Political Relations

During the days of the Soviet Union, direct ties between India and Kazakhstan were not very extensive. All contacts with the various autonomous republics of the USSR were through Moscow only. Pandit Nehru along with Mrs. Indira Gandhi visited Almaty in 1955. Later Dr. Radhakrishnan visited Kazakhstan in his capac­ity as the Indian Ambassador to the USSR. He had met Satpaev, the then Presi­dent of the National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan.

India was one of the first countries to recognise the independence of Kazakhstan. Diplomatic relations were established in May 1992 when the Embassy of India was opened in Almaty. Ambassador Kamalesh Sharma presented creden­tials as India’s first Ambassador to Kazakhstan on 1st October 1992. The Embassy of Kazakhstan was opened in New Delhi in September 1993. Relations in different areas have strengthened since then, notably in the political, economic, trade, cul­tural, scientific and sports spheres.

India and Kazakhstan mutually have a very good political understanding. Bilateral political interaction has been regular. Interaction in UN and other inter­national fora have been close and mutually supportive. These consultations have revealed a close level of understanding and shared perceptions on each other’s concerns in the region.

India has consistently supported President Nazarbaev’s initiative on con­vening a Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). India is an active member of the Special Working Group (SWG) created

for the drafting of the documents of CICA. There have also been two meetings of the CICA at the Deputy Foreign Minister level, which took place in February 1996 and December 1997 in Almaty. The Foreign Ministers of the CICA member States met in Almaty on 14th September and signed the Declaration on the Principles Guiding Relations among the CICA Member States. Indian External Affairs Min­ister participated in this meeting.

A number of high-level visits have taken place between India and Kazakhstan. Indian Prime Minister Shri Narsimha Rao visited Kazakhstan in May 1993. Vice- President of India Shri K.R. Narayanan visited Kazakhstan in September, 1996. President of Kazakhstan Mr. Nursultan Nazarbaev visited India in February 1992, in July 1993 and in December, 1996. There have been other high-level exchanges at the level of Speaker of the Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Ministers and other Ministers. A large number of agreements have been signed during these visits.