TEHRAN (Iran News) – Ambassador of Republic of Kazakhstan to Tehran Askhat Orazbay hopes by removal of the cruel sanctions, the economic ties between Iran and Kazakhstan would broaden, adding that recent visit of the 30-man Kazakh trade delegation to Tehran and signing the MoUs in the fields of exports, imports and logistics indicate the relations of the two countries are being revived in different fields.
ECO Cultural Institute in Tehran on Sunday held a roundtable on achievements of Kazakhstan in its 30 years of independence. Addressing the meeting, Orazbay termed Iran of the first countries which immediately recognized Kazakhstan’s independence in 1991 and set up its embassy in Nur-Sultan.
He said Kazakhstan understands very well the stance of Iran in the region and the world and respects it, adding that Kazakhstan has not taken any action against Iran even during the harshest, cruel and unfair sanctions against Tehran.
He noted that Kazakhstan has very deep-rooted social, cultural and lingual commonalities with Iran and it has never had border, economic and political disputes with Tehran. He expressed hope in the near future and with the containing the COVID-19 and removal of sanctions, both countries would witness broadened trade and economic relations.
Orazbay went on to say that currently some major steps have been taken in the bilateral relations and a couple of days ago a 30-man Kazakh trade delegation visited Tehran and they signed important MoUs and it indicates that Iran and Kazakhstan’s relations in different field are being revived.
Direct flight between Iran and Kazakhstan was one of the issues which was touched upon by the Kazakh diplomat as he said currently there are regular direct flights between the city of Gorgan of Iran to Aktau Port of Kazakhstan and the direct flight between Tehran and Almaty is available and even passengers of the neighboring countries take advantage of this flight.
He then pointed to the achievements of Kazakhstan since the fall of the former Soviet Unions and independence of Kazakhstan in 1991. He said that after gaining independence, President Nursultan Nazarbayev immediately began economic reforms and now Kazakhstan has been among the most successful republics of the former Soviet Union which has been able to change its economy from communist to free economy.
Orazbay reiterated that in 2001,namely 10 years after its independence, Kazakhstan was the first republic of the former Soviet Union which was recognized by the West as a country with free economy. He added in terms of area, Kazakhstan is the seventh country in the world, adding that Kazakhstan is also peace-loving country which has no enemy and it has no border dispute with any country.
He said his country has some 7,500 kilometers of border land with Russia which has been registered in the Guinness Book of Records. He said some 137 different races and ethnic groups live in Kazakhstan with respecting each other.
He then said Kazakhstan built the city of Astana from scratch as for its capital which was later named Nur-Sultan after its first president Nazarbayev.
Congratulating Iran on joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Orazbay added that they expect the first vice president of the Islamic Republic of Iran to travel to Kazakhstan and attend this important meeting for the first time.
Orazbay went on to say that Kazakhstan has the biggest economy in the Central Asia and said the GDP of the country is more than the total GDPs of four other countries in the region. He said during the Soviet Union era Kazakhstan was famous for producing wheat but it began other industries like planemaking and car-making.
The Kazakh Ambassador reiterated that Kazakhstan since its independence in 1991 has attracted $350b of direct foreign investment and in the 2020 World Bank rankings, the country was ranked 20 in terms of value of currency.
On the tourism activities, he said that the historic and sacred city of Turkistan will turn into a tourism hub as the country spent $1b for its tourism infrastructures in 2020 despite the pandemic.
The roundtable was held by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Iran, jointly with the Cultural Institute of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the participation of representatives of Iranian expert and “think tanks”, the business community, prominent cultural figures of Iran, as well as friends of Kazakhstan.
Meanwhile the President of the ECO Cultural Center S.Bakhti called the wide acknowledgment of the country’s leadership in its region as the main success of Kazakhstan over the years of independent development. As proof of it, he cited high economic indicators of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the volume of attracted investments over $350 billion. Achievements in the scientific and educational development of the state were especially highlighted while the President K.Tokayev’s project known as “500 scientists” was given a high appraisal.
The key speakers of the roundtable were the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Iran A.Orazbay, the President of the ECO Cultural Institute Bakhti, the ex-Ambassador of Iran to the Republic of Kazakhstan M.Damirchilu, leading experts on the CIS and Central Asia – Head of the International Academic Cooperation of the Allameh Tabataba’i University Professor M.Tisheyar and Head of Center for Eurasia of the University of Tehran Professor E.Koolaee.
Likewise, within the framework of the roundtable there were launched a photo exhibition demonstrating the main milestones of independence and significant events, as well as historical monuments and picturesque corners of Kazakhstan.
Kazakh musical compositions were performed and national souvenir exhibits were displayed to the guests.
