MOSCOW, November 28. /TASS/. Moscow highly appreciates that Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev paid his first foreign visit to Russia upon his re-election, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, beginning talks with his Kazakh counterpart in the Kremlin on Monday.

"Today’s visit is of particular importance: this is Kassym-Jomart’s first visit after being re-elected as president of Kazakhstan, and it is of a symbolic significance, for it underscores the special nature of our relations," the Russian leader said. "We highly appreciate that," he assured.

Putin emphasized that he has been meeting with Tokayev regularly of late and that the two last met at a Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Yerevan.

"We always use our meetings to discuss the current developments. We primarily discuss the economy, because that has been the foundation of our other successes across various fields," Putin said.

The Russian president pointed to the substantial trade turnover between the two countries’ border areas which, he said, "have been aware of each other’s capabilities more than the center has been and have been developing these relations."

"We saw an increase in trade in 2021, and that has been growing steadily in 2022, too. We have been working both in our traditional and hi-tech spheres which is vital for the future," Putin stressed.