MOSCOW, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia's cumulative investment in Kazakhstan's economy totals nearly 30 billion U.S. dollars.
In an article for Kazakh newspaper Kazakhstanskaya Pravda published on the Kremlin website on Tuesday, Putin wrote that Russia and Kazakhstan attach great importance to economic ties, given that they are major trading partners.
"Export-import turnover has remained consistently high for several consecutive years, with the vast majority of transactions settled in national currencies," he noted, ahead of his state visit to Kazakhstan this week.
Russia and Kazakhstan are bound by truly strong ties of friendship, good-neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation, rooted in shared history, close interweaving of cultures and human destinies, Putin said.
He added that the strategic partnership and alliance between the two countries are built on the unshakable principles of mutual respect and trust, serving as a key factor in safeguarding peace, stability and socio-economic development across the entire Eurasian space.
"Over 40 percent of all Kazakh legal entities with foreign capital are firms jointly established with Russian partners. Around 70 large-scale projects are being rolled out across the republic with Russian investor participation, including in automotive manufacturing, heavy engineering, the chemical industry and other high-tech sectors, generating more than 60,000 new jobs," Putin said.
According to Putin, energy cooperation between the two countries is advancing rapidly.
"Thanks to the operation of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, over 80 percent of Kazakhstan's total oil exports to global markets are routed through Russian territory. To secure stable energy supplies for the republic, Gazprom plans to optimize and expand Kazakhstan's national gas transmission infrastructure. Furthermore, Russian businesses provide Kazakh partners with unique innovations and technologies in alternative and clean energy," he said. ■
