Kazakhstan is China’s good neighbor and good friend. Twenty-four years into the establishment of diplomatic ties, the constructive cooperation between our two countries have flourished, setting a good example for good-neighborly cooperation in international relations. To develop good-neighborly relations with China is one of the foreign policy priorities of Kazakhstan. Our bilateral relations have been continuously deepened, thanks to the close high-level political contacts. The new economic policy “Bright Road” proposed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping demonstrate the shared vision of our two countries for long-term cooperation. The Bright Road policy is aimed at driving Kazakh economic restructuring, facilitating transportation, logistics, industry and energy infrastructure development and advancing the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises. That’s why the initiative of building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is highly relevant to the national development plan of Kazakhstan. The agreements our two countries have reached in the fields of industrialization, transit transportation, investment and industrial capacity transfer serve as significant models. Such cooperation is at an unprecedentedly high level in modern international cooperation. Kazakhstan is located at the center of the Eurasian continent, with well-developed transportation infrastructure. In 2014, our presidents jointly launched the Lianyungang logistics cooperation base and the international highway between Western China and Western Europe will soon be completed, which present good opportunities for the two countries to build a transnational transportation and industrial alliance. In addition, the Horgos international border cooperation center, which is running smoothly and demonstrating practical significance, will continue to promote Kazakhstan-China bilateral trade.
   
I cite the successful model of Kazakhstan-China cooperation to show that the path to security originates from cooperation. Today, Asia has become the locomotive of global economic growth. Asia is the most populous region with diverse cultures and ethnic groups. At the same time, terrorism, separatism and extremism have been spreading in Asia and even globally. Continuous regional and local conflicts, the unstable financial system, threatened food security, damaged ecological environment, outbreaks of contagious diseases, worsening and interwoven traditional and non-traditional security threats and other challenges call for proper responses through the best models of cooperation. We must explore the development of effective mechanisms to strengthen political and economic cooperation and minimize global and regional threats. President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed the establishment of a CICA-based international organization as a pan-Asian cooperation mechanism for consolidating mutual trust and safeguarding regional security and stability. This proposal is urgently needed.
   
That’s why Kazakhstan supports turning CICA into an international organization, greatly appreciates China’s support for promoting the CICA mechanism and will work together with China to advance the institutionalization of CICA. I believe that it is completely right to extend the CICA chairmanship of China to 2018 and I am convinced that under the wise leadership of China and with the joint efforts of all member countries, we will implement the above proposal and contribute to Asia’s security and stability.