Kazakh leader 'affirms interest' to expand cooperation with Armenia

Kazakhstan's interim president has affirmed his country's interest to develop the friendly relations with Armenia as he met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is Nursultan on a working visit.

Greeting the Armenian leader in his office, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev  also expressed his gratitude to him for extending support to Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to appoint the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, as the chairman of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.

The two state leaders had a non-official meeting on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Council's summit in the country's capital.

According to a press release by the Government, Toqaev highlighted particularly the existing potential of developing the Armenian-Kazakh trade-economic reltations. He also appreciated Armenia's great role in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), reaffirming the Kazakh people's respect for the Armenian people and their history. ''The Armenian market is, in practice, of a great interest to our industry. So we can closely collaborate in the context of Kazakhstan's logistical potentials.With the ministers of foreign affairs, industry and infrastructures being present here today, I suggest issuing specific recommendations to them to elaborate a list of product titles to boost the trade-economic and industrial cooperation between our countries,'' he said.

Thanking the Kazakh leader for a warm reception, Pashinyan admitted that the EAEU offers the two states a good opportunity to foster the economic ties using the unrealized potential. ''We need to contine our work in that direction to fully use the existing potential among all the EAEU member states. I would like to also mention that we follow the political developments in Kazakhstan, and I wish you good luck in the upcoming presidential election. I am confident that Nursultan Nazarbaev's initiatives are proposed in the best interests of Kazakhstan. And I wish all the best to the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kazakh people,'' he added,

Agreeing to Toqaev's proposal over expanding the bilateral partnership, Pashinyan said he has instructed the cabinet ministers to work towards intensifying the economic ties. ''There are presently several Kazakh companies interested in entering into Armenia's market, so we are working jointly now towards realizing that objective,'' he said.  

The two officials also considered the bilateral and multilateral cooperation agendas, emphasizing the mutually developing partnership within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the EAEU and the Commomwealth of Independent States (CIS).

At the end, Pashinyan and Toqaev reiterated the willingness to expand and deepen the Armenian-Kazakh relations.