Kazakhstan and Singapore sign deals in six areas of cooperation

MOws in areas such as trade and security inked as part of Kazakh President’s visit

- Wong Pei Ting

Kazakhstan and Singapore have agreed to cooperate in six areas economic integration, security, enterprise standards, intellectual property (IP) rights protection, higher education and legal dispute resolution.

The memorandums of understanding (MOUs) sealing the agreements were signed by officials representing the two countries on May 23, as part of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's two-day state visit to Singapore.

This is the first time Mr Tokayev is on an official visit here as the head of state. But he is familiar with Singapore, having served here as a young diplomat for the Soviet Union in the 1970s, and visited the Republic as Kazakhstan's foreign minister in 2004 and chairman of the Senate in 2016.

Kazakhstan, with a population of about 20 million, is the Republic's largest trading partner in Central Asia.

Speaking at a state banquet on May 23, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said there is potential for the two countries to do more.

This includes improving air connectivity, he said, welcoming plans by Kazakh flag carrier Air Astana to launch direct flights to Singapore.

Singapore can explore the possibility of importing more agri-food products from Kazakhstan, and both countries can exchange experiences managing multi-religious and multi-ethnic societies, he added.

Before toasting to continued friendship, Mr Tharman cited a well-known Kazakh proverb that refers to friendship as an "inexhaustible wealth", and said: "We in Singapore certainly appreciate our growing wealth of friendship with Kazakhstan and look forward to doing more together." Mr Tokayev returned the toast with another Kazakh proverb that says a divided country is doomed to fail, while a united country is destined to prosper.

He added that it has become clear his visit will not be just a oneoff event, but the start of an exciting journey in the two countries' enduring relations.