OREANDA-NEWS. April 1, 2010. Presidents of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and President of Slovakia Ivan Gasparovic confirmed a mutual desire to develop bilateral cooperation, relying primarily on economic relations, on Tuesday in Astana.

“We agreed the huge potential of our cooperation. The agreement, achieved in 2007, during my official visit to Bratislava, create favorable conditions for deepening relations between the two economies. We can give a good dynamic to development of our relations,” Nursultan Nazarbayev on Tuesday in Astana.

Nursultan Nazarbayev said that despite the crisis, the volume of trade between the two countries increased by 10% in 2009 and amounted to USD  1.2 billion

He is sure that the visit of President of Slovakia to Kazakhstan will have a positive impetus for the growth in bilateral trade.

There are 17 joint Kazakh-Slovak enterprises, which operate in Kazakhstan.

In his turn, President of Slovakia said that “we have no controversial issues; rather we look for opportunities to improve our relationships, especially in the economy.”

“Trade and economic relations between our two countries are major, especially now, when it is a time to deal with the consequences of global economic crisis,” Ivan Gasparovic said.

He noted Kazakhstan is a strategic partner in Central Asia not only for Slovakia, but in general for the European Union.