MOSCOW, July 3 - RIA Novosti. Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Wednesday on the margins of the SCO summit in Astana.
Below is background information on interstate relations between Russia and Kazakhstan.
Diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan were established on October 22, 1992. Bilateral ties and cooperation are governed by an extensive legal framework (more than 400 treaties and agreements have been signed). The basic Russian-Kazakhstani documents are the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance (1992), the Declaration on Eternal Friendship and Union oriented to the XXI century (1998), the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan on Good Neighborliness and Union in the XXI century (2013).
The two countries maintain intensive political contacts at the highest and highest levels. Regular telephone conversations between the leaders of the two countries and on the line of heads of government are held.
In 2022, there were more than 10 face-to-face meetings between the presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan, and 20 times the leaders talked on the phone.
On February 10, 2022 Vladimir Putin and Kasym-Jomart Tokayev held talks in Moscow. The heads of state discussed the prospects for further development of bilateral allied relations, issues of integration cooperation in the Eurasian space and current international problems. On the same day, Kasym-Jomart Tokayev met with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. "On the margins" of the visit of the President of Kazakhstan signed a number of documents laying the foundation for the development of ties in strategic areas of cooperation - education, digitalization, space exploration and peaceful use of nuclear energy.
May 16, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in a meeting of leaders of CSTO member states, which was held in Moscow. After the CSTO summit, Vladimir Putin had a conversation with Kasym-Jomart Tokayev.
June 17, Vladimir Putin met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev "on the margins" of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
June 29 Putin and Tokayev took part in the sixth Caspian Summit in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan).
Another meeting of the presidents was held on August 19 in Sochi.
October 7, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in an informal meeting of leaders of CIS member states in St. Petersburg.
On October 13-14, the Russian president paid a visit to Kazakhstan, where he took part in the sixth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
On November 27-28, Kasym-Jomart Tokayev paid an official visit to Moscow. The heads of the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan signed a Declaration on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan.
December 26, Kasym-Jomart Tokayev took part in an informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg.
May 9, 2023 President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attended the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow.
A bilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia and Kazakhstan was also held.
May 24, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Moscow on a working visit to participate in a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.
On October 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in a ceremony to mark the launch of Russian gas supplies to Uzbekistan via Kazakhstan. The launch took place in the format of videoconference.
Vladimir Putin also held a bilateral meeting with Kasym-Jomart Tokayev.
October 17, Vladimir Putin, Kasym-Jomart Tokayev and Shavkat Mirziyoyev held an informal meeting on the margins of the international forum "One Belt, One Road" in Beijing.
On November 9, the official visit of the Russian President to Kazakhstan took place.
Vladimir Putin and Kasym-Jomart Tokayev in the videoconference mode took part in the plenary session of the XIX Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan.
Then the heads of state held talks in a narrow and extended format, which resulted in the signing of a package of documents, including a joint statement on the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty between Russia and Kazakhstan on good-neighborliness and alliance in the XXI century.
December 25, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, which was held in St. Petersburg,
December 26 - in an informal meeting of leaders of CIS member countries.
February 21, 2024 President of Kazakhstan Kasym-Jomart Tokayev took part in the opening ceremony of the international tournament "Games of the Future" in Kazan.
A bilateral meeting between Vladimir Putin and Kasym-Jomart Tokayev was also held.
May 8, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the anniversary meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, which was held in Moscow.
On May 9, the President of Kazakhstan attended a military parade to mark the 79th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
There is also cooperation within the SCO and CSTO.
On January 5, 2022, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev requested CSTO assistance "in overcoming the terrorist threat" after riots broke out in the country amid protests against a twofold increase in the price of liquefied gas.
The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to send a collective peacekeeping force to Kazakhstan to normalize the situation in the country. Military personnel from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan took part in the operation. They were entrusted with the protection of strategically important facilities. On January 13, it was announced about the successful completion of the CSTO mission. On January 19, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Defense stated that there were no more foreign military personnel in the republic.
An active dialog is maintained at the level of heads of government, ministries and agencies of the two countries.
February 2, 2023 in Alma-Ata held talks between Mikhail Mishustin and Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov "on the margins" of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.
On June 8, Mikhail Mishustin and Alikhan Smailov held a meeting "on the margins" of the meetings of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council and the CIS Council of Heads of Government in Sochi.
July 10, Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov took part in the international industrial exhibition Innoprom-2023 in Yekaterinburg.
September 24-25, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Astana, where he took part in the international industrial exhibition "Innoprom. Kazakhstan".
The Prime Minister spoke at the plenary session "Industrial Strategies of New Times" and together with the heads of government of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan toured the thematic expositions of the exhibition. Mikhail Mishustin also took part in the meeting of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev with the heads of delegations of the countries - participants of "Innoprom. Kazakhstan".
December 18, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov visited Moscow, where a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS member states was held.
February 1, 2024, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov and Chairman of the Government of Russia Mikhail Mishustin met in Almaty. The talks were held on the eve of the meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.
March 4, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov visited Moscow. For him it was the first foreign visit after his appointment as head of the government of Kazakhstan.
May 24, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan took part in a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of CIS member states, which was held in Moscow.
Between the countries maintain active contacts between the foreign policy departments.
On April 11, 2023, Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, paid an official visit to Russia. The visit to Moscow was Nurtleu's first foreign trip after his appointment to the post. Following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a plan of action on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2023-2024 was signed.
November 8, the heads of the foreign ministries of Russia and Kazakhstan Sergei Larov and Murat Nurtleu held a meeting in Astana ahead of the visit of the President of the Russian Federation to Kazakhstan.
November 30, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a brief meeting with Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu "on the margins" of the meeting of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers in Skopje (Northern Macedonia).
On December 5, Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu visited Moscow to participate in a meeting of foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states.
On March 2, 2024 the heads of foreign ministries of Russia and Kazakhstan Sergey Lavrov and Murat Nurtleu held a meeting in Antalya (Turkey) "on the margins" of the third Antalya Diplomatic Forum.
On April 12, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with the heads of foreign ministries of Central Asian states, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, in Minsk, Belarus.
On May 20, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov during his working trip to Astana to participate in the meeting of the SCO foreign ministers met with Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu. On the same day, Sergei Lavrov was received by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during his working trip to Astana.
Another meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries took place on June 10 in Nizhny Novgorod "on the margins" of the meeting of foreign ministers of the BRICS countries.
On June 20-21, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took part in a meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers, which was chaired by Kazakhstan in Almaty.
Interparliamentary cooperation is underway.
On April 12, 2023, a delegation of Kazakh senators headed by Speaker of the House Maulen Ashimbayev arrived in Moscow on an official visit.
The visit included meetings with the Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, which resulted in the signing of a roadmap for the development of interparliamentary cooperation between the Federation Council and the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, and the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.
December 19, the delegation of Kazakh parliamentarians headed by the Chairman of the Majilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Yerlan Koshanov took part in the XVI plenary session of the CSTO PA and the meeting of the Council of the CSTO Assembly, which were held in Moscow.
On March 4, 2024 in Moscow, Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin met with Chairman of the Majilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Yerlan Koshanov to discuss the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation.
Since 2010, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus have been united in the Customs Union. Since January 1, 2012, the Common Economic Space has been in force, which gave additional impetus to broader integration processes in the post-Soviet space. On May 29, 2014, the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union was signed in Astana, which entered into force on January 1, 2015.
Deeply structured trade and economic ties form a solid basis for bilateral interaction.
According to Kazakhstani statistics, in 2022 trade turnover between the countries amounted to 26.1 billion dollars. Exports from Kazakhstan to Russia in 2022 increased by 25% to 8.8 billion dollars. Imports decreased by 1.5% and amounted to 17.3 billion dollars.
At the end of 2023, mutual trade turnover amounted to more than 2.5 trillion rubles.
Kazakhstan's exports to Russia include machinery and equipment, chemical products, metals and metal products, while Kazakhstan's imports from Russia consist mainly of foodstuffs, mineral products, chemical products and timber.
The Russian-Kazakh Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation (IGC) has been functioning since 1997. The 24th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission was held on November 1, 2023 in Turkestan, Kazakhstan.
Russian companies rank fifth among the key investors in terms of the amount of funds invested in Kazakhstan's economy. Over the past 17 years, the amount of investment from Russia in Kazakhstan has reached 19 billion dollars. At the same time, Kazakh investments in Russia amounted to more than 5.6 billion dollars.
As of August 1, 2023, about 18 thousand companies with Russian capital are registered in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan and Russia are jointly implementing more than 100 projects in the industrial sector worth more than 22 billion dollars.
The key area of economic cooperation is the fuel and energy complex. The main transit of Kazakhstani oil to foreign markets goes through Russia, and Russian oil is delivered to China through the territory of Kazakhstan.
Russian and Kazakh enterprises jointly develop world-class fields: Tengiz and Karachaganak. Offshore projects are being implemented in the Kazakh part of the Caspian Sea: "Zhenis", "Al-Farabi". The total cost of these projects is 6.5 billion dollars. In addition, Russia and Kazakhstan have started development of large fields: Kalamkas-sea, Khazar. Lukoil is a strategic partner from the Russian side. The total cost of the project is about five billion dollars.
On October 7, 2023, Russian gas supplies to Uzbekistan via Kazakhstan were launched. By the end of 2023, approximately 800 million cubic meters of gas will be transited. Uzbek authorities plan to increase oil imports from Russia via Kazakhstan to one million tons in 2024.
Russian enterprises are present in various sectors of Kazakhstan's economy: mineral fertilizer production in Zhambyl region ("EuroChem"), gold mining in East Kazakhstan region ("Polymetal"), provision of telecommunication services ("Beeline"), assembly of Lada cars in Ust-Kamenogorsk ("AvtoVAZ"), extraction of non-ferrous metal ores ("Russian Copper Company") and coal ("RUSAL"), production of rolled steel in Kostanai region (Evraz), construction of a pharmaceutical complex in Karaganda (Pharmstandard), production of agricultural machinery in Kokshetau (Rostselmash), assembly plant for the production of Kirovets tractors in Kostanai (JSC Petersburg Tractor Plant), etc.
In order to further develop trade, industry, agro-industrial complex, exhibition and fair activities, transport, fuel and energy complex, ecology, digital economy and international relations, an action plan for the implementation of the Comprehensive Program of Economic Cooperation between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2021-2025 was signed in February 2022 within the framework of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.
There is cooperation in the space sector. Russia leases the Baikonur complex located in Kazakhstan. In August 2018, within the framework of the Army-2018 forum Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the creation of the Baiterek launch complex at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the new Soyuz-5 medium-class rocket. Kazakhstan is responsible for creating ground infrastructure by modernizing the Zenit-M rocket launch complex. Russia is developing Soyuz-5 and Soyuz-6 rockets, which it plans to launch from there. In July 2023, it was reported that Kazakhstan plans to postpone from 2023 to 2025 the testing of the Baiterek joint project with Russia to build a launch pad for a new Soyuz-5 space rocket. The main reason for the possible changes is "the complication of the geopolitical situation in the world, which led to the breakdown of supply chains of components and increased duration of work. The launches of three rockets are planned to be postponed - from 2025 to 2027.
Russia and Kazakhstan cooperate in military and military-technical areas. Russian-made weapons are supplied to Kazakhstan, and assistance is provided in the repair and modernization of Kazakhstani military equipment. Russia leases military testing grounds in Kazakhstan.
In early 2019, Russian Helicopters signed a contract with Kazakhstan Engineering and Aircraft Repair Plant No. 405, under which the assembly of Mi-8AMT and Mi-171 helicopters is to be organized in Kazakhstan, as well as the creation of a helicopter life cycle support system and the training of local specialists. In December 2020, the first helicopter of Kazakhstani Mi-8AMT assembly was presented on the territory of Aircraft Repair Plant No. 405 in Almaty.
The Unified Regional Air Defense System of Russia and Kazakhstan is being improved, and the number of joint combat training events has increased in recent years. Kazakhstani servicemen are studying at Russian Defense Ministry universities.
Special importance is attached to further strengthening of direct ties between enterprises of Russian and Kazakh regions. It has become a tradition to hold thematic annual forums of interregional cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan with the participation of heads of state. In 2023, the XIX Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia was held on November 9 in Kostanai and was dedicated to cooperation in the agro-industrial complex.
In 2024, the XX Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan will be held in Ufa.
There is cooperation in the humanitarian sphere. During the most acute period of the pandemic, Russia came to the aid of the brotherly republic, sending an impressive troop of medical personnel and humanitarian cargoes. Production of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V has been reliably established at the Karaganda pharmaceutical complex. In January 2022, supplies of Sputnik Lite vaccine for revaccination of the population started in Kazakhstan.
Cooperation in the sphere of education and science is a priority. Currently, more than 65 thousand citizens of Kazakhstan are studying in Russian universities (about 30 thousand - at the expense of budgetary allocations and about 35 thousand - on a contractual basis). The parties are mutually interested in establishing branches of leading Russian universities in Kazakhstan. The Kazakhstan branch of Lomonosov Moscow State University, the branch of MAI "Voskhod" in Baikonur, the Ust-Kamenogorsk branch of Plekhanov Russian Economic University, the Kostanay branch of Chelyabinsk State University, the Almaty branch of St. Petersburg Humanitarian University of Trade Unions are already functioning in Kazakhstan. In 2022, a branch of the Russian MEPhI was opened in Almaty.
In 2023, Kazakhstan hosted a large-scale festival of Russian art and culture called Russian Seasons. As part of the festival, Kazakhstan hosted tours of leading Russian theaters, exhibitions, symphony concerts, film screenings, creative laboratories, and master classes by leading Russian cultural institutions.
The international project "Russian Seasons" ended with the gala concert "Duet of Two Capitals", which was held on December 9 in the capital of Kazakhstan State Opera and Ballet Theater "Astana Opera".
Reprinted from RIA Novosti
Komentáře