Kazakh president, king of Jordan discuss development of bilateral political, economic relations

ASTANA. Nov 5 (Interfax) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has held negotiations with King Abdullah II of Jordan, who has come to Kazakhstan for an official visit, the Kazakh presidential press service said on Thursday.

Tokayev said at the meeting that Kazakhstan attached great importance to the practical implementation of the agreements reached in all areas of mutual interest. "Over the last years, our partnership has gained a new momentum. We are proud of firm political dialogue that we maintain at different levels," the presidential press service quoted Tokayev as saying.

He described economic cooperation as one of the key drivers of relations between Kazakhstan and Jordan.

Tokayev particularly noted similar approaches taken by the two countries toward current international and regional issues and praised the king of Jordan's contribution to strengthening friendly ties and bringing the peoples of the two countries closer together.

"Kazakhstan highly values the Aqaba process, launched by Your Majesty more than a decade ago. It is a great honor to co-host first-ever meeting of this format in Central Asia. The theme of the session on Security in the field of Artificial Intelligence is particularly timely. I believe it will bring a valuable perspective from our region and add new strength to our joint efforts for peace and security," Tokayev said.

King Abdullah II said that Jordan intended to continue implementing the agreements reached between the two countries and expanding cooperation in key areas, including trade, investment, tourism, and technology.

He reaffirmed Jordan's interest in broadening engagement with Kazakhstan in promoting regional security and countering terrorism and extremism.

As reported, Astana is to host an Aqaba Process summit to be attended by several heads of state on November 6. The Aqaba Process is an international initiative launched by King Abdullah II in 2015, which is aimed at strengthening international cooperation in combating terrorism and extremism and facilitating the exchange of experience and coordination of joint efforts to promote security.