Opening the meeting in the Akorda, Nursultan Nazarbayev welcomed John Kerry to the region and Kazakhstan.
“Recently, I had a meeting with President Barack Obama in New York, where we discussed issues of bilateral cooperation. Since the independence of our country, which will turn 24 in December, we have cooperated with the U.S. Our citizens are thankful for constant support of our sovereignty and economic development. Presently, there are about 500 companies operating in Kazakhstan with the participation of American assets. We are aiming to continue close cooperation,” he said.
The President noted that Kazakhstan and the U.S. also cooperate in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and Nazarbayev expressed support for Obama’s initiatives in this sphere.
John Kerry praised the results of talks between Nazarbayev and Obama in New York, during which the sides discussed non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, combating extremism, the situation in Afghanistan and countering Daesh.
“The U.S. is the largest direct investor in Kazakhstan. I met this morning with the American Chamber of Commerce representatives here. They were very pleased with the progress that is being made. Your prime minister meets with them once a month; you have put in a very ambitious set of reforms – your 100 steps centred around five different areas – and we really want to work with you very closely in trying to implement those reforms as effectively and as rapidly as possible,” he added.
