By IRNA-Khabar
Astana : Nursultan Nazarbayev will visit Moscow. A working visit by Nursultan Nazarbayev will kick off on the 20th of December amid recently published results of Russian-led surveys revealing that Russians think that the President of Kazakhstan is the most trusted leader among all the CIS presidents and feel safest in Kazakhstan.
Russia is Kazakhstan’s economic partner, second only to the EU, with trade turnover between the states expected to reach 20 billion US dollars in 2008.
Specialists highlight these economic figures graphically illustrate good development and the dynamics of bilateral relations which are based mainly on atomic power-engineering, transport and active border trade.
Yuri Solozobov, political scientist says among the main joint projects – he emphasized the Caspian pipeline scheme on which they have already agreed; energy projects which include the construction of a gas-processing plant in Orenburg and a string of agreements regarding the Bogatyr coal mine.
The building of the second stage of the Yekibastuz electric power station is due to be agreed on. Alexei Vlasov, genera director, Lomonosov Moscow State University’s information centre for post-Soviet studies says they plan to create a series of joint ventures and innovative techno-parks in the bordering regions.
They can see that the talks of the past couple of years have resulted in practical actions by the Eurasian Union, Russia and Kazakhstan.
The visit by Nursultan Nazarbayev to Russia is considered all the more important coming after elections which formed a new State Duma configuration, in which the constitutional majority of seats are occupied by the ruling United Russia party, and, following the United Russia congress which elected Dmitry Medvedev official presidential candidate.
Yuri Solozobov, political scientist says their kind and neighborly relations are an unchanging factor which has existed for many centuries.
He doesn’t see any reasons for sharp changes in Russian-Kazakh relations when a new Russian president takes up the post.
Additionally, Mr. Medvedev has already been to Astana and is known to Nursultan Nazarbayev.
He thinks the economic links, which from the point of view of Kazakh leadership are the basis of cooperation, will continue to be as efficient as they are now with the new Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Analysts say Kazakh-Russian relations for both countries are now in phases of modernization leading them to an absolutely new level, with major successes awaiting both Kazakhstan and Russia in the time of integration.