Kazakhstan and Iran to enhance political and economic cooperation

A meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Erlan Idrissov and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran Ibrahim Rahimpur was held in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan on 19 November 2015 within the framework of the 42nd session of the Special Working Group for the development of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

During the meeting the parties discussed the issues relating deepening of political and economic cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Islamic Republic of Iran. Special emphasis was given to the prospects of the development of transport and energy collaboration.

Parties considered important regional problems, including the situation in the Middle East and fight against terrorism. The Iranian side, expressing the appreciation for the constructive role of Kazakhstan in the settlement of the issue regarding the Iranian nuclear program, noted the importance of the participation of Astana in settling other regional issues, including the situation in Syria.

The Head of the MFA of the Republic of Kazakhstan expressed particular gratitude to Iran for the support of Kazakhstan's candidacy for a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council for the period 2017-2018, as well as for its willingness to participate in the conduction of the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO-2017 in Astana.

Moreover, during the visit of Rahimpur to Kazakhstan, Kazakh-Iranian political consultations were held. The Kazakh delegation was represented by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Mussinov. In the course of consultations representatives of foreign ministries of Kazakhstan and Iran discussed the state and the prospects of bilateral political, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation. The parties broadly exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan, Syria, the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Iran's Nuclear Program, Caspian problems and other issues concerning bilateral relations.

The Kazakh side drew attention of the Iranian side to a number of initiatives of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, such as the State program of infrastructure development “Nurly Zhol", Plan of the Nation “100 concrete steps".

The parties mentioned the necessity to further interact in transit and transport, agricultural, energy and bank spheres amid the agreements at the highest level, reached during the state visit of the President of Iran Hassan Rouhani to Kazakhstan in September 2014. The heads of the delegations brought into focus the important role of the new railway route Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran in the development of the communication system of the region.

Source: MFA press service