Interregional Cooperation Forum eased CU establishment: Putin

According to President's press service, the leaders discussed the problems of development of the bilateral cooperation. For instance, they touched upon the development of industrial and innovative and interregional cooperation, as well as effective interaction in the energy sector.

"Once again we traditionally hold the Interregional Cooperation Forum which is an effective platform for development of the commercial and economic relations between our countries. Today's forum will concentrate on cooperation in the sphere of innovations between Kazakhstan and Russia. These days Pavlodar is hosting a huge exhibition that has brought together more than 600 companies. Moreover, within the Pavlodar business forum Kazakhstan and Russia are to sign 27 agreements totaling 2 billion US dollars," President Nazarbayev said.

Nursultan Nazarbayev also stressed that regional forums were a good example of commercial and economic cooperation to other countries.

Vladimir Putin, in his turn, noted the importance and effectiveness of the forum in terms of the development and consolidation of the bilateral partnership.

"The regional cooperation is the priority in interaction between our nations. Out of 83 Russian regions, almost 80 cooperate with Kazakhstan. The volume of sales turnover demonstrates constant increase and it is very important for people who reside in cross-border regions. This forum played a significant role in establishment of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space," V. Putin stressed.