces and territories multiple times and has been closely involved in the development of the Kazakhstan Canada Parliamentary Cooperation Group and the Kazakhstan Canada Business Council.

Regular exchange of parliamentary and business delegations contributed to expanding channels of communication between the two countries and led to signing a number of bilateral agreements, including the Inter-Governmental Agreement on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy. On the international stage, Canada has supported Kazakhstan’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2015 and, as one of the top-10 investors in Kazakhstan’s economy, continues dialogue on a number of issues, including Kazakhstan’s efforts within the OECD.

Senate Liberal Leader Joseph A. Day, in his capacity of the Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Cooperation Group, thanked Ambassador Zhigalov for his strong commitment to strengthening Canada-Kazakhstan partnership and saluted significant milestones achieved during his tenure.

On April 27, President Nursultan Nazarbayev has appointed Ambassador Zhigalov as Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Spain. On the same day, former Deputy Foreign Minister Akylbek Kamaldinov has been appointed to be Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Canada.