Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the plenary session of the 22nd Russia-Kazakhstan Interregional Cooperation Forum, “Forming a Global Logistics Ecosystem: New Horizons for Russia-Kazakhstan Cooperation.” The Forum was held in Omsk, Russia on July 24–25. Its participants included deputy prime ministers, heads of ministries and departments, heads of regions of the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan, and representatives of business and expert communities of both countries.
On the sidelines of the Forum, Putin and Tokayev had a meeting to discuss Russia-Kazakhstan cooperation.
Putin said that bilateral relations are progressing successfully: “They are indeed – not in words, but in deeds – of a strategic nature. This is evidenced by the growing trade. Last year, it was almost US$28 billion, 27.8, to be exact, which is fairly good. And in the first five months of this year, it has added over 4 percent.”
According to Putin, Russia is the largest investor in Kazakhstan’s economy, working in a wide range of areas such as the metallurgical industry, engineering, energy, pharmaceuticals, and a number of other areas.
“Our cooperation in terms of humanitarian ties is also very important. Thousands of Kazakhstani citizens study at Russian universities. I want to point out that right here, in Omsk, a branch of the Kazakh National University has opened,” said Putin.
Tokayev stated that Kazakhstan and Russia share the longest continuous border in the world, which is a border of friendship and cooperation.
“Russia is coming out on top among investors in our economy,” said Tokayev. “The amount of investments has reached almost US$30 billion. We have jointly selected a pool of 177 promising industrial projects, and 122 of them have already been implemented, while these 177 projects total US$53 billion. This is a significant amount, given the current turbulent geopolitical situation.”
Tokayev also noted that Kazakhstan and Russia are actively working in the humanitarian field. “You mentioned the opening of a branch of the Kazakh National University. This is the first foreign branch of our university,” the Kazakh leader said.
Photo: kremlin.ru
