Turkish president heads to Kazakhstan for talks, regional summit

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan departed Wednesday for the Kazakh capital Astana to meet with his counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and to participate in a regional summit.

Erdogan and Tokayev will hold one-on-one talks and attend inter-delegation meetings to discuss bilateral relations and international issues after an official welcoming ceremony.

The presidents will also co-chair the fourth meeting of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council to enhance political, economic, cultural and defense ties.

Türkiye was the first country to recognize Kazakhstan's independence in 1992.

While in Astana, Erdogan on Thursday will participate in a summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

The two-day summit will address political, economic, humanitarian and environmental issues as well as new challenges and threats.

On the sidelines of the summit, Erdogan is expected to hold bilateral talks with participating leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said Monday that 11 heads of state, including from Azerbaijan and Palestine, will be attending the summit.

Established in 1992, CICA is a multi-national Asia-focused forum with 27 member states and more than 10 other countries and inter-governmental organizations with observer status.