Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart
Tokayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the plenary session
of the 19th Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia
via videoconference. This mutually beneficial platform has already proved its
effectiveness over 20 years of existence. Meanwhile, the interaction between
Kazakhstan and Russia in trade and economic as well as investment spheres demonstrates
steady growth. To date, bilateral trade turnover has reached a record $27
billion, and the volume of direct investment from Russia has exceeded $20
billion. Overall, the cooperation is carried out in nearly all sectors of the
economy, as emphasized by President Tokayev.
“The joint action program in the
field of industrial cooperation has been successfully operating since 2019. To
date, 30 projects worth $3.2 billion have already been implemented under this
program. About 60 other projects worth more than $27 billion are currently at
the implementation or development stage. All this underscores that Kazakhstan
and Russia are strategic partners and allies,” said the Kazakh leader.
This year, the theme of the
interregional forum is the agricultural sector. Therefore, Kazakhstan’s fertile
land of the Kostanai region was chosen to host the event. Kazakh President
highlighted the huge opportunities for expanding trade and mutually beneficial
cooperation in the agro-industrial complex. Thus, Kazakhstan intends to
implement nearly 900 investment projects to increase the share of processed
products. The development of storage infrastructure, including grain elevators,
vegetable and fruit storage facilities, should become another area of
cooperation as it is one of the main factors in the growth of exports.
“In Kazakhstan, the volume of
gross agricultural output has more than doubled over the past five years.
Agricultural exports also doubled, reaching almost $6 billion. Our agricultural
products are exported to 80 countries around the world. Kazakhstan ranked 32nd
out of 113 countries in the 2022 Global Food Security Index. Thus, we are
consistently developing the agro-industrial complex,” noted the Kazakh
President.
Priority is given to cooperation
in agricultural science, seed and crop production, organic fertilizers, as well
as the water resources management. Following the participation in the plenary
session of the 19th Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Kazakhstan and
Russia, the heads of state held talks. President Tokayev emphasized that the
official visit of the Russian President on the eve of the 10th anniversary of
the Treaty on Good Neighborhood and Alliance in the 21st Century is a significant
event in the annals of bilateral relations. For his part, Vladimir Putin
commended the constructive interaction between the two states, including in the
international arena.
