ASTANA (AA) – Kazakhstan President Kasım Cömert Tokayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the “Joint Declaration on the 7 Basic Principles of Friendship and Good Neighborhood Relations between the Peoples of Kazakhstan and Russia”. Russian President Putin, who came to Kazakhstan as part of a three-day official visit, was welcomed with an official ceremony by President Tokayev at the Independence Palace in the capital Astana.
Leaders held meetings first in private and then in an extended format between delegations. Following the talks, many intergovernmental agreements were signed between the two countries covering the fields of energy, transportation, education, health, finance and high technology. Tokayev and Putin also attended the launch ceremony of joint projects carried out by the two countries. The leaders then signed the “Joint Declaration on the 7 Basic Principles of Friendship and Good Neighborhood Relations between the Peoples of Kazakhstan and Russia” and held a joint press conference.
– “We see multifaceted cooperation with Russia as a priority.” Stating that Putin’s visit is of great importance for the strategic partnership and alliance relations between Kazakhstan and Russia, Tokayev said, “Our states actually form the basis of the huge Eurasian geography. We work together for the strong and indivisible security of Eurasia.” he said. Pointing out that the world’s longest land border unites Kazakhstan and Russia, Tokayev made the following evaluations: “Eternal friendship, stable good neighborliness and mutual trust are not propaganda slogans, but the essence of the peaceful life of our peoples and a strong guarantee of social welfare.
For this reason, we see multifaceted cooperation with Russia as a priority. We accept the work in this direction as the ‘sacred duty’ of both current and future leaders.” Because there is no alternative to friendship and cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia.” Tokayev noted that Russia has risen to the first place in direct investments in the Kazakhstan economy, 122 of the 177 joint economic projects currently carried out between the two countries have been implemented and the mutual trade volume is expected to reach 30 billion dollars.
Emphasizing that they attach special importance to cooperation in the field of energy, Tokayev touched upon the importance of the Balkaş Nuclear Power Plant project, which will create new opportunities for the two countries in scientific, technological and industrial fields. Tokayev stated that the two countries are actively cooperating on the development of north-south and east-west transportation corridors, and that the freight transportation volume between the two countries reached 92 million tons last year.
Drawing attention to the joint work in the field of space, Tokayev said that the Baykonur Cosmodrome is the symbol of scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries, and that the successful launch of the “Bayterek” project and the new “Sunkar/Soyuz-5” rocket offers new opportunities in the space sector. – Amur tigers were brought to Kazakhstan from Russia. Tokayev also stated that one of the remarkable elements of Putin’s visit was the bringing of 4 Amur tigers to Kazakhstan and thanked the Russian side for their support to the project of reintroducing tigers to nature.
Putin stated that the talks took place in a business-oriented and constructive atmosphere and that important agreements were signed in many fields, including energy, finance, health, education and agriculture. Vladimir Putin: “Last year, our trade volume was approximately 29 billion dollars, and of course we are taking firm steps towards the 30 billion dollar level.” he said. Putin said that a large amount of Kazakh oil is transported through Russia, cooperation in the energy sector is expanding and the Balkhash Nuclear Power Plant project will be carried out with Russian financing.
Explaining that the two countries carry out joint work in the fields of transportation logistics, digitalization, high technology and artificial intelligence, Putin stated that their cooperation to protect the Caspian Sea ecosystem continues. Putin also pointed out the importance of the joint project to re-increase the population of Amur tigers and shared the information that more than 60 thousand Kazakh students are studying in Russia.
The Russian leader touched upon the importance of the widespread use of Russian in Kazakhstan and stated that a similar educational institution would be opened in Astana after the “Sirius” school in Almaty. Putin added that Kazakhstan and Russia have similar positions on international issues and that the current visit will further strengthen the multifaceted strategic partnership between the two countries.
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