Kazakh, Indian FMs agree to deepen economic, political coop
The sides discussed international and regional agenda and further cooperation between the two foreign offices. Abdrakhmanov and Swaraj stressed positive dynamics of bilateral political contacts at the highest level. Particularly, they revised implementation of agreements reached following the last year visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Astana, as well as his meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in June on the SCO Summit sidelines in Qingdao.
"Following the recent meeting of our presidents in Qingdao, Nazarbayev gave a number of specific instructions to the Kazakh government on forcing bilateral cooperation in the fields of investment, energy, logistics, information technology, space, pharmaceuticals, tourism and film production. These are the key areas we will focus while preparing official high-level events in 2019," Abdrakhmanov noted.
The Kazakh Foreign Minister thanked the Indian side for the shown interest and active participation of the representatives of India in the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Astana, the XI session of the Astana Economic Forum, as well as in the official Opening ceremony of the "Astana" International Financial Center (AIFC).
In 2017, the level of Kazakh-Indian trade reached $1 billion. The parties agreed to continue active cooperation to increase this indicator. In particular, work is under way to expand cooperation in the transport and logistics sector, expanding the potential of the Kazakhstan - Turkmenistan - Iran railway with access to the Indian Ocean.
The parties expressed satisfaction with the fruitful work of the Kazakh-Indian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economy, Science and Technology, Industrial and Cultural Cooperation, as well as the Business Council between the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. Indian business circles showed interest in managing large Kazakh airports, as well as in cooperation within AIFC, International Center for Green Technologies and Investment Projects, the Astana Hub International Technopark of IT-startups.
Regarding multilateral cooperation, further steps have been identified with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of interaction within international organizations, such as the United Nations, the SCO, the CICA. The Kazakh Foreign Ministry stressed that India assisted in the deployment of the Kazakh peacekeeping contingent in the Indian battalion for the UN UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.
One of the important projects of multilateral cooperation is the commencement of negotiations on concluding a Free-trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and India.
The focus of the ministers was also on cultural and humanitarian ties. Kazakhstan thanked India for support in the restoration of the grave of the famous historian, statesman Muhammed Khaydar Dulati in January of this year in the city of Srinagar. In addition, the first steps have been taken to create joint films with Bollywood studios.