President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in the second Central Asia-Russia summit.
In his address, Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev thanked President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon for the warm welcome and impeccable organization of the summit. The President of Kazakhstan expressed special gratitude to President Vladimir Putin for his contribution to strengthening friendship, solidarity, and strategic partnership between the countries of Central Asia and Russia.
"The potential of Central Asia, its current and future role as a dynamically developing region in global processes, is recognized by the world's leading countries. This explains their growing interest in negotiations in this format. However, due to historical, political, economic, and humanitarian factors, Russia holds particular significance for Kazakhstan. It's worth mentioning one fact: the border between our countries is the longest in the world (7,591 km). Therefore, despite unprecedented geopolitical upheavals and the instability of the global economic situation, Russia has been, remains, and will remain an ally and strategic partner of Kazakhstan. It is gratifying that the situation in the Central Asian region itself has evolved in recent years toward political solidarity, economic cooperation, and cultural and spiritual unity. This positive trend, which has become irreversible, gives the region a new quality as a promising and significant partner of the Russian state," said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The President emphasized that the first Central Asia–Russia summit, held three years ago in Astana, marked the beginning of productive cooperation in a multilateral format.
"Today's meeting aims to give new impetus to long-term multilateral ties with Russia. In my view, the primary goal of such a partnership is to strengthen stability in the Central Asian region in order to create conditions for the more successful development of multifaceted cooperation," he noted.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that the volume of bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and Russia reached $28 billion in 2024.
In his speech, the President outlined current areas for further multilateral and bilateral cooperation between the countries of the region and Russia. He named the development of trade and industrial cooperation as the top priority.
"At the first summit, we agreed to begin developing a new model of economic cooperation. The Joint Action Plan being adopted today includes over 50 measures. This is a very important document. Therefore, we must make every effort to ensure its timely implementation. Trade with Russia accounts for a third of the total trade turnover of Central Asian countries. By the end of 2024, it had grown by 20%, exceeding $50 billion. More than half of this volume is accounted for by bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and Russia, which reached $28 billion last year. Russia has become one of the largest investors in the Kazakh economy, investing over $26 billion in its development. The inflow of Russian investment last year alone increased by 33%, exceeding $4 billion. This was made possible by the accelerated development of industrial cooperation. 114 projects with an investment volume of over $21 billion have been implemented. 33 projects worth over $4.5 billion are currently under implementation," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized.
He stated that the parties support the gradual elimination of all trade barriers, the intensification of mutual trade, and the expansion of the range of trade turnover.
"The creation of border trade zones, regular forums of border regions, business forums, exhibitions and fairs, and the development of electronic trading platforms facilitate the solution of these problems. A network of joint trade and industrial zones and industrial hubs is currently being formed in Central Asia. These platforms create conditions for localizing production, cooperating across the entire value chain, and ensuring stable supplies. The participation of Russian businesses in such projects facilitates the long-term presence of Russian-made goods in our markets," the President believes.By the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda
