Kazakhstan respects India's global and regional standing and regards New Delhi as one of the key players in global political, economic and regional affairs, said that country's Ambassador to India Doulat Kunanyshev.
Addressing the Rotary Club and the National Defence College (NDC) here, Ambassador Kuanyshev said he was viewing the ongoing general elections in India with great interest, and hoped, that whatever its outcome, the new government in India would ensure continuity of policies towards Kazakhstan.
"Currently India is involved in one of the biggest political events. General elections are going on, but one thing the people of Kazakhstan must be assured about is, that whichever party or alliance gets a majority in the new parliament, and whoever heads the government as Prime Minister, Indian policies towards Kazakhstan as well as pillars of Indian foreign policy will remain the same," he said.
Ambassador Kuanyshev further said that prospects of cooperation between Kazakhstan and India are bright.
"We have agreed to work very closely and pragmatically to develop connectivity between South Asia and Central Asia. This is the key answer to many opportunities which lie before us. We hope that with the strength and potential of India, we will be able to develop those connectivities in multiple forms," he said.
Meanwhile, a representative of the embassy said the next annual meeting of the Kazakh-Indian Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technology, Industry and Culture will take place in Astana on April 24-25, and added that last month, the city of Almaty played host to "The India Show", which witnessed the participation of over 150 Kazakh and Indian companies.
The representative also revealed that foreign office consultations between the two countries are due to take place soon, where Indian Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh would be one of the co-chairs.
Emphasizing that it was important for both Kazakhstan and India to take bilateral cooperation to the next level, the embassy representative said it would always be the Kazakh Government's endeavour to support and develop various forms of bilateral interaction. This would also include business council meetings and interactions between friendship associations in both countries, he added.
In this context, he said that an Indian delegation led by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram would be in Astana to attend the 47th meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) from May 2 to May 5 to follow-up on the outcome of the 46th ADB meeting that took place in India recently.
During his address at the NDC today, where he spoke on the topic "Central Asia Region-Problems and Perspective", Ambassador Kuanyshev was asked for his assessment of the situation prevailing in Ukraine.
He said that Kazakhstan is deeply concerned with the current developments in Ukraine, and was aware that a further escalation of tensions may lead to unpredictable consequences at both the regional and global levels.
"Kazakhstan calls on all parties to renounce options that imply the use of power and make maximum political efforts to resolve the current crisis by means of negotiations.The resolution of the crisis should be based on respect towards the fundamental principles of international law. We urge all parties to maintain a balanced, objective and responsible approach towards the situation and refrain from any actions that could provoke a further escalation of the crisis," he said, adding that this was the official line of his government.
He said that Kazakhstan retains the hope for an early normalization of the situation, the prompt restoration of law and order and a peaceful dialogue between all parties involved.
