Official website of the President of Russia

News   /

The forum is being held on November 11–12 in Uralsk, Kazakhstan.

* * *

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: Mr President, forum participants,

The Kazakhstan–Russia Interregional Cooperation Forum symbolises the fruitful strategic partnership between our countries based on mutual trust and mutual benefit. This unique platform serves as a catalyst for new economic, infrastructure, and humanitarian projects that are subsequently implemented at the regional level. This is of particular importance, as it is the regions that create conditions for economic growth and cooperation in industry, agriculture, science, education, and culture.

It is gratifying to note that cooperation between our countries in trade, economic, and investment spheres continues to show steady growth year after year. Russia remains Kazakhstan’s largest trade and investment partner. The trade between our countries has exceeded US$28 billion, and targeted efforts are underway to increase this figure to US$30 billion.

In 2024, Russian investment reached a record level of US$4 billion, while the total cumulative volume of Russian investment in Kazakhstan, according to our data, exceeded US$27 billion. At the same time, Kazakhstan’s investment in Russia amounts to approximately US$9 billion. More than 20,000 companies with Russian capital are successfully operating in Kazakhstan, creating thousands of jobs and making a significant contribution to the dynamic growth of our economy. These impressive figures clearly demonstrate the high dynamics and potential of our cooperation. I believe we must not be complacent, we should continue to advance steadfastly and increase trade and investment volumes.

It is symbolic that this forum is being held in Uralsk, a city with a rich historical and cultural heritage and great economic potential. For centuries, Uralsk has served as an important link between our peoples.

The theme of this forum is of exceptional significance, as working people make a truly invaluable contribution to the economic development of our countries.

The year 2025 has been declared the Year of Blue-Collar Professions in Kazakhstan, and we are now summing up its results. We have set a course for comprehensive support of blue-collar workers, for enhancing their prestige in society, and for reforming the vocational education system. Global experience shows that countries that consistently invest in these areas achieve leading positions in innovation and sustainable development.

We observe that the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence technologies, comprehensive digitisation, and the automation of numerous production processes are already fundamentally transforming the global labour market. Under such rapidly changing conditions, the worker of the future must be adept at managing various intellectual systems and digital platforms. We are all fully aware that it is the high qualifications and modern skills of specialists that form the foundation for industrial growth and technological modernisation of our nations. It is for this reason that we are taking consistent measures to train professional personnel.

In Kazakhstan, a conceptual framework for the introduction of artificial intelligence into the technical and vocational education system has recently been approved. The use of the state-of-the-art technologies has become a mandatory element of training personnel for mechanical engineering, energy, the agro-industrial complex, and other sectors of the economy.

With the participation of an international consortium led by Rosatom, Kazakhstan has begun the construction of its first nuclear power plant. The successful implementation of this high-tech, science-driven project depends entirely on the work of highly qualified specialists. During the construction phase of the nuclear power plant, more than six thousand workers and over three thousand mid-level specialists will be employed. Concurrently, there will be increased demand for professionals with highly specialised skill sets.

Strengthening the human resource potential of the nuclear industry is, therefore, of paramount importance for Kazakhstan. We are devoting considerable attention to cooperation with Russian universities in addressing this matter.

The opening of a branch of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University is a clear testament to this. I recently met with the Rector of MEPhI and, at his request, issued an instruction to improve working conditions for its teaching staff and scientists.

The great Abai said: “Russian science and culture are the key to the world’s treasures. To those who possess this key, everything else will come without much effort.” Of course, the realities of today are different, but the testament of the great Abai remains as relevant as ever, and these words have indeed lost none of their pertinence. By many measures, Russian universities and Russian science are at the forefront of global scientific and educational progress.

Russian universities are the principal partners for the majority of Kazakhstani universities, and we will continue to support this positive trend. A total of 1,453 agreements have been concluded between the higher education institutions of our two countries, providing for the implementation of double degree programmes and joint research and educational projects.

In Kazakhstan, nine branches of Russian higher education institutions are successfully operating, with approximately four thousand students enrolled. A special mention should be made of the branch of Lomonosov Moscow State University, which was opened in 2001 with your direct involvement, Mr President. MGIMO University has also commenced its operations in Astana. A significant development for us was the opening of the first branch of a Kazakhstani higher education institution in Russia – the branch of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University is now functioning successfully on the basis of Dostoevsky Omsk State University.

For the systematic training of a new generation of personnel, Kazakhstan has also embarked on a large-scale transformation of its technical and vocational education system: a plan for 2025–2027 has been adopted, which relies on the principles of innovative management, digitisation, and internationalisation. The objective is to transform our colleges into centres of advanced competencies, where theory is organically combined with practice and education with production. Therefore, we are actively developing the dual education model.

Currently, more than 100,000 students are undergoing practical training at 18,000 enterprises; over 4,000 companies have assumed sponsorship of 600 colleges, providing on-the-job training, mentorship, and equipment upgrades. A project for free technical and vocational education is being implemented, and a targeted training mechanism with guaranteed employment has been introduced. Simultaneously, career guidance work is underway to ensure that studying at colleges is perceived by young people as their first conscious step towards mastering a genuinely in-demand profession.

Special attention is being paid to enhancing the social status and qualifications of the teaching staff. As part of the internationalisation of technical and vocational education, international standards are being introduced, foreign managers are being engaged, and academic mobility is being developed.

More than 60 colleges in Kazakhstan have already established cooperation with partners from 30 countries, while nine of our colleges are successfully working with Russian colleges and enterprises.

The state is taking measures to enhance the prestige of blue-collar professions and to foster a new culture of labour, alongside a greater recognition of the working people’s contribution to society. Ultimately, our primary goal is to turn blue-collar professions into real success stories for hundreds of thousands of our citizens.

Kazakhstan and Russia are consistently deepening their partnership in personnel training – an exceedingly important area of our joint work. I am confident that the intensification of our educational and industrial ties will serve to improve the quality of specialist training and accelerate the adoption of modern technologies. In this context, the role of the regions can hardly be overestimated, as this sphere of joint efforts is directly related to the well-being of our citizens.

Colleagues, friends,

Kazakhstan and Russia are reliable, time-tested strategic partners and allies. Our countries share a common history, common memory, and common values. The friendship between our peoples is predestined by fate itself. Thanks to a constructive and trusting dialogue at all levels, Kazakhstan-Russia cooperation is being enriched with new substance. Our world’s longest land border is a vivid manifestation of the eternal friendship and unbreakable neighbourly relations of our peoples.

Taking this opportunity, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the President of Russia for his unwavering attention to and support of the forum’s activities, as well as for strengthening our mutual cooperation across all spheres. I am convinced that through our joint efforts, we will achieve all the goals we have set.

I wish the forum participants productive work.

Thank you for your attention.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends,

President Tokayev and I are delighted to greet the participants and organisers of the 21^st Russia-Kazakhstan Interregional Cooperation Forum, which is being held in Uralsk, as you know.

The forum has brought together the heads of Russian and Kazakhstani regions, entrepreneurs, legislators, politicians, businesspeople and experts, that is, all those who are closely involved in the practical efforts to develop multifaceted Russian-Kazakhstani ties.

Regional ties are a solid foundation for the entire complex of our bilateral relations. They span a wide range of areas, including the economy, trade, energy, transport, agriculture and digital technology. Overall, 76 of the 89 regions of the Russian Federation maintain direct contacts with all 17 regions of Kazakhstan.

Your forum has convened at a time when Moscow is hosting the President of Kazakhstan on a state visit. We have held extremely substantive and fruitful talks, including in a relaxed and informal setting yesterday, and this work continued today. Based on the results of these talks, we will sign a large set of documents, in particular, a declaration on comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance between Russia and Kazakhstan. It is logical that this key document will include our plans for enhancing and strengthening our interregional and cross-border cooperation.

Our countries are successfully implementing an interregional cooperation programme until 2028, which is aimed at creating favourable conditions for the all-round development of our regions and, most importantly, for improving the quality of life for our citizens.

It is important that the dozens of new interregional agreements, memorandums and commercial contracts signed during your forum are aimed at facilitating the implementation of this programme, which is vivid proof of the Russian and Kazakhstani regions’ commitment to consistently building up close cooperation, selecting and implementing promising joint projects.

This forum is dedicated to a highly relevant theme: Skilled Trades as a Driving Force of Economic Growth. This focus is central to boosting labour productivity, training a capable workforce, and tackling socioeconomic development challenges in both Kazakhstan and Russia.

There is, without a doubt, a particularly high demand for skilled personnel in applied fields. This is driven by our nations’ import substitution programmes, the creation of domestic technological production, and the localisation of high-value-added goods. In Russia, we have come to understand that the goal is not merely to substitute imports, but to build our own technological platforms. This is the objective we must strive for, aspire to, and train our personnel to achieve.

In your numerous thematic sessions and seminars, you have discussed in detail how to help young people choose their future profession, discover their passion, and make a personal contribution to strengthening the industrial potential of our nations. I am pleased to note that joint projects to train engineers and technicians are already underway in both Russia and Kazakhstan, including at the regional level. At the state level, we are implementing largely similar programmes to promote skilled trades. We are taking steps to align our vocational education systems with the demands of the economy, and cooperation between regions, educational institutions, and businesses is becoming more and more effective. A prime example is Russia’s federal project, Professionalitet – for three years now, this initiative has been successfully creating educational clusters directly within enterprises, ensuring the targeted training and subsequent employment of specialists.

It seems that we could consider developing a joint technical training programme for the regions of both our countries. This is especially relevant as a significant number of Kazakhstani students coming to Russia choose engineering disciplines. In total, approximately 55,000 young, highly promising Kazakhstani citizens are studying at universities, colleges, and technical schools across the Volga region, Siberia, the Urals, Moscow, and St Petersburg. Furthermore, eight major Russian universities have established branches in Kazakhstan (President Tokayev has listed several of them), including Moscow State University, the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI), and Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology.

The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology is developing cooperation with the Kazakhstani partners too: work is underway on a joint project with Almaty National Technical University to train specialists for Kazakhstan in digital transformation, telecommunications, renewable energy, and artificial intelligence. The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration is involved in training and professional development of Kazakhstani managers. We have also seen successful partnership agreements between universities in the Orenburg and Samara regions and a number of Kazakhstani technical universities.

To be continued.