AKIPRESS.COM - The XXI meeting of the intergovernmental commission on cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia was held on Oct. 15 in Nur-Sultan, the press service of the Prime Minister reported.

The First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Finance of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov was a co-chair from the Kazakh side, and the First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Finance of Russia Anton Siluanov co-chaired from the Russian side.

The sides discussed a wide range of issues of interaction in the field of trade and economic cooperation, the fuel and energy complex, the peaceful use of atomic energy, industry, transport, agriculture, health, environmental protection, education and science, social and labor relations, information technology, culture, tourism, the development of inter-regional and cross-border cooperation, as well as the interaction of business circles of the two countries.

In 2018, the volume of mutual trade between Kazakhstan and Russia amounted to $18.5 billion, which is 13.1% higher than in 2017 ($16.4 billion). According to the results of 8 months of 2019, the volume of mutual trade between our countries increased by 0.8% and amounted to $12.2 billion (8 months of 2018 — $12.1 billion).

The commission recommended to hold a regular meeting of the Kazakh-Russian Business Council in 2020 as part of the Forum for Interregional Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia with the participation of the heads of state.

The next XXII meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission will be held in 2020 in Russia.