Kazakh-Iranian political consultations were held in the framework of the Five-Year Program of Cooperation between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries, led by the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran Seyyed Abbas Araghchi.

The parties discussed further developing bilateral cooperation, interaction within international organizations, and exchanged views on regional and global security.

Attention was paid to bilateral cooperation in the Caspian region. The historical importance of the Fifth Caspian Summit, held in Aktau in August 2018, was underlined. The parties also noted the need to implement the provisions of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea and to realize the agreements reached at the Aktau Summit.

The positive dynamics of bilateral interaction in transit, transport and agricultural areas was noted. The importance of enhancing the use of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway route with further access to the Gulf was emphasized.

During the visit, First Deputy Minister Tileuberdi also held talks with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. He briefed Mr. Zarif on the latest political developments in Kazakhstan, particularly, the resignation of First President Nazarbayev and the upcoming presidential elections.

The Iranian Foreign Minister said that Nursultan Nazarbayev was “a very wise politician, who made an invaluable contribution to Kazakhstan's development, as well as to strengthening security and stability in the region and the world as a whole". Mr. Zarif expressed confidence that the upcoming election in Kazakhstan will be held in accordance with the principles of democracy.

The Kazakh diplomat noted that despite changes in the country's leadership, the state's foreign policy will remain unchanged. The development of good neighborly relations with Iran was a priority for Kazakhstan.

Mr. Tileuberdi also met with the Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami and the Deputy Minister of Agriculture-Jahad Yazdan Seif. The sides discussed the current state and prospects of trade and economic cooperation, in particular, the development of transit-transport potential and agricultural exports to Iran. In 2018, bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and Iran amounted to $516.309 million (export - $426,768 million, import - $89,541 million).

After the meetings, agreements were reached on the provision of land by the Iranian side in the ports of Bandar Abbas and Amirabad for Kazakhstan to build logistics centers for exporting domestic goods through Iran to the Persian Gulf markets.

The sides confirmed their interest in holding the 16th meeting of the Kazakh-Iranian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation in Nur-Sultan in the near future.

On April 11, Mr. Tileuberdi also held talks with the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization Hadi Soleimanpour, during which they discussed issues related to the interaction between Kazakhstan and the Organization.

“The Qazaq Times”