MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. Moscow and Astana have succeeded in taking bilateral trade to new impressive levels, achieving the record benchmark of $28 billion last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an article for the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda daily, published ahead of his visit to Astana.

"Russia is one of Kazakhstan's major economic partners," Putin wrote. "The impressive volume of our bilateral trade speaks for itself. Last year it reached a new peak hitting the USD 28 billion mark, and already exceeded USD 20 billion between January and September 2024. "

Putin reiterated that Moscow and Astana have actively supported Eurasian economic integration and were among the founders of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

The organization, which lists Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, is aimed at developing a common market of goods, services and capital, removing regulatory and trade barriers and creating a common transport and logistics infrastructure.

"All of this enables us to cooperate effectively in various economic areas and substantially benefits our countries," Putin said.