AKIPRESS.COM - Many of the programmes that are being implemented by Indian government are similar to Kazakh programmes, The Astana Times reported as Ambassador of Kazakhstan in India Bolat Sarsenbayev as saying.

In November-December 2019, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is expected to visit India, which will expand cooperation, Sarsenbayev said.

India is Kazakhstan’s key political and economic partners in the region, he added.

According to him, the Indian-Kazakh political contacts were established during First Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s 1992 trip to India. It was Nazarbayev’s first foreign visit as President after Kazakh independence, he noted.

Additional impetus came during the Indian Prime Minister’s 2017 visit to Kazakhstan for the SCO Summit and the opening of EXPO 2017.

"Kazakhstan is India’s main trading partner in Central Asia," the diplomat said.

The Ambassador said he is convinced that the two countries can expand trade.

To do so, the countries must improve delivery methods between the countries, he noted.

"Therefore, the embassy is making every effort to use the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway (with further destinations at the ports of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar) and then the sea route to India. The reduced time and cost could double or triple trade".

According to the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, approximately 560 entities with Indian capital are registered in Kazakhstan. More than 200 Indian companies registered in the past two-three years.