Today in Sochi, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev took part in the 16th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in a narrow and expanded format, and also held a number of bilateral meetings with representatives of the SCO member states and the organization of ESCAP.

The meeting was attended by the Prime Ministers of the Russian Federation D. Medvedev, Uzbekistan — A. Aripov, Tajikistan — K. Rasulzoda, Kyrgyzstan — S. Isakov, PRC — Premier of the State Council L. Keţian. The meeting of the heads of government was held for the first time with the participation of the new SCO members: Pakistan — Prime Minister Sh. Abbasi, and India – Foreign Minister S. Swaraj.

At the meeting, the topical issues of the current economic situation in the region and the world as a whole, deepening economic and humanitarian interaction, as well as transit and transport potential were discussed in a narrow format. In addition, the Kazakh side raised issues of ensuring food security, developing cooperation between representatives of small and medium businesses, interaction in education and culture, as well as multilateral solutions to the problems of man-made impact on the environment.

The enlarged meeting was held with the participation of representatives of observer states: Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia, as well as the Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Tigran Sargsyan and representatives of a number of international and regional organizations.

The main topics were the prospects for trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation. In addition, issues of expanding cooperation in the field of communications and information and communication technologies, improving customs administration, protection of intellectual property, environmental protection were discussed. The participants also considered measures to implement such documents as the Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation Program, the List of Actions for the Further Development of Project Activities, the SCO Development Strategy until 2025, and the formation of financial mechanisms and the revitalization of the SCO Business Council and Interbank Association.

Following the results of the meeting, a number of documents were signed on the procedure for the formation and implementation of the SCO budget, as well as other decisions concerning the activities of the organization. The next meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the SCO member states will be held in Tajikistan in 2018 as the country is taking over the chairmanship.

Within the CHG SCO, Bakytzhan Sagintayev held bilateral meetings with the heads of government of Afghanistan and China, as well as with the UN Under-Secretary-General - the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Issues of further cooperation between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan in the trade, economic, humanitarian, military-technical fields, as well as cooperation in strengthening security in the Central Asian region were discussed with Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the executive branch of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Bakytzhan Sagintayev noted that the Government of Kazakhstan decided to provide humanitarian aid in the form of food, which will be sent in the near future.

Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev also met with Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Keqiang, during which a wide range of issues of trade, economic and investment cooperation were considered. Particular attention was paid to enhancing cooperation in the industrial and iinvestment spheres. In this direction, the parties noted the importance of implementing a joint Kazakh-Chinese program for industrial and investment cooperation. For today, a list of 51 investment projects for a total of about $27 billion has been determined.

The bilateral trade turnover in the current year shows positive dynamics of growth. Considering the prospects for the development of agricultural cooperation, the sides noted that Kazakhstan has a huge potential for producing organic products and, considering the growing demand, can become one of the main suppliers of agricultural products to the market of PRC.

In this regard, the issue of the need for acceleration by the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) of the PRC of the procedures for admission of Kazakh agricultural products to the Chinese market was raised. Recall, in May this year, the International Epizootic Bureau recognized Kazakhstan as a zone free from foot and mouth disease. The presence of the status allows the export of animal and vegetable products to the WTO and EU member countries.

Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev also met with Shamshad Akhtar, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Issues of further cooperation in implementing the initiative of the Head of State N. Nazarbayev to create an international center for the development of green technologies and investment projects "Future Energy" on the basis of Expo were discussed. Implementation of the Kazakhstan-initiated Green Bridge Partnership Program is an important part of the cooperation with ESCAP.

Particular attention was paid to the implementation of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), in which Kazakhstan, as the country-chair of SPECA, in 2018 plans to organize the XIII session of the Governing Council and the next meeting of the SPECA Economic Forum.

It should be noted that the date of the meeting of the CHG SCO coincided with the holiday in Kazakhstan — the Day of the First President. In this regard, the Prime Ministers of Afghanistan and China, expressed their congratulations at bilateral meetings.

The head of the executive power of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah, congratulated the Government and people of Kazakhstan on the Day of the First President, and conveyed best wishes to Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Premier of the State Council of China Li Keqiang congratulated the people of Kazakhstan on the First President's Day and the upcoming Independence Day and noted the success of the development of bilateral relations, the core of which is cooperation in the production sphere.

Earlier, the Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev also congratulated the people of Kazakhstan on the Day of the First President.

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