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Mr Nazarbayev warmly greeted Mr Putin at the airport. Following a brief official meeting ceremony, the two leaders drove to President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s residence where they held extensive talks on a wide variety of aspects of Russian-Kazakh cooperation. Special attention was paid to the expansion of trade, economic, fuel and energy cooperation and joint space exploration.

Following the negotiations, the Presidents, members of the Governments and heads of departments signed a package of interstate agreements; Mr Putin and Mr Nazarbayev personally signed four of the eleven documents. Among those signed was an agreement on Russian-Kazakh cooperation in the effective use of the Baikonur space centre, which extended Russia’s lease of the facility until 2050.

At the end of the summit, Mr Putin and Mr Nazarbayev made statements to the press and answered questions from the media. At a news conference, President Putin said there was marked improvement in bilateral economic relations and that he supported further cooperation in information, investment, transport and communications. This, he said, will require additional efforts from the leadership of Russia and Kazakhstan in removing all bureaucratic barriers and developing border infrastructure.

In the evening, Mr Putin and Mr Nazarbayev ushered in the Year of Russia in Kazakhstan. The official opening ceremony took place in the Congress Hall, Astana’s main concert hall.