ASTANA, January 12 (RIA Novosti) - Trade between Russia and Kazakhstan was up 35% year-on-year to reach more than $10 billion in 2005, the Kazakh leader said Thursday.
While praising the results during a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Nursultan Nazarbayev said a number of factors had ensured the figure. About 1,500 Russian-Kazakh joint ventures operate in Kazakhstan, although Nazarbayev focused on achievements in the key energy sector.
"We resolved a number of issues, including... oil transit via Russia, and natural gas processing at the Orenburg gas processing plant," he said, adding that the joint exploration of deposits in the Caspian Sea would allow both countries to double bilateral trade in the near future.
