On April 21, 2017 local time, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan met in Astana with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was in Kazakhstan for an official visit and the attendance at the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed that Kazakhstan and China are special comprehensive strategic partners, and have set up a model of relations between countries. He is willing to attend at invitation the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held in Beijing next month. He also kindly invites President Xi Jinping to attend the SCO Astana Summit and pay a state visit to Kazakhstan in early June. Putting the “Belt and Road” initiative on a central position, Kazakhstan stands ready to promote the peace, security and prosperity in the two countries as well as the region through the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”.
Wang Yi firstly conveyed President Xi Jinping’s warm greetings to President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Wang Yi expressed that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Kazakhstan. It is the most important political agenda of bilateral relations this year to well prepare and implement the meeting between President Xi Jinping and Mr. President. China is willing to take this as an opportunity and make joint efforts with Kazakhstan to constantly elevate China-Kazakhstan comprehensive strategic partnership to new highs.
Wang Yi said that the Silk Road Economic Belt is a significant initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping during his visit to Kazakhstan in 2013. Kazakhstan will become an important cooperation partner in the process of the “Belt and Road” construction. With the integration of the “Belt and Road” and the “Bright Road” as well as bilateral cooperation in production capacity as the mainline, China stands ready to enhance bilateral communication and coordination in practical cooperation and under frameworks of the SCO and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, and jointly make contributions to regional peace and development.