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Russia’s Medvedev to meet with Kazakhstani president, premier

Russia and Kazakhstan maintain intensive political contacts at the highest state level

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

ASTANA, May 29 (Itar-Tass) – Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev plans to have meetings with the leaders of Kazakhstan Tuesday.

He arrived on an official visit in this country Monday night.

The official part of the visit will begin with the talks with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, after which he will meet with his Kazakhstani counterpart, Karim Massimov.

Following the tete-a-tete meetings, the two countries’ delegations with have talks in full force.

On the Russian side, the list of negotiators includes First Deputy Chief of the Government Staff, Sergei Prikhodko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Mikhail Bocharnikov, Trade Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Alexei Likhachov, Deputy Minister of Energy Anatoly Yanovsky, and Deputy Director General of the State Corporation for Atomic Energy, Nikolai Spassky.

Russia and Kazakhstan maintain intensive political contacts at the highest state level. The two countries’ Presidents and Prime Ministers also meet at the conferences of CIS heads of state and government and at other major international forums and have regular telephone conversations.

Contacts are also maintained at the level of ministers and heads of other departments of executive power.

Bilateral economic relations are developing on the basis of a program for economic cooperation in the years 2012 through to 2020. The document was signed November 25, 2011, in Astana.

According to the data provided by Russia’s Federal Customs Service, Russian-Kazakhstani trade grew 30.6% in 2011 versus the previous year and totaled 19 billion U.S. dollars.

More specifically, Russian export to Kazakhstan went up 20.7% to 12.9 billion U.S. dollars and imports from there jumped 54.2% to 6.9 billion U.S. dollars.

Mineral products, metals and metal products, chemical industry produce, foodstuffs, and farming sector products occupy a significant share of Russia exports. Mineral products, metals, rubber, machines, equipment, and transport vehicles make up the bulk of imports from Kazakhstan.

Fuels and energy sector is the key sphere of economic collaboration. Cooperative relations are also developing in the power engineering industry, nuclear industry, and in the production of crude oil and natural gas.

In part, Kazakhstan effectuates the transits of its oil via the Russian territory. Also, the two countries are implementing joint hydrocarbon production projects in the northern section of the Caspian Sea.

Moscow leases the Baikonur Space Center compound in central Kazakhstan and the lease agreement has been prolonged through to 2050.

On the scene of defense and related technologies, Russia exports weaponry and provides assistance in the repairs and modernization of Kazakhstani defense technologies and equipment.

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