Taking into account the first contact between the leaders of the two countries, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev personally congratulated Yoshihide Suga on his election as Prime Minister of Japan and wished him success in his responsible activities.
The Head of State also conveyed warm congratulations to the people of Japan on holding the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, expressing confidence that “this grand event will embody the victory of humanity over the coronavirus.”
The President thanked the Japanese Government for the humanitarian aid provided for Kazakhstan and assistance in the fight against COVID-19. As he noted, our country is currently taking active measures to overcome the pandemic’s consequences and conducting universal vaccination of the population, including using the domestic “QazVac” vaccine.
The two leaders discussed the state and prospects of the development of the Kazakh-Japanese relations.
According to President Tokayev, Japan is one of the key strategic partners in Asia and is one of the TOP-10 largest investors in Kazakhstan. Nowadays, there are more than 50 enterprises and companies with the participation of Japanese capital are successfully operating in Kazakhstan.
As the Head of State believes, amid the changing world situation, there is a need to elevate the Kazakh-Japanese cooperation to a qualitatively new level.
In particular, Kazakhstan President proposed to develop a new economic agenda with specific investment projects in agriculture, geological exploration, digitalization and artificial intelligence. Given the two countries’ commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by mid-century, there are also great opportunities for the development of green energy.
In this regard, President Tokayev announced about his decision to send a Kazakh delegation headed by the Deputy Prime Minister to Japan in the near future to discuss the abovementioned issues.
In turn, Yoshihide Suga confirmed his interest in further expanding the strategic partnership with Kazakhstan, expressing readiness to assist in organizing the visit of the Kazakh delegation. “2022 is the year of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Japan should be an important milestone in achieving concrete results on the bilateral track,” the Japanese Prime Minister noted.
According to Prime Minister Suga, Kazakhstan is the leader in Central Asia, where the largest number of Japanese companies is present.
In this regard, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed that cooperation between Kazakhstan and Japan should also become a driving force of cooperation in the region, including within the “Central Asia - Japan” dialogue.
Furthermore, President Tokayev and Prime Minister Suga exchanged views on pressing issues of international politics. In particular, the Japanese Prime Minister shared his vision of the development of the situation in North and South-East Asia.
The two leaders also agreed to continue a trust-based dialogue and consultations on the entire range of the multilateral agenda.
At the end, the Head of State invited Japanese Prime Minister to visit Kazakhstan at his convenient time.