Presidents Vladimir Putin and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in the 16th Russia-Kazakhstan Interregional Cooperation Forum, presidential web page reports.
As Putin pointed out, “Russia and Kazakhstan cooperate closely in all key areas, including trade and investment. Last year, trade grew by 4.5% to $18.2 bln, with about 70% of this amount in interregional trade. Seventy-six of 85 Russian regions have mutually beneficial relations with all regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Russia is the largest investor in Kazakhstan’s economy. Accumulated Russian investment in Kazakhstan amounts to $13 bln, and Kazakhstani in Russia almost $4 bln. Over 6.5K joint ventures have been created and operate in different regions of our countries. New interregional projects in trade and investment were also discussed at a meeting of the Russia-Kazakhstan Business Council timed to the forum.”
“Regions in Russia and Kazakhstan are actively developing humanitarian contact as well as ties in education and personnel training. About 74K citizens of Kazakhstan study at Russian universities, including more than 30K that receive grants from the Russian budget. Most of them earn top qualifications in regional universities in the Volga Region, Siberia and the Urals. In addition, a branch of Chelyabinsk State University has been operating successfully in Kostanay for some time. Russian specialists continue helping their Kazakhstani partners train Russian language teachers. Currently, we are exploring the possibility of opening Russian-Kazakhstani schools and a university in Kazakhstan,” he added. “Russia is interested in increasing industrial cooperation in border areas and creating joint ventures. Positive examples of this interaction include building an oil refinery in the Orenburg Region, which will use crude oil from Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak field, and developing the cross-border Vesenne-Aralchinsky copper ore deposit.”