Ahmadinejad sees brighter future for Iran-Kazakh ties

Tehran, April 7, IRNA - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Astana on Monday assessed that Iran-Kazakhstan ties have a bright future noting that bilateral relations can be further developed through consensus and planning.

According to a report posted on the Presidential Office website,
Ahmadinejad and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazabayev described
the opportunities and facilities in both countries as beneficial for
them and the region.

"Although Iran's ties with Kazakhstan are not longstanding, they are
rooted in culture and national interests," he said, adding that
bilateral ties have followed a growing trend in the past 18 years.

Referring to various areas of cooperation, he said that both Tehran
and Astana underline the need for developing ties in the fields of
energy, transportation and joint investment in agriculture and
confronting global crisis.

Stating that Kazakhstan's status is growing in the world, he added
that Iran will support its independence and progress.

Nazarbayev, for his part, described Ahmadinejad's first official visit
to the country as a historical event and said that implementation of
the agreements reached by the two countries will mark a new chapter in
the expansion of bilateral ties.

He further underlined that Tehran and Astana have great potentials for
upgrading commercial exchanges.

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