ASTANA, November 9. /TASS/. Russia and Kazakhstan can satisfy their agricultural demands in the current environment and will continue to assist partner countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during talks with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
He recalled that food is the foundation of any civilization and state. "Considering what is happening in the world, we have a lot of potential. First of all, I am referring to what is happening in terms of development, especially demographic development. I'm referring to our vast agricultural potential, we have an excellent opportunity to protect our interests and help so many of our global partners. This is exactly what we are doing," Putin said.
Moscow and Astana are cooperating on large-scale initiatives to make and supply high-quality agricultural machinery, Putin added. "Major joint projects in the production and supply of high-quality agricultural machinery are being implemented between the Russian and Kazakh regions," he said.
Putin also noted that Moscow is already Astana’s largest supplier of many products and intends to continue such cooperation. "Russia is a key supplier to Kazakhstan of such product groups as wheat - 98% of imports, barley - the same amount, poultry meat - 80-90%, sugar - up to 70%, fermented milk products - 60-70%," he said.
Putin stated that bilateral trade turnover of agricultural products and food in 2022 rose by 22% to $4 billion and then added another 3% in the first seven months of 2023. "Our country intends to continue to uninterruptedly supply the market of Kazakhstan with these and many other vital, necessary types of food - in accordance with the needs of our colleagues and friends in Kazakhstan," he said.
According to the president, bilateral trade and investment exchanges in the agricultural sector are growing rapidly. Agriculture, he added, is the foundation of a robust economy and is of great interest to both Moscow and Astana. "The development of bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector is one of the priorities of both Russian and Kazakh economic policies," Putin said.