Billions, projects and Putin’s visit: Tokayev meets Russian Prime Minister
During the meeting, the parties noted the consistent strengthening of the strategic partnership and allied relations between Kazakhstan and Russia, as well as the strong dynamics of mutually beneficial dialogue and effective implementation of agreements reached at the highest level.
The Head of State emphasized that Mikhail Mishustin’s participation in the meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council and the Digital Forum in Shymkent is further confirmation of the special nature of Kazakh-Russian relations and the mutual desire to further develop them.
"You know how economic cooperation between our states is developing at the bilateral level. Already 122 major projects worth about 25 billion dollars have been implemented. Trade volume is confidently approaching 30 billion dollars. We can say that these are unique results. Russia is our main trade, economic and investment partner, and we are certainly pleased with this," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
The main focus of the meeting was on preparations for the state visit of the President of the Russian Federation to Kazakhstan.
As Tokayev emphasized, Astana considers the upcoming visit a very important event that is expected to give a serious boost to the further development of strategic partnership and allied relations between the two countries.
According to him, as part of the preparations, the entire range of multifaceted bilateral cooperation was reviewed again.
The Chairman of the Russian Government expressed gratitude to President Tokayev for the traditionally warm reception in Kazakhstan.
He congratulated Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the successful nationwide referendum and the adoption of the new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
According to Mikhail Mishustin, the referendum confirmed nationwide support for the President of Kazakhstan’s course toward building an effective state, developing the economy, and improving citizens’ welfare.
"Taking this opportunity, please allow me to convey best wishes from the President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The day before, I discussed in detail the agenda of our bilateral relations with him, as well as preparations for his visit to you in May. The government is doing everything to ensure that this visit, like the previous ones, is successful. We warmly recall your visit to the Russian Federation in November last year. All the tasks set by our leaders are currently being implemented by the governments," Mikhail Mishustin said.
The meeting also included an exchange of views on a number of current issues on the bilateral agenda.
It is worth noting that Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin arrived in Kazakhstan on a working visit on March 25. On the same day in Astana, he held talks with Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
The talks focused on trade, economic and investment cooperation, implementation of projects in industry and energy, transport, as well as cooperation in environmental issues.
Russia is among the leaders in terms of investment in Kazakhstan’s economy. Over the first nine months of last year, 2.1 billion dollars in Russian investments were attracted. Over 20 years, the total volume of direct Russian investments reached 28.5 billion dollars. Kazakhstan invested 9 billion dollars in Russia’s economy.