MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Russia and Kazakhstan are strategic partners, which should seek more common ground for further development of their relations, Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said at a meeting with Chairman of the Senate (upper house of parliament) of Kazakhstan Maulen Ashimbayev.

"We believe that our countries are strategic partners. We should seek more and more common ground for making sure our relations develop, even more so the world is facing many challenges now," Volodin was quoted as saying on the Duma’s website on Thursday.

The current stage of the two countries’ relations is a stage of tests, he noted. "We should pass them with honor, realizing that old friends are better than new ones," State Duma Speaker pointed out.

Russia remains Kazakhstan’s key trade and economic partner, Ashimbayev said, adding that trade turnover between the two countries total around $26 bln. "We will reach the $30 bln target literally within 1-2 years," he noted.