Kazakh President Qasym-Jomart Toqaev took part in the 8th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan, infohub.kz reports.
In his address, the head of state emphasized the symbolism of today's meeting, as it takes place in the year marking the 35th anniversary of the independence of the Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan.
– Over these years, we have traversed a long, difficult, truly thorny yet fruitful path that has encompassed an entire era. We have strengthened our sovereignty, formed our own development models, and taken a worthy place in the international community. Central Asia and Azerbaijan are today rightly considered centers of growth and geopolitical interaction in Eurasia. But most importantly, thanks to the wisdom and unity of our brotherly peoples, we live in peace and harmony. Cohesion, mutual support, and trust have become our common strategic pillar, enabling us to jointly respond to the challenges of the times. Amid growing geopolitical tensions, the transformation of the international relations architecture, and deepening dividing lines, this trend is becoming particularly relevant, the head of state said.
The president shared Kazakhstan's vision on key issues of further interaction in the region with the participants of the consultative meeting.
– Thanks to joint efforts, the trade and economic dimension is being filled with new content every year. The number of joint ventures is growing, business ties are strengthening, and major projects are being implemented in industry, mechanical engineering, energy, agriculture, and other sectors. Trade barriers are being consistently removed, border checkpoints are opening, and road and rail links are expanding. But the potential of the domestic market, as we understand, is far from exhausted. Last year, intraregional trade amounted to about $13 billion – roughly 8% of our states' total trade turnover. Therefore, I propose instructing the governments to develop and adopt a joint action plan aimed at increasing this figure to at least $20 billion, with a consistent rise in the share of mutual trade, Qasym-Jomart Toqaev proposed.