Zarif Meets Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev in Nursultan

During the meeting in the Kazakh capital, Zarif and Nazarbayev exchanged views about a range of issues, including the latest developments in the Middle East and other parts of the world.

They also discussed ways of promoting bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic and the Central Asian country in diverse areas, according to Financial Tribune.

Nazarbayev, who is now the chairman of Kazakhstan’s Security Council, thanked Iran’s top diplomat for participating in the Astana Club meeting, Kazinform news agency reported.

Referring to Zarif’s address to the conference, he said, “I listened to your speech carefully. You have completely identified all the questions. Over 27 years, we have been working to strengthen our relationship. I have visited your country six times. Kazakhstan has always supported Iran in many issues.”

Zarif emphasized that the leadership and people of Iran highly appreciate the contribution of the former Kazakh president to strengthening security across the region.

The foreign minister also thanked Nazarbayev for organizing negotiations in the capital of Kazakhstan to resolve the conflict in Syria, pointing to the Astana peace process, which involves Iran, Turkey and Russia.

Heading a delegation of senior diplomats, Zarif left Tehran for Nursultan, called Astana until March 2019, on Monday to attend the annual meeting of the Astana Club and hold talks with the senior officials of Kazakhstan.  

The Astana Club is a global issues dialogue platform based on Chatham House rules and convened by Nazarbayev.

The club has partnered with international think tanks, including the Institute of World Economy and Politics, the Carnegie Endowment, the German Council on Foreign Relations, the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations and the Russian International Affairs Council.

Club participants include scholars, businesspersons and former members of the US Congress.