ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev attended the May 21 Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh with more than with 50 leaders from the Muslim world participating.
At the summit, King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke about cooperation between the Muslim world and the U.S. to halt terrorism and extremism.
According to the official website of the White House, Trump spoke of the historic nature of the summit, noting that this specific gathering of leaders was unprecedented and is a symbol to the world of a shared resolve and mutual respect between these nations. He went on to mention the historic agreements made with Saudi Arabia saying they “will invest almost $400 billion in our two countries and create many thousands of jobs in America and Saudi Arabia.”
“I bring the message of love from the U.S. That is why I chose Saudi Arabia for the first foreign trip. The U.S. vision is one of peace, security and prosperity in the Middle East region and throughout the world,” Trump noted.
“We will cooperate in ending terrorism and extremism in all its shapes and forms. Islam was and will continue to be a religion of tolerance and peace,” King Salman stressed.
According to alarabiya.net, the Saudi King announced a landmark agreement with the U.S. to track and target sources of terrorist financing.
On the sidelines of the forum, Nazarbayev and Trump discussed the main directions of bilateral cooperation and revised prospects for deepening relations in trade, economic, political, cultural and humanitarian spheres. In addition, the parties exchanged views on international issues, the Akorda press service reported.
In addition, Nazarbayev met with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The two discussed the state and prospects for development of bilateral cooperation, as well as exchanged views on the most pressing international issues. Nazarbayev said he hopes Kazakh – U.S. relations reach a new level.
While in Riyadh, Nazarbayev also met with foreign leaders and heads of delegations, including Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. The Kazakh President also interacted with his Central Asian counterparts.
Bilateral cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was discussed at the meeting between Nazarbayev and Secretary General of the Organisation Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen. Kazakhstan is planning to host the first ever OIC Summit on Science and Technology in Astana in September 2017.
