President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held talks with President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic Giorgia Meloni as part of his official visit to Italy, Kazinform News Agency cites the Akorda press service.

At the onset of the bilateral talks, the Head of State expressed gratitude to Giorgia Meloni for warm welcome on the Italian land.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that Kazakhstan and Italy which maintain the bilateral political dialogue have established close economic cooperation as well as fruitful cultural and humanitarian ties.

The Head of State added Kazakhstan is proud of being Italy’s key partner in Central Asia and lauded dynamically developing economic cooperation which has a vast potential for further growth.

According to the Kazakh President, Italy is a leading trade partner and one of the largest investors of Kazakhstan’s economy. Trade turnover between the countries reached some $15 billion, while foreign direct investments from Italy to Kazakhstan amounted to $7.3 billion. Currently, over 300 Italian companies operate in Kazakhstan, including Eni, SDF Group, PetroValves, Maire Tecnimont, Tenaris and more.

The Head of State highlighted cooperation between Astana and Rome in terms of achieving common goals in the international arena within the framework of such international structures as the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the OECD. He reiterated Kazakhstan’s readiness to further strengthen cooperation in global security, regional stability, fight against terrorism and climate change.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed the unveiling of the first Italian Cultural Institute in Almaty, emphasizing that cultural diplomacy, education partnership and tourism play an important role in deepening of people-to-people contacts.

President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic Giorgia Meloni, in turn, praised the high level of Kazakhstan-Italy relations and confirmed Italy’s commitment to step up bilateral contacts with our country.

Prime Minister Meloni stressed President Tokayev’s visit offers a wonderful opportunity to further strengthen the Kazakh-Italian ties.

Utmost attention was paid to deepening of bilateral cooperation in trade and economy, investment, energy, transport and logistics, agriculture, culture, education, green energy, air communication and other sectors of mutual interest.

Additionally, the sides exchanged views on the issues of regional and international agenda.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed confidence that negotiations in Rome will herald a new stage in the Kazakh-Italian bilateral relations and offer a great opportunity to look for new promising areas of cooperation.

Following the outcomes of the meeting, the President of Kazakhstan and the Prime Minister of Italy adopted joint statement.