President Tokayev Calls Lee Hsien Loong’s First Visit to Kazakhstan Historic
Astana, The Gulf Observer: President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has described Singapore Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s first visit to Kazakhstan as a historic event, highlighting the longstanding and steadily expanding ties between the two countries.
Tokayev made the remarks during a meeting with Lee Hsien Loong at the Akorda Presidential Residence in Astana on Wednesday.
The Kazakh President recalled that exactly 35 years ago, in September 1991, Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew visited Kazakhstan at the dawn of the country’s independence, laying a strong foundation for bilateral relations.
Tokayev praised Singapore’s far-sighted development policies and its transformation into a global centre for finance, trade, innovation and technology, describing the country’s experience as an example for the international community.
The President noted that Kazakhstan-Singapore relations have been developing dynamically, supported by regular political dialogue, growing trade and increasing Singaporean investment in Kazakhstan.
According to Tokayev, Kazakhstan and Singapore are the largest trading partners of each other within their respective regions of Central Asia and Southeast Asia. He added that the number of companies with Singaporean capital operating in Kazakhstan has reached nearly 500 and continues to increase.
Tokayev also highlighted productive cooperation between the two countries in multilateral formats, noting that both Kazakhstan and Singapore are regarded as middle powers and share similar positions on a number of international issues.
The meeting underscored the importance of further strengthening bilateral relations and expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest, building on the strong foundations established over the past decades.
