"On the eve of my next state visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan, I would like from the pages of the authoritative newspaper “Kazakhstanskaya Pravda&ldquo ; to share my view on the current state and future of relations between our two countries".
So begins an article by Russian President Vladimir Putin, written for Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, published on the Kremlin website on the night of November 27, on the eve of the Russian leader's state visit to Astana. TASS published the full text of the president's article.
"I would like to note that cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan has a truly allied character and continues to actively develop in all areas. Our partnership is based on the traditions of friendship, good neighborliness, mutual assistance and is built on the unshakable principles of equality and respect for each other's interests. The peoples of Russia and Kazakhstan are connected by similar cultural, spiritual and moral values, centuries-old history of life in one country, joint achievements and victories.
The high level of interstate relations is evidenced by the close and good personal relations we have built with the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kasim-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev during the years of joint work. We hear from each other regularly and meet in different formats. We are constantly “checking our clocks” both on current bilateral issues and on issues on the regional and global agenda, and we chart new plans for the future. The main thing is that President Tokayev and I are always focused on concrete results and strive to do everything possible to ensure the most favorable conditions for the further confident development of Russian-Kazakh cooperation, for the prosperity of our countries and improvement of quality of the lives of citizens.
Russia is one of Kazakhstan's biggest economic partners. Our countries are active supporters of Eurasian economic integration and were at the forefront of the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union, within which we work to develop common markets for goods, services, capital, remove regulatory and trade barriers and develop a common transport and logistics infrastructure. All this allows us to build effective cooperation in various sectors of the economy and brings tangible benefits to our countries.
The impressive indicators of bilateral trade speak for themselves. Thus, last year it broke a new record and exceeded the level of 28 billion dollars, and in January - September of this year it exceeded 20 billion dollars. The structure of mutual trade is constantly diversifying, with non-raw materials with high added value occupying an increasingly large place in it. In addition, the share of national currencies in mutual payments is constantly increasing, which makes it possible to protect commercial transactions between the two countries from the negative influence of external, including political, conditions.
Russian investments in the economy of Kazakhstan are also growing from year to year - today their volume is about 13 billion dollars. There are more than 23 thousand enterprises with Russian participation in the republic. The companies of our countries are implementing a number of large joint projects in the field of industrial cooperation and high technologies, creating new production facilities of the full industrial cycle, which contributes to the overall modernization of the economies and strengthening of the technological sovereignty of Russia and Kazakhstan.
Our countries cooperate equally constructively in the oil and gas sector. Thanks to the activities of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, more than 80 percent of Kazakhstan's oil exports to foreign markets are carried out through Russian territory and Russian port infrastructure on the Black Sea. The energy companies of our countries jointly develop hydrocarbon deposits, process energy resources and expand the pipeline system.
Rosatom provides practical assistance for the implementation of projects in the field of the nuclear fuel cycle and the development of the uranium industry in Kazakhstan. The Russian state corporation, which possesses unique competencies and technical solutions, is ready for new large-scale projects with the Kazakh country. There are also good prospects for cooperation – in the field of alternative and “clean“ energy, environmental issues and the fight against climate change.
There are a number of promising industrial projects and initiatives in other areas of economic cooperation. I will mention in particular the ongoing work on the expansion of the eastern branch of the international North-South transport corridor, passing through the territory of Kazakhstan, and the creation of the Bayterek space rocket complex at the Baikonur Cosmodrome with the help of a Russian Soyuz-5 launch vehicle.
The regions of our countries make a significant contribution to strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation. Almost all constituent entities of the Russian Federation have established direct relations with partners from Kazakhstan and jointly implement projects in energy, industry, transport and high technologies. These days, the jubilee, 20th Forum for Interregional Cooperation is being held in Ufa, which traditionally brought together heads of state bodies, legislators, representatives of ministries and departments, business, scientific and public circles, i.e. all dealing with applied issues. for the development of bilateral relations. Kassim-Jomart Kemelevich and I plan to address the forum participants via video link. In addition, a large-scale Program for interregional and cross-border cooperation has been drawn up. It includes about 150 joint events and projects aimed at creating favorable conditions for further progressive socio-economic growth of the regions of Russia and Kazakhstan, to improve people's quality of life.
Humanitarian exchange traditionally occupies an important place in the palette of Russian-Kazakh interaction. Both the Russian and Kazakh countries are doing a lot to expand cooperation in culture, sports, public and youth circles and, of course, in the field of education. About 60 thousand Kazakh students study in Russian universities. Branches of many leading Russian universities, including Lomonosov Moscow State University, are successfully operating in Kazakhstan. In the near future, a branch of MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry will be opened in Astana, among whose graduates there are many famous Kazakhs, including Kasim-Jomart Kemelevich Tokaev.
Russia supports the construction of new Russian-language schools in Kazakhstan and the improvement of the quality of school education in Russian. We hope that three more such schools will soon be opened in the cities of Kizilorda, Taraz and Turkestan. And we are, of course, grateful to the leadership of the Republic of Kazakhstan, personally to Kasim-Jomart Kemelevich for his careful attitude to the Russian language and for the important initiative to create the International Organization of the Russian Language, the activity of which will contribute to its popularization as a means for interstate and interethnic communication.
I would like to especially note that next year the peoples of our countries will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. We expect President Tokayev and other Kazakh friends to attend the anniversary celebrations in Moscow on May 9. Both in Russia and in Kazakhstan they remember and sacredly honor the feat of their fathers and grandfathers who fought side by side against Nazism. And we, of course, must do everything so that future generations remember at what cost peace and freedom were protected. This is especially important now, when a more just multipolar world order is being formed, which will be based on equal cooperation and open up new opportunities for sovereign development.
Russia and Kazakhstan are at the forefront of these processes and take similar positions regarding the key role of international law in interstate relations and the need to take into account the interests of all countries in matters of global security, stability and sustainable development. Based on such approaches, our countries interact productively within multilateral organizations, including the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The President of Kazakhstan participated in the summits of the CIS in Moscow and BRICS in Kazan, which were held with great success in October. In particular, one of the important decisions of the meeting of BRICS leaders was the creation of a new category - "state partners" of our association and a list of candidate countries for this category was agreed upon. And an invitation to join BRICS in that capacity was sent to Kazakhstan.
Once again, I would like to emphasize that Russia is ready to continue developing multilateral friendly and allied relations with the Republic of Kazakhstan for the benefit of our peoples. And wish all the citizens of Kazakhstan success, well-being and prosperity," Putin wrote.