Turkey and Kazakhstan on Thursday confirmed their intention to continue efforts to actively develop relations and cooperation between the two countries.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Kazakh counterpart Mukhtar Tleuberdi co-chaired the seventh meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group.
A joint statement issued following the meeting said that the two sides discussed all aspects of the current state of bilateral relations and comprehensively exchanged views on regional and international issues.
Referring to the joint statement adopted at the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Turkic States (OTS) on Jan. 11, Çavuşoğlu, which holds the Term Presidency of the OTS, reiterated the strong support to and solidarity with people of Kazakhstan over the January 2022 events that happened in Kazakhstan.
Long seen as one the most stable of the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, energy-rich Kazakhstan faced its biggest crisis in decades after days of protests over rising fuel prices escalated into widespread unrest. Since the beginning of the protests, Turkey and the OTS had offered help and showed solidarity with Kazakhstan.
The Kazakh side expressed its appreciation for the support given by Turkey and the OTS during that period.
"Recalling that the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Kazakhstan will be celebrated on March 2, 2022, the Sides confirmed their intention to continue actively developing the relations and cooperation between the two brotherly countries based on common history, language and culture, and to deepen their cooperation in a way benefiting not only the two nations but also contributing to regional peace and stability," the statement said.
"The Sides underlined the importance of mutual visits and meetings at all levels in order to vitalize and continue the political dialogue in accordance with the spirit of strategic partnership between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Kazakhstan as two brotherly countries," it added.
The statement said the two sides discussed the calendar of high-level visits expected to take place in 2022 during the meeting and reviewed the preparations for the fourth session of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, which will be held in Kazakhstan in 2022.
Referring to the agenda of the Joint Economic Commission meeting, which will be held in Kazakhstan in 2022, the two countries underlined the importance of deepening the cooperation in the fields of trade, economy, investment and culture, it said.
The statement said: "The sides expressed their satisfaction with the bilateral trade volume, which exceeded $5 billion for the first time in 2021, and confirmed their readiness to work together to achieve the goal of increasing the trade volume to $10 billion as set by their Heads of State.
"The Sides emphasized that increasing human contacts between the brotherly Turkish and Kazakh peoples would contribute to further developing all aspects of bilateral relations. In this context, they dwelt on enhancing cooperation in the fields of education and culture."
The two countries also stressed the importance of enhancing close dialogue, cooperation and solidarity between the two countries on the subject of regional and global stability, it said.
"In this regard, the contribution of OTS to the development of multilateral cooperation between the two countries and the establishment of stability and prosperity in the Eurasian region was noted with satisfaction."
The statement said the two countries highlighted the importance of deepening cooperation within the relevant international and regional organizations, including the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Economic Cooperation Organization.
"The Sides highlighted the importance of intensive consultations on regional cooperation aimed at achieving lasting stability in Afghanistan," it said.
"During the meeting, the Sides agreed to maintain the understanding for mutually supporting each other's candidacies to various international organizations and posts," it added.
According to a statement by the Kazakhstan Presidency, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also spoke to Çavuşoğlu via videoconference.
During the meeting, they discussed further strengthening cooperation in the bilateral commercial, economic, investment and humanitarian spheres, as well as the Kazakh-Turkish strategic partnership.
Noting that the 12th term of the Turkey-Kazakhstan Joint Economic Commission meeting, which will be held in the capital Nur Sultan next week, will be an important factor in further developing bilateral cooperation, Tokayev underlined that Kazakhstan's government will support joint projects launched with Turkish companies.
Turkey has sought closer ties with Turkic-speaking Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.
