ASTANA, November 27. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will begin his two-day state visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
He is expected to discuss various cooperation aspects and take part in the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
State visit
In July 2024, the Russian leader took part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana. This time, he will travel to the country on a state visit - the highest status in the diplomatic protocol.
The visit will begin in Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s Akorda residence. According to the Kremlin press service, The leaders will discuss issues pertaining to further development of Russia-Kazakhstan strategic partnership and allied relationship in various areas, particularly in the light of this year's presidencies of Kazakhstan in the CSTO and of Russia in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and BRICS.
Following the talks, a Joint Statement by the Heads of State will be adopted. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said it will outline the bilatearl strategic partnership amid a new global order and will cover the most relevant issues of Russian-Kazakh political dialogue, trade and economic cooperation, as well as cultural and humanitarian ties.
In all, Russia and Kazakhstan will sign about 20 intergovernmental, interdepartmental documents and commercial agreements. They cover literally all the most important areas of bilateral cooperation: from energy and transport to healthcare and justice.
Russia’s official delegation that will accompany Putin on his state visit will include nearly all government members to cover all items on the talks’ agenda. Among the delegation members will be Deputy Prime Ministers Alexander Novak and Alexey Overchuk, Ministers of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit, Minister of Construction Irek Faizullin, Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev, Justice Minister Konstantin Chiuchenko, Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Director of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) Sergey Dabkvert, Director of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) Anna Popova, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.
As the Russian president's aide noted earlier, the very fact of the state visit underlines the successful development of bilateral relations.
"Last year, trade turnover between Russia and Kazakhstan set a new record and came close to $30 billion. In 2023, mutual trade grew to a record $28.4 billion. Over the first 9 months of this year, this figure amounted to $20.6 billion. Moreover, the share of national currencies in mutual settlements is almost 90%," he said.
As part of the state visit, talks at the highest level will first be held in a narrow format, and then in an expanded format.
After the talks, the leaders of the two countries will take part in a plenary session of the 20th anniversary forum of interregional cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan via video link, which is being held on November 26-27 in Ufa. Also, in a video conference mode, the leaders of the two countries will take part in the opening of a branch of the Kazakh National University named after Al-Farabi at the Dostoevsky Omsk University.
CSTO summit
On the following day, the Russian leader will focus on the CSTO summit. The session of the CSTO Collective Security Council will examine the results of this year's interaction within the organization and identify the main tracks for further improvement of the collective security system. An exchange of views on current international and regional issues will also take place.
Putin will hold a media stakeout to sum up the results of his visit.