Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev have expressed satisfaction at the gradual increase in bilateral trade in recent years and agreed to work closely to expand bilateral trade by addressing structural impediments between the two countries.
"Both leaders welcomed the organisation of Business Forum with participation of leading business CEOs of both countries as well as creation of a Joint Business council during the visit, which provided a platform for renewed cooperation between the businesses of the two countries," said a joint statement issued after the talks.
The two leaders noted that the signing of an agreement between the Chamber of Foreign Commerce of Kazakhstan and Federation of Chambers of Commerce of India (FICCI) will serve to promotion of business linkages.
They also emphasized the importance of closer interactions between investment promotion agencies of the two countries.
The duo welcomed signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between JSC «Kazxnex Invest» and JSC «Invest India», which includes a "Road Map" on trade, economic and investment cooperation, which would identify concrete projects in various sectors and assist in efficient implementation of projects in both the countries to activate bilateral trade and economic relations.
They noted the successful 12th Meeting of the Kazakhstan-India Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) on trade, economic, scientific, technological, and cultural cooperation in New Delhi on June 16-17 this year, where new initiatives and proposals to strengthen cooperation in different sectors between countries have been explored.
They called on the IGC to monitor implementation of the understandings reached, including through regular meetings of the various Joint Working Groups at the official level, as well as consultations between foreign offices of both countries on political, consular and visa matters.
Both leaders welcomed the establishment of Joint Study Group between India and the Eurasian Economic Union on the feasibility of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). They acknowledged that the proposed FTA would create an enabling framework for expanding economic linkages between Kazakhstan and India.
Prime Minister Modi and the Kazakhstan President agreed to collaborate closely in the framework of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) as well as through bilateral initiatives to improve surface connectivity between two countries and the wider region.
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They welcomed recent initiatives by India to operationalise the INSTC, including the hosting of a stakeholders conference in Mumbai on June 12, 2015. They called upon the next INSTC Council meeting to be held in India in August 2015 to take necessary decisions to facilitate usage of the corridor by traders of these countries.
Both leaders agreed that the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran rail-link, operationalised in December 2014, become a linked corridor of the INSTC.
They also welcomed ongoing bilateral discussions aimed at setting up a dedicated freight terminal in one of the Western sea-ports of India for trade with Kazakhstan.
"They hope that these initiatives will serve as the basis for enhanced economic and commercial interaction between the two countries in the days ahead. In this connection, the parties welcomed signing of Memorandum on Mutual Understanding on Technical Cooperation in the sphere of railways between the NC "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy" JSC and the Ministry of Railways of India," the joint statement said.
