MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk and Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin, who are the co-chairs of the bilateral intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation, met in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, the Russian government said on its website.

According to the statement, the co-chairs "had a detailed discussion about joint measures to develop cooperation in the spheres of transport and logistics, energy, agriculture; they looked into the implementation of projects in the sphere of tourism and examined prospects for deepening integration processes within the Eurasian Economic Union."

"We value the Kazakh side’s readiness to expand our cooperation in the energy sphere," Overchuk said. "Together with Kazakhstan, we are interested in developing the North-South transport corridor. The development of transport routes towards the People’s Republic of China is also important for us."

The statement says that Kazakhstan is Russia’s fifth largest trade partner, with metals, food and machinery accounting for the bulk of Russian exports to the country.

"The countries rely on national currencies in mutual payments. They account for 88% of all transactions," the Russian government said.