Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Kazakhstan and Ukraine are interested in intensifying their cooperation, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko announced at a meeting in Kiev on December 22.

"I arrived in Kiev on a day marking the 20th anniversary of signing the treaty of friendship and cooperation between our two countries,” Nazarbayev said. “The bilateral trade turnover doubled from 2010 to 2013. It dropped this year. This does not correspond to the existing potential, as Ukraine is an important trade and economic partner of Kazakhstan."

President Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan and Ukraine have had close cooperation in many areasduring the period of independence.

During the meeting, President Nazarbayev also spoke about the opportunities offered by the country’s industrial and innovative development program and the main directions of the New Economic Policy “Nurly Jol” (Bright Path). The president invited Ukrainian businessmen to participate in the perspective projects in his country as part of these programs.

He noted the cooperation between the two countries can gain an additional momentum in the industrial, transit, transport and energy fields.

President Poroshenko expessed gratitude to his Kazakh counterpart for the sincere attitude towards Ukraine.

"In fact, we believe that the potential ground for bilateral relations between Ukraine and Kazakhstan has not yet fully exploited. The relevant bodies must work hard on this aspect."

President Poroshenko also stressed the importance of intensifying relations in the food industry, aircraft building, military-technical and cultural-humanitarian fields.