Nazarbayev holds talks with Alexander Lukashenko in private session

The Head of State thanked Alexander Lukashenko for the invitation to visit Belarus, noting that his visit coincides with the 25th Anniversary of the diplomatic relations.

"Presently, there are 260 Belarusian enterprises in Kazakhstan. Belarusian agricultural products are set out on our counters. Shops of Belarusian furniture can be seen in all cities of Kazakhstan," Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

"I know that today our businessmen will sign contracts for the supply of dozens of BelAZ trucks, and new machinery to Kazakhstan, and we will sign a contract for the localization of products, the establishment of assembly plants. Our relations reached a high strategic level," the President of Kazakhstan said, noting that there are no obstacles to their development.

Nursultan Nazarbayev also touched upon the trade turnover. "We actually had hard times, recession. The turnover dropped, but it has grown by 60% within 10 months of this year," he added.

For his part, Alexander Lukashenko highlighted that the visit of the President of Kazakhstan will give even higher rise to the trade. "We have everything for that," he said.

"Now, we are independent states. And our love and respect for the people of Kazakhstan have not diminished. We are always glad about the development of Kazakhstan. Our Belarusians, probably each of them, have already visited beautiful Astana. Indeed, the current generation with you at the helm has erected a monument to the people of Kazakhstan that will last for centuries, the Belarusian leader said, adding that the country borrows a lot of Kazakhstan's civil engineering practices.