Kazakh president hopes to forge closer ties with China

Closer cooperative relations with China will continue to be one of the priorities in Kazakhstan's foreign policy, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Wednesday.

In his state-of-the-union address to parliament in the capital Astana, Nazarbayev said it is natural for Kazakhstan to develop reciprocal relations with a country like China which is developing rapidly.

Kazakhstan will continue to implement political and economic agreements already signed with China, he said.

The president said he hopes to collaborate with China and resolve the issues such as migration and regional security within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which also includes Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tadzhikistan and Uzbekistan.

Nazarbayev also said Russia remains as Kazakhstan's most important strategic partner.

On the relationship with the United States, Nazarbayev said his country will maintain the longstanding and stable partnership with Washington and strengthen their cooperation in the fields like energy, anti-terrorism and democratic reform.

Nazarbayev, 65, has ruled the former Soviet republic for 16 years. He was re-elected in December.

Source: Xinhua