Kazakhstan and China sign agreement on border checkpoints across state border

 President Nursultan Nazarbaev signed the Agreement on checkpoints across the state border of Kazakhstan and China today. The program of the official visit of President of Kazakhstan includes meeting with President Hu Jintao and the signing of two documents. Also, the declaration on strategic partnership between both countries was signed. In the afternoon, the president of Kazakhstan will take part in the meeting of heads of states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. "I am very pleased to meet you again. For many years, you make a major contribution to the development of bilateral relations. Your official visit falls on the 20th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between our countries. I am firmly convinced that your visit will give an additional impetus to the development and strengthening of Chinese-Kazakh relations and strategic partnership. On this occasion, I want to say that we are ready to exchange views on the development and strengthening of our relations and on other important issues of mutual interest," Head of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao said. "Thanks for your hospitality, kindness and friendship. I am truly glad to meet you. You know, we recently observed the 20th anniversary of our independence and your country was one of the first countries to recognize the state sovereignty of Kazakhstan. In this short time we passed huge distance of cooperation between our countries. We signed the Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighborliness and cooperation - it was the first such agreement within the post-Soviet countries, as well as the Declaration on Strategic Partnership. It is an indicator of a high level of trust between our two countries, as it is an intensive exchange of views at the highest level. This is my 13th visit to China and our 26th meeting with you," Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev announced at the meeting.