By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Tuesday discussed bilateral relations and cooperation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who arrived in the capital Astana ahead of a meeting with other Central Asian diplomats in a C5+1 format.
“Your (Blinken) visit is especially important in terms of giving an additional impetus to building our strategic cooperation. We have very good and reliable long-term partnerships in such strategically important areas as security, energy, trade, and investment. Therefore, we are ready for the further development of this cooperation,” Tokayev said during the meeting, according to a statement by the Kazakh presidency.
The statement said Tokayev noted Washington’s support for Kazakhstan’s independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty, noting that the US is one of the largest investors in the country with a total investment of over $62 billion.
Tokayev also welcomed the US efforts to expand cooperation in the C5+1 format that involves other Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, which he described as significant.
For his part, Blinken noted the importance of deepening and strengthening the partnership between the US and Kazakhstan, and he thanked Tokayev for his hospitality during the official visit.
“We are grateful to you and your team for bringing together the Central Asian partners here in Astana today. I hope that we, together with our colleagues, will take part in even more concrete work to unite the region, creating stronger ties, interacting more closely, focusing on practical things. I think that this will benefit both the peoples of Central Asia and the US. We intend to cooperate at the highest level. I am very pleased to be here and contribute to the strengthening of our cooperation,” Blinken said.
Earlier, Blinken held talks with his Kazakh counterpart Mukhtar Tileuberdi and will later participate in a meeting in the C5+1 format during his visit, which will also include the foreign ministers of the Central Asian states.
Blinken will then travel to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and later to New Delhi, India on Wednesday to participate in a meeting of G-20 foreign ministers.