Kazakhstan important, reliable partner for China-proposed BRI, president says

Kazakhstan is an important and reliable partner for the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Thursday.

"We intend to further develop our mutually beneficial cooperation," he told the 33rd plenary meeting of Kazakhstan's Council of Foreign Investors.

In 2020, the volume of rail transportation in Kazakhstan increased by 17 percent, making container transport an important growth driver. That's why Tokayev called for efforts to exploit the nation's potential of rail service.

"Last year, almost 900,000 containers were transported, of which the China-Europe route accounts for about 91 percent. We can confidently say that Kazakhstan has indeed become a key link in land transportation between Asia and Europe," he noted.