Leader Tells President Tokayev of NATO Expansion Plan

‘Turning Point’: Iran, Kazakhstan Sign 9 Agreements

Date: 19 June 2022 - 21:35

News ID: ۱۰۳۸۷۲

TEHRAN -- Iran and Kazakhstan on Sunday signed nine agreements to strengthen comprehensive cooperation as Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived here for an official visit, hailed by his Iranian counterpart President Ebrahim Raisi as a “turning point” in bilateral ties.
The two presidents oversaw the signing ceremony of the memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on transportation, scientific and cultural exchanges, energy, agriculture as well as trade and economy.
Speaking at a joint press conference broadcasted live on national TV, President Raisi said the two sides have existing potential to increase further cooperation.
“In addition to bilateral relations, we are determined to expand our relations at the regional level,” he said, adding Iran and Kazakhstan share views on some regional and global issues, for example, on the consensus for an inclusive government formation in Afghanistan.
“We also agree that the presence of foreigners in the region does not create security and will cause many problems,” he said.
President Raisi also said, “For the Islamic Republic of Iran, cooperation with its neighbors in the Caspian Sea is a priority, and we seek to increase cooperation in this field.”
For his part, Tokayev said the two countries have seen progressing diplomatic relations and “good cooperation in the framework of regional structures.”
Referring to his two-day official visit, he said the two presidents discussed a vast host of issues. Both sides, he said, are particularly interested in using the transit capacity along railway corridors which would connect east to west and north to south.
The president of Kazakhstan announced the issuance of a 14-day visa waiver for the Iranians who want to travel to his country.
President Tokayev also called on Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei who said the West is using the ongoing conflict in Ukraine to further expand the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“In the case of Ukraine, the main problem is that the West means to expand NATO and they will lose no time to further expand their influence wherever they can,” the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Issues must be painstakingly monitored and we must be careful because the Americans and the West always seek to expand the scope of their influence in different regions, including in East and West Asia and scuttle independence and power of countries.”
The Leader also touched on the profound

historical and cultural ties between Iran and Kazakhstan, stressing the need to further expand cooperation between the two countries, especially with regard to regional collaboration.

Tokayev arrived at the official invitation of his Iranian counterpart, a day after the first freight train of a new railway corridor connecting Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey arrived in Tehran.

The two presidents met last year on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tajikistan, during which they agreed to increase bilateral cooperation, including rail cooperation.

The latest visit comes on the heels of various official trips to Iran by the world’s high-profile leaders aiming to expand ties with Tehran.

Last week, Iran and Venezuela signed a 20-year “cooperation road map” during a state visit by President Nicolas Maduro to Tehran as the two oil-rich countries both under U.S. sanctions pledged to boost bilateral ties.

On Wednesday, Iran officially welcomed Turkmenistan’s new President Serdar Berdimuhamedow who, along with President Raisi, oversaw the signing of a raft of documents for cooperation on economy, trade, transportation, investment, new technologies, environment, sports, energy, judiciary, education, research, and tourism.

A day earlier, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced after talks with Iranian officials in Tehran, that the two neighbors had come closer to resolving one of the major obstacles in the expansion of bilateral trade through operationalizing the barter trade mechanism.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has hailed the Iranian government’s policy of expanding relations with neighbors as a good policy.