By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev highlighted Tuesday the importance of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s visit to the country in developing trade in talks in the nation’s capital of Astana.
“Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted the importance of the visit of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands in terms of giving additional impetus to the development of trade and economic relations between Astana and Amsterdam,” according to a statement by the Kazakh Presidency.
It said Tokayev and Rutte assessed prospects for expanding interaction between the two countries in the political, economic cultural and humanitarian spheres.
The leaders discussed ways to strengthen trade, economic, energy and investment cooperation, as well as contacts in transport, innovation, nuclear energy, agriculture, health care, climate and water resources management, it noted
The statement also said that they exchanged views on current issues on the international and regional agenda, in addition to the importance of continuing dialogue within the framework of Kazakh-EU interaction.
Expressing his appreciation for Rutte’s contribution to promoting and developing cooperation between the two countries, Tokayev was cited as saying that the Netherlands is the largest investor in the Kazakh economy.
“The volume of direct investment exceeded $120 billion. Our countries are implementing large-scale joint projects,” said Tokayev.
Rutte appreciated the level of partnership between both countries and expressed his thoughts in favor of intensifying interactions.
“I have deep respect for Kazakhstan’s balanced position on the regional and international agenda. I also respect what you personally are doing to take the country to the next level. We will be happy to share the ideas and developments that we have in the field of agriculture, green energy, and water resources management,” he was quoted in the statement.