Macau and Kazakhstan yesterday signed three agreements on criminal judicial cooperation, the local government announced in a statement last night.
The three agreements, signed between the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of Kazakhstan, comprise Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, Extradition of Fugitive Offenders, and Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
On behalf of the MSAR government and the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the three agreements were signed by Macau Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak and Kazakhstan Prosecutor General Berik Assylov at Macau Government Headquarters.
Last night’s statement, which was released by the Secretariat for Administration and Justice, noted that Kazakhstan is where China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was first proposed. The signing of three agreements between the MSAR and Kazakhstan at the same time carries extraordinary significance; it not only marks that the cooperative relationship between the two places has reached a new height, but also represents a fruitful result achieved by the MSAR in the field of external mutual judicial assistance, the statement said.
The statement described the three agreements as core instruments in the field of criminal judicial cooperation. The signing of the three agreements allows the MSAR and Kazakhstan to establish a clear and highly efficient cooperation mechanism, which contributes to mutually enhancing the efficiency of cooperation in areas such as the recovery of stolen assets, the capture of fugitives, and the investigation and collection of evidence, making efforts to ensure that criminals are held criminally responsible, strengthening the fight against cross-border criminal activities, and providing better legal safeguards for economic and commercial cooperation and the movement of people between the two sides, the statement said.
Furthermore, the statement said, this also helps ensure that sentenced persons return to their place of origin to serve their sentences, which not only facilitates their rehabilitation and reintegration into society but also demonstrates a spirit of humanitarianism and the rule of law.
Macau Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak (right) and Kazakhstan Prosecutor General Berik Assylov shake hands after signing the three agreements at Macau Government Headquarters yesterday. – Photo: Wong’s office
