Kazakhstan's President Reaffirms Russia as Important Ally

Kazakhstan is in dialogue with Russia based on the strategic and friendly nature of relations between the two countries, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's top diplomat arrived in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on May 20 to attend a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on May 21. Kazakhstan holds the rotating presidency of the SCO from July 2023 to July 2024.

“Russia is our important strategic partner and ally. That is why in our relations with the Russian state we rely on it in particular,” Tokayev said, speaking about Russia-Kazakhstan relations.

“This point was confirmed during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin in November last year,” the Kazakh leader added.

“Very important agreements have been signed and are now being implemented,” President Tokayev noted, adding that he believes that “the agreements reached during the visit should be fully implemented.”

“A few days ago, I had a telephone conversation with the President of the Russian Federation. We also shared our views on the development of cooperation between our countries in particular. We once again stressed the need to strictly implement all previously reached agreements,” Tokayev said.

According to the President of Kazakhstan, bilateral trade between the two countries is developing successfully, reaching a record figure of $27 billion, although of course there is much more. “Investment cooperation is actively developing,” he noted.

“Moreover, I would like to tell you that we are meeting with representatives and senior figures of the Russian business community. This is important because when we talk about the friendly nature of relations between our countries, mutual trust must also be demonstrated in such an important area as investment cooperation,” the Kazakh President concluded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, November 9, 2023. Photo: Kremlin.ru

According to the Eurasian Research Institute (ERI), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a Eurasian intergovernmental political, economic and security organization, founded in 2001 by six Eurasian countries (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and has grown quite rapidly since then to become a relatively prominent player in the region.

In December 2004, the SCO gained official observer status at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). When establishing the SCO, the member states indicated that the first main goal of the SCO was to strengthen mutual trust, friendship and good neighborliness among member states.

The SCO has now expanded to nine members, including India, Iran, and Pakistan in addition to the six founding members. It also has three observers, Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia .

Minh Duc (According to TASS, Kazinform)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/tong-thong-kazakhstan-tai-khang-dinh-nga-la-dong-minh-quan-trong-a664554.html