MOSCOW, December 23. / TASS /. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his gratitude to Kazakhstan’s leadership for supporting the Russian language in the republic.

"I am very grateful to Kazakhstan’s authorities for their careful attention to the support and development of the Russian language. You know well how many people in Kazakhstan speak Russian. This is a Russian-speaking country in the fullest sense of the word," the president noted.

"The number of schools, where the Russian language is studied, as well as secondary sites of [Russian] universities, is growing," Putin said, mentioning that these educational institutions were very popular.

The head of state also touched upon bilateral economic ties. At the same time, according to Putin, it is necessary to boost cooperation in the high-tech areas: digitalization, genetics, medicine, and space exploration.