Kazakhstan, Turkey sign agreement on strategic cooperation.

ANKARA, October 22 (Itar-Tass) - Kazakh and Turkish presidents
Nursultan Nazarbayev and Abdullah Gul signed an agreement on strategic
cooperation here on Thursday. Speaking at a joint news conference, the
Turkish president said that this was the first such agreement, concluded
with a Central Asian state.
"Our relations have got such a push that it has become possible to
bring them to a new level of strategic partnership," Gul noted. He added
that "trade and economic relations with Kazakhstan are at a high level".
Trade hit 2.5 billion US dollars. The sides agreed to stage forums and
take efforts to boost trade to five billion dollars.
Gul and Nazarbayev also discussed cooperation in the energy sphere.
"Kazakhstan oil gets into the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. It is shipped
father on from Ceyhan. We are also satisfied with the fact that Kazakhstan
expressed interest in a Nabucco project. I'm sure that we can efficiently
cooperate in the gas sphere," the Turkish president continued.
He added that bilateral cooperation is wonderful in all aspects, while
the agreement signed on Thursday, is called upon to develop it further.
In turn, Nazarbayev noted that despite the high rates of bilateral
cooperation, the trade volume is still insufficient, and it should be
increased. "The volume of our trade relations with Russia hits 20 billion
dollars; figures are also high in trade with European countries," he went
on to say. The Kazakh leader noted that Turkey seeks to play an important
role in regional transit of energy resources. "Transit of Kazakh oil and
gas via Turkey is profitable," Nazarbayev said, stressing, however, that
despite financial indicators, "friendly relations between the states are
not measured by cash".
Heads of appropriate ministries of the two countries signed agreements
on cooperation in the scientific sphere, in tourism and environment
control during the Kazakh president's official visit.
-0-bur/gor