Kazakh President, Blinken Agree To Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation - Astana

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2023) Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed to deepen security, energy, trade and investment cooperation between their two countries during a meeting in Astana on Tuesday, the president's press office said.

"Your (Blinken's) visit is extremely important in terms of giving additional impetus to our strategic cooperation. We have built a very good and reliable long-term partnerships in so many strategically important areas like security, energy, trade, and investment. So we are ready to have a follow up on this cooperation," Tokayev was quoted by his press office as saying.

During the talks with the top US diplomat, the Kazakh leader also expressed appreciation "for the continuous and firm support of the United States" for the country's independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The US is one of Kazakhstan's largest contributors, with total investments of over $62 billion, Tokayev noted. He also welcomed Washington's efforts to enhance the C5+1 format, which consists of five Central Asian nations and the United States.

Blinken, for his part, thanked Tokayev for the hospitality, praised the political and economic transformations in Kazakhstan, as well as conveyed greetings from the US President Joe Biden.

"It is important, of course, on a bilateral level, to build on the remarkable work that has been done now over more than 30 years, to deepen and strengthen our partnership. And I think just in the last couple of years, we have made further important strides in that direction. The relationship is strong, it will only get stronger. We are committed to that," Blinken said, as quoted by Tokayev's press office.

As part of his visit to Astana, the top US diplomat also met with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi to discuss practical work in bringing the region together.

"The United States is proud to have an established enhanced strategic partnership with Kazakhstan built upon promoting prosperity, strengthening security, and supporting sovereignty in Central Asia," Blinken twitted after his talks with Tileuberdi.

In addition, the US official is scheduled to participate in the C5+1 ministerial meeting later in the day to discuss development of regional cooperation and partnership.

The C5+1 diplomatic platform has been held every year since 2015 between the foreign ministers of the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and the US secretary of sate to discuss cooperation and regional issues.