Kazakhstan-Iran-Utembayev /POL/

Kazakhstan-Iran-Utembayev /POL/ Tehran,Astana maintain strategic relationship: envoy Tehran, Dec 16, IRNA - Today marks the 16th anniversary of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
As a Eurasian country Kazakhstan is considered as a bridge between the West and the East. It is located between the two giant states of Russia in the west and China in the east and the vast country is gifted with abundant oil reserves.
Since independence, Kazakhstan has taken great steps toward economic development. It has experienced a 10 percent economic growth in 2007 with 7,000 dollars per capita income.
Iran enjoys close cultural, religious, and historical relations with the Central Asian republics including Kazakhstan.
The Islamic Republic was among the first countries which recognized Kazakhstan's independence and establish diplomatic ties with the country.
In an interview with the Tehran Times, Kazakh ambassador to Iran, Yerik Utembayev, said Kazakhstan and Iran will maintain a strategic relationship and assessed the prospects of economic relations between the two countries as promising.
"The prospect of Tehran-Astana economic relations especially in oil and gas fields is bright, and Iran and Kazakhstan will maintain a strategic relationship," Utembayev stated.
He assessed the current value of economic ties between the two countries at 2.9 billion dollars which is expected to rise to 10 billion dollars annually in the future.
During the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev visit to Tehran for the Caspian Sea summit on October 16 an agreement was signed between Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan for constructing a railroad connecting the three countries.
"We (the two countries) have great potential for cooperation.
Kazakhstan plans to build a refinery and a silo in northern Iran; and Iran also plans to build a steel plant in Kazakhstan with the capacity of 1 million tons per year." The ambassador said achieving an annual 10 billion trade ties is not farfetched as the two countries have great potential for cooperation.
"We plan to increase oil swap with Iran," he told the Tehran Times.
Kazakhstan will take over the presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.
Kazakhstan is the first Muslim country which will assume the presidency of the 56-member body. It is a multicultural and religiously tolerant society.
"About 130 nationalities with 45 different religions live peacefully in Kazakhstan," Utembayev noted.
The Central Asian republic has so far hosted two religious conferences with the participation of world religious leaders and it is preparing to hold the third religious congress in 2009.
"One of the reasons behind electing Kazakhstan as the OSCE president was that the country has made cultural developments." Since independence, Kazakhstan has received 70 billion dollars foreign investment, the ambassador said, adding the figure account for 70 percent of the whole foreign investment attracted by the Central Asian countries.
He went on to say that the World Bank has convinced twenty countries that Kazakhstan is a safe place for investment.
Utembayev said his country is among the first 50 countries in the world with a high economic growth.
"Under the leadership of Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan has succeeded to take great steps toward economic and cultural development," the Kazakh envoy to Tehran pointed out.
Kazakhstan has drafted a 23-year outlook plan which will end in 2030.
"The core of the plan is a structural governmental reform which follows the example of successful countries.
1664**1664 ::IRNA No.011 16/12/2007 10:23 --End