Central Asia becoming increasingly visible on the map – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

President Tokayev was joined by his Afghan counterpart President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani at the panel discussion themed Geography Matters: An Update on Central Asia. The conversation was moderated by Richard N. Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations. When asked about being neighbors with both China and Russia, President Tokayev pointed out it is quite beneficial for Kazakhstan. «As far as we are talking about Kazakhstan which is the 9th largest territory in the world and which is being located between both China and Russia, for us I think it’s beneficial, because we’re taking a lot of benefits from having close cooperation with both countries,» the Kazakh President stressed. «Also, Kazakhstan is a very important part of Central Asia. It’s a huge territory which has been blessed by vast natural resources. I think that Central Asia is becoming increasingly visible or even conspicuous on the map. From my point of view, Central Asia will be increasingly important in terms of geopolitics,» Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.