(Adnkronos) – Italy wants to further strengthen its “excellent” ties with Kazakhstan, premier Giorgia Meloni told its president Qasym-Jomart Toqaev at the Akorda Palace in Astana on Friday during her first official visit to the central Asian republic.
During their talks, Meloni praised Toqaev, hailing him as one “one of the most pragmatic leaders I have ever met” and called Italy’s relations with Kazakhstan “extraordinary”.
“And it is very useful to be able to hold talks with someone who truly understands how complex the world is in these challenging times,” Meloni said.
Meloni made the remarks during a meeting between the Italian and Kazakh delegations.
“Even in these difficult times there is good news, including the extraordinary relationship between Italy and Kazakhstan, which we want to further improve with this visit,” Meloni said.
“Our relationship is excellent, we have said it many times, but there is always scope to do even better.”
For his part, Toqaev said Friday’s talks gave “a very significant boost to the development of our bilateral ties in many areas.”
Italy is Kazakhstan’s third largest trading partner and the biggest among European Union countries, with the value of bilateral trade now worth 20 billion dollars annually, Toqaev noted.
“We attribute great importance to further developing trade between our countries,” he said.
