During the meeting with Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that he with great pleasure accepted the invitation to visit Qatar. He stressed the high importance of his first state visit to the country.
Qatar is a key and reliable partner of Kazakhstan in the Islamic work. I believe that it is time to give a new impetus to our two-way cooperation. I propose to take the cooperation between Kazakhstan nad Qatar to the level of full strategic partnership. During my visit, important documents that are to make our cooperation strategic are to be signed. We attach great importance to our relations as Qatar is a special country for us. We’re ready to take every effort to further strengthen our bilateral ties. I express gratitude for the hospitality we received, said the Kazakh leader.
For his part, Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with pleasure welcomed the visit of Kazakh President Tokayev.
Your Excellency, Mr. President, I’m glad that you’re in our country on your first state visit. I’m sure that today’s meeting will contribute to further development of relations between our countries. We once met in Astana. Today’s talks will help us review the implementation of the agreements reached during the last talks and set plans for the future. As part of our cooperation, we’re interested in implementing projects in energy, trade and economy and investment spheres. We express hope that meeting representatives of major companies will further promote our partnership in these spheres, said the Amir of the State of Qatar.
During the meeting, the Kazakh President highlighted the high level of Kazakhstani-Qatari relations established over the past 30 years.
According to him, Kazakhstan and Qatar have established close political dialogue, expand economic partnership, develop cultural and humanitarian ties. The bilateral agreements signed in the past three years serve as the firm foundation for greater cooperation between the countries in different spheres.
The Kazakh President believes that in the near future, Qatar will enter into the list of top 10 investors of Kazakhstan. The Head of State expressed readiness of his country to increase the export to Qatar of 60 non-primary commodities for the total amount of $250 million. He also suggested increasing the mutual trade to $500 million in the near future.
The meeting also focused on the issues of cooperation in agriculture, transport, logistics, and tourism. In particular, the Kazakh leader called on Qatar for joint efforts to develop an inter-modal transport network connecting the Gulf and Central Asia to stimulate the economic activity in the region. As of today, Kazakhstan is among the top 10 wheat and flour producers. The country plans to increase the area of irrigated land to 3 million hectares. Tokayev believes there are reasons to expand cooperation in the agricultural sphere.
Special attention was attached to the issues of strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties. The Head of State proposed to hold the Days of Culture of Kazakhstan and Qatar in the capitals of the two counties in 2025. He expressed confidence that these measures will bring the people of the countries closer and demonstrate the richness of their cultural heritage.
In addition, the current issues of regional and international agenda were discussed.
By Kazinform
