ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who arrived in Kazakhstan on a state visit, discussed cooperation prospects in the trade and economic, transport and logistics, fuel and energy, scientific and technical, cultural and humanitarian areas during the extended-format talks on Nov. 27.
The Presidents emphasized the stability of the allied relations between Kazakhstan and Russia, which are consistently strengthening in the political, trade, economic and socio-humanitarian areas. Photo credit: Akorda.
During the meeting, Tokayev focused on trade and economic relations between the two countries. According to him, mutual trade is steadily growing, and there is an excellent opportunity to increase bilateral trade turnover to $30 billion in the near future, reported the Akorda.
“So far, 93 projects have been collaboratively developed with a total investment of $18.3 billion, creating over 22,000 new employment in Kazakhstan. It is planned to implement another 49 projects totaling $29.5 billion with the potential to create more than 20,000 jobs,” said Tokayev.
Putin said that the cooperation between Moscow and Astana is developing in all spheres.
Tokayev, Putin sign joint statement
Tokayev and Putin underlined the stability of the allied relations between Kazakhstan and Russia, which are consistently strengthening in the political, trade, economic and socio-humanitarian areas, and agreed to develop interstate dialogue based on mutual respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the two countries in a joint statement published on Nov. 28.
“The Presidents confirm their commitment to the systematic development of political dialogue aimed at achieving mutually beneficial results, maintaining a high pace of bilateral contacts imbued with the spirit of good neighborliness and focused on preserving and enhancing the traditions of centuries-old friendship between the peoples of Kazakhstan and Russia,” reads the joint statement.
According to the joint communique, coordination of positions on key topics of international and regional security, strengthening multilateral cooperation mechanisms based on the norms and principles of international law, including the UN Charter, through such associations as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), contribute to increasing the resilience of Kazakhstan, Russia and their partners to modern challenges and threats, including international terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking, illegal arms trade and others.
In light of the upcoming 80th anniversary of the UN in 2025, the Presidents confirmed their intention to jointly promote the UN General Assembly Resolution in connection with the SCO Initiative on World Unity for a Just Peace, Harmony and Development.
Kazakhstan and Russia are ready to work together on linking integration processes in the Eurasian space, including the liberalization of trade relations between their participants, joint development of transport and logistics infrastructure and other areas of economic cooperation, including within the framework of the idea of the Greater Eurasian Partnership.
Satisfied with the growing dynamics of the cultural dialogue between Kazakhstan and Russia, Tokayev and Putin expressed the importance of establishing branches of higher education institutions and comprehensive schools in both countries.
