Head of State calls Lee Hsien Loong's first visit to Kazakhstan historic

The meeting between President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong took place at the Akorda Presidential Residence in Astana on Wednesday.

During their talks, the Head of State highlighted the historic significance of Lee Hsien Loong's first visit to Kazakhstan.

"Exactly 35 years ago, in September 1991 – at the dawn of Kazakhstan's independence – your father, Lee Kuan Yew, visited our country. His visit laid a solid foundation for our bilateral relations. We highly value the far-sighted policies of the leadership of Singapore and its impressive transformation into a global hub for finance, trade, innovation, and technology. Your nation's experience serves as an inspiring example for the entire international community," the President said.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted the dynamic development of bilateral ties, characterized by regular political dialogue, growing trade turnover, and accelerating inflows of Singaporean investment into Kazakhstan.

"In fact, Kazakhstan and Singapore remain each other's largest trading partners in their respective regions – Central and Southeast Asia. The number of companies with Singaporean capital in our country has reached nearly 500 and continues to grow," he said.

According to President Tokayev, Kazakhstan and Singapore cooperate productively within multilateral formats. Both countries are rightfully considered middle powers. In this context, he underlined the similarity of their stances on many international issues.

Earlier, it was reported that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and the people of Singapore on Independence Day.