Turkish president to visit Kazakhstan for talks, Asia summit

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye's president is slated to pay a two-day visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday to attend a regional summit and hold talks with his Kazakh counterpart.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his host Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will hold one-on-one talks and attend inter-delegation meetings in the capital Astana to discuss bilateral relations and international issues after an official welcoming ceremony.

The presidents will also attend a high-level strategic cooperation council meeting to enhance the political, economic, cultural, and defense ties.

Türkiye was the first country to recognize Kazakhstan's independence in 1992.

While in Astana, Erdogan will also participate in a summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

The two-day summit will address political, economic, humanitarian, and environmental issues, as well as new challenges and threats.

On the sidelines of the summit, Erdogan is expected to hold bilateral talks with participating leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said on Monday that 11 heads of state, including from Azerbaijan and Palestine, would be attending the summit.

Established in 1992, CICA is a multi-national Asia-focused forum with 27 member states and more than 10 other countries and inter-governmental organizations with observer status.