Kazakhstan envoy hails ties with India upon completion of 30 years of diplomatic relationship

New Delhi [India], November 10 (ANI): As India and Kazakhstan celebrate the establishment of 30 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Kazakhstan's ambassador to India Nurlan Zhalgasbayev here in New Delhi, hailed ties with India and said that both the countries are enjoying strong economic cooperation and also highlighted the trade cooperation between the two countries.
"Today we celebrate the Republic day of Kazakhstan and also the establishment of the diplomatic relationship between India and Kazakhstan. Over these 30 years, we established strong, political dialogue between our leaders and also we are enjoying very strong economic cooperation between the two countries. Last year, we reached the volume of 2 billion US Dollars of trade turnover and this year we hope we will manage to increase this volume", said the envoy.
Further talking about the upcoming Kazakhstan elections, the envoy added that whoever comes to power, the relationship between Kazakhstan and India will remain the same.
"Next year, we expect the President of Kazakhstan will visit India. During his stay here in India, we are planning to arrange some business forums and also meetings in various spheres like mining, transportation, logistics, pharmaceuticals and others. On the 20th of November, we will have early Presidential Elections in Kazakhstan. We have six candidates running for Presidency and this election is going to be free and transparent. Anyway, whatever candidate will win, our relations will remain strategic and friendly", he said.
The early Presidential election in Kazakhstan will take place on November 20, 2022. This was outlined in a decree, signed by the President of Kazakhstan Kassym- Jomart Tokayev and published on September 21, 2022.
In addition, the Head of State outlined the recent reforms and transformations in Kazakhstan which included the establishment of the Constitutional Court, a 'none of the above' option on ballot papers for all elections, a 30 per cent quota for Women and young people in pre-election party lists, etc.
On Kazakhstan's foreign policy, he added that Kazakhstan is interested in continuing cooperation with international and regional organisations, including the United Nations, Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), among others.
India and Central Asia share longstanding historical, cultural, political, and economic relations. Of the five Central Asian countries speaking of India-Kazakhstan relations, India was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Kazakhstan in the year 1991 followed by the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries in the year 1992. (ANI)