OREANDA-NEWS. February 5, 2009. The heads of state discussed the results of the CSTO and EurAsEC summits which had been held earlier that day, as well as various matters regarding economic cooperation.

Beginning of Meeting with President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev:

THE PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Dear Nursultan Abishevich, I would like to welcome you once again to Moscow.

We had a very productive day today. I would like to thank you particularly for your constructive participation in the day's proceedings, in the complex conversations that we had. It's always important for these conversations to be harmonious, and we achieved that in these talks to a great extent thanks to your help.

In fact we laid the foundations for the results achieved today, at our meeting in Borovoye, Kazakhstan, when we worked calmly towards deciding which issues troubled our peoples most, which were important for our countries.

The fact that we were able to prepare documents is such a short time and that today in one day we were able to reconcile our somewhat different positions, is of course a very good result. And I am sure that it will serve to further the integration processes in this region. You are an advocate and active supporter of that kind of integration, and that will, of course, aid the development of our bilateral dialogue which is already advancing at a good pace in spite of the fact that we find ourselves in the vice-like grip of the crisis.

Nonetheless, we have so many joint projects, that in my opinion they will enable us to weather this year with no slowdown in bilateral cooperation, as we try to start something new, perhaps resolving issues linked to overcoming the consequences of the difficult financial situation, since bilateral ties take on a particular significance in conditions like this.
You and I have a packed agenda for this year, and numerous meetings of different kinds. The first meeting has taken place already in Moscow as a continuation of our meeting in Borovoye and I am sure that our meetings, in the long term, will serve to develop a friendly and allied dialogue between Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

PRESIDENT OF KAZAKHSTAN NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV: Thank you, Dmitry Anatolyevich.
I am in complete agreement with your assessment of the day's proceedings, the CSTO and EurAsEC meetings. We fulfilled the agenda, achieved a consensus and workable, practical results. This was mentioned at the press conference. You just commented on it now.

At the same time I would like to say that in the past year we finally achieved the trade volume we dreamt of: 20 billion dollars, that is trade along the borders and between our countries. There are many examples of thousands of Russian and Kazakhstani companies working together inside Russia, and we have mutual investments, also there are 20 thousand young people from Kazakhstan studying in Russian universities; the cultural exchange continues.

On my suggestion a forum of scientists from the EurAsEC took place in Astana, and I hope my suggestion of a banking forum and a business forum, as set out in my Eurasia themed meeting with professors and students at Moscow State University in 1994, will finally bear fruit.
I was recently in Davos where all the academics and professors are already thinking about the post crisis period. What needs to be done during the crisis which is, at the same time, a good opportunity? We need to focus on the support areas, tighten up our infrastructure, boost education and healthcare and reorganise the economy and integration. Integration is our salvation from the crisis; it means opening up the market. We are working on this, and like many on my side I am very pleased all our agreements and treaties are functioning.
Russia-Kazakhstan and Kazakhstan-Russia relations are at a very high level, and we are committed to this integration, this alliance. In addition we are now acting quickly as you suggested to ensure the customs union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus comes into being this year. That will be good news, and a good example of integration for all the others.