Kazakh President: We've been through many ups and downs

"Our interregional meeting is of paramount importance given the turbulence in our economies... Today we have an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues," President Nazarbayev said during the meeting. "This is not the first time we [Kazakhstan and Russia] are in crisis, we've gone through many ups and downs... We need to find new ways to expand trade," the Kazakh President added. President Putin, in turn, stressed that the interregional cooperation forum is an important format of a dialogue between the heads of Russian and Kazakhstani regions. He also said that this year's forum will concentrate on the bilateral cooperation in agriculture, security and food security.