Kazakhstan Foreign Minister met with his Afghan counterpart

Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov met with his Afghanistan counterpart Zalman Rasoul on November 14, Tengrinews.kz reports. The head of Afghanistan Foreign Ministry arrived in Astana for participation in the 12th meeting of the international contact group on Afghanistan issues. "The intention of the parties to continuously expand and deepen bilateral and multilateral cooperation based on the principles of friendship, respect and mutual benefit was confirmed during the talks,” Kazykhanov said after the meeting with Rasoul. According to Kazkahstan Foreign Minister, the meeting allowed to compare positions on current international issues; the parties emphasized their readiness for close interaction under the United Nations and regional organizations. Kazakhstan will continue working on financing humanitarian projects. So, Kazakhstan has allocated $50 million for education of Afghan students. “We are also interested in expansion of economic contacts,” Kazykhanov said and added that Afghanistan needs fuel made in Kazakhstan. Head of Afghanistan Foreign Ministry Zalman Rasoul thanked Kazakhstan for support rendered to Afghanistan in the last 10 years. He tagged the negotiations successful. “I told the Minister that the responsibility for security is being passed from international forces to Afghanistan,” Rasoul told the journalists. The meeting of the international contact group on Afghanistan issues precedes Afghanistan conference in Bonn on December 5.