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The document’s purpose is to develop the two countries’ strategic partnership and alliance on the basis of friendship, good-neighbourliness and mutual benefit, and to implement the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, relying on constant improvement of the legal base underpinning the two countries’ relations.

Mr Medvedev noted that Russian-Kazakhstani relations are growing rapidly and the regular meetings between the two presidents contribute to this. The joint action plan for the next two years will help to keep the whole list of bilateral projects under supervision, making it possible to provide necessary financing and give instructions to the relevant agencies, the President said.

Mr Medvedev and Mr Nazarbayev will take part in the CSTO and CIS summits today.

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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President, I sincerely welcome you to the Kremlin.

You and I see each other frequently and use each summit, each meeting, as a chance to exchange views on the development of our bilateral relations. This allows us to maintain their dynamics. And today, our meeting is taking place between summits: we had a very important EurAsEC summit yesterday, and today, we have the CSTO summit.

You and I have prepared well; we have a document ready for signing. This is the Joint Action Plan for 2011–2012. I think that it will allow Russia and Kazakhstan to work as planned – in other words, to prepare a full list of projects that we will work on ahead of time, and accordingly, provide those projects with the necessary financing and give corresponding instructions to the departments that need to be involved. So I feel that in this regard, we not only have close, strategic, partnership relations, but good high-tech relations as well, because these relations are based on good planning.

I want to once again warmly welcome you. I hope that we will now discuss these issues.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev: Thank you, Mr President,

We are having many events these days: we had yesterday’s meetings, and today we will have the CSTO and the CIS meetings. I think this is very important. Regardless of what people may say, the CIS must move on from criticism to concrete issues.

I want to begin by once again thanking you from my heart for your active participation and support in holding the OSCE summit. We share views concerning this organisation. At one time, we were sending there the views of the entire CIS, when all they did was monitor our elections. And the truth is, it was a success in and of itself when we convinced everyone to come together after the organisation had not met in 11 years. As for which matters were resolved or unresolved – this is an issue for all CIS member states. Of course, if this summit had simultaneously resolved the conflicts involving [Nagorno] Karabakh, Transdniester, Georgia, the Middle East, and Afghanistan, that would have been just perfect, but that is impossible.

Dmitry Medvedev: Indeed.

Nursultan Nazarbayev: We know where the keys to these conflicts lie. And still, as the collective candidate among all the CIS members, Kazakhstan chaired the summit, we held the summit, and along every step of the way, Russia provided support as both our partner and our ally. I am grateful to you for that.

As you said, our relations are developing normally. We have fulfilled our programme for 2008–2010, and today, we will confirm the joint action plan for 2011–2012. It is very specific about every sector and what we will be doing.

We are developing regional cooperation. We met in Ust-Kamenogorsk, and next year, we will have a bilateral meeting in Astrakhan. Yesterday’s breakthrough in terms of the Customs Union, the establishment of the Common Economic Space, and heading now toward creating the Eurasian Union – these things are a major success and an example. Perhaps it was necessary for some time to pass, for everyone to reach this point. The fact that the nations of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus specifically, which have more or less comparable economies and more or less comparable development are uniting and integrating is normal. I hope that we will be an example to other nations. Thank you for the time you are making today for our meeting.

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