Toptan meets Kazakh leaders in Astana

On an official visit to Kazakhstan, Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan yesterday met with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Karim Masimov in the capital Astana. During his meeting with Nazarbayev at the Presidential Palace, Toptan praised recent remarkable economic and social advancements in Kazakhstan. Stating that the good ties between Turkey and Kazakhstan deserve further improvement, he also thanked Nazarbayev for supporting Turkey's successful bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. "We feel at home in Kazakhstan," he added. For his part, Nazarbayev said that since his country gained its independence, the two countries have enjoyed good political and economic relations. He also called on Turkish businessmen to invest more in Kazakhstan, adding that the trade volume between the two countries is over $2 billion. Nazarbayev also said that the Kazakh people would never forget that Turkey was the first country to recognize their independence.