Kazakh President attends 14th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization

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NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in the 14th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization held virutally, the Akorda press service informs.

Leaders from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan attended the Summit.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addressing those gathered expressed gratitude to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for assistance rendered to Kazakhstan in the fight against COVID-19.

The Head of State drew attention to overcoming negative economic consequences of the pandemic. Thanks to realization of the anti-crisis plan backed by financial resources, Kazakhstan could minimize negative impact of the pandemic and achieved growth in construction, agriculture and manufacturing industries. He added that Kazakhstan expects GDP growth by more than 3%.

The Head of State pointed out cooperation with the Economic Cooperation Organization one of the priorities of the country’s foreign policy.

According to him, large infrastructure and social projects should lay the ground for cooperation within the Organization. «One of the most promising projects is the Trans-Caspian international transport route built jointly with China. In particular, the container train en route Xian- Istanbul-Prague bridging Kazakhstan, China, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey was launched in November 2019. Last April the first container train ran along Xian-Izmir route. It covered 7,000 km for 16 days. These are the good examples of our cooperation,» the Head of State said.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that Kazakhstan works at establishing a network of wholesale distribution and logistics centres. «Food security and availability are the common problem, that’s why joining efforts for building efficient logistics has great potential. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan create an international centre of trade and economic cooperation on the border,» the President stated.

Besides, President Tokayev briefed on the tourism potential which despite the pandemic remains one of the promising directions of cooperation. Kazakhstan targets to increase tourism share up to 8% to GDP by 2025.

In a conclusion Kassym-Jomart Tokayev wished Turkmenistan successful ECO chairmanship.


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