By Xinhua,
Almaty : Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s upcoming visit to Kazakhstan will be a milestone in bilateral efforts to boost cooperation, said Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov in a recent interview with key Chinese media including Xinhua.
China holds strategic importance in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy, and Kazakhstan will never forget that China was one of the first countries to recognize its independence. Thanks to many years’ efforts, the Sino-Kazakh relations have reached a very high level.
Wen’s upcoming visit is an important, content-rich visit, and will surely deepen bilateral cooperation in an all-round way, the prime minister added.
The Kazakh side hopes to cooperate with China in such fields as energy, the construction of natural gas pipelines, asphalt factories, digital TV, and the exploitation of electricity and water resources.
Masimov also said the Chinese and Kazakh economic structures are complimentary and bilateral trade cooperation has huge potential. In the first half of this year, two-way trade volume exceeded 10 billion U.S. dollars.
While appreciating China’s support for his country’s development, Masimov expressed his country’s support for China’s fight against the three evil forces of separatism, extremism and terrorism.
He said the heads of state of the two countries have maintained friendly ties, which have boosted the development of the relations between the two governments and the two peoples.
Kazakhstan welcomes investment from China and also encourages Kazakh enterprises to invest in China, he went on to say.
The current global financial crisis that was originated in the United States was the most serious one in 30 years, and will inflict lasting impact on the all the economic systems in the world.
Under this circumstance, it is all the more important for Kazakhstan to enhance bilateral cooperation China, the prime minister noted.
Chinese Premier Wen is scheduled to pay official visits to Russia and Kazakhstan on Oct. 27-31, during which he will also attend the 13th regular meeting between Chinese and Russian prime ministers in Moscow and the 7th prime ministers’ meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries in Astana, capital city of Kazakhstan.
Masimov said the SCO can serve as an important mechanism for dealing with various challenges in the world.
At the SCO summit held in Tajikistan in August, leaders of SCO members urged their governments to discuss issues concerning regional security, regional economic cooperation, water resource utilization and cultural cooperation.
The upcoming prime ministers’ meeting of SCO members, scheduled for Oct. 30, is expected to sign a series of related documents, he added.
Masimov said the SCO, born from the Shanghai Five established in 1996 to solve border disputes between China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, has grown into a strong bloc that can tackle various challenges.
The organization has great significance for world security, food guarantee and economic cooperation, he added.
The prime minister also said the current global financial crisis can trigger social and even security problems in some countries, so different countries in the world should join hands to cope with the challenges.
The SCO should and can play a bigger role in strengthening security in Central Asia and even across the globe, he added.
The SCO, founded in Shanghai in 2001, consists of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with Pakistan, India, Iran and Mongolia as observers.