Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, during a telephone conversation on Wednesday, congratulated each other on the upcoming New Year and praised the strategic partnership of the two countries. This was reported by the Kremlin press service on December 30.
“During the telephone conversation, Vladimir Putin and the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, warmly congratulated each other on the coming New Year,” the press service notes.
Politicians highly appreciated the development of relations of strategic partnership and alliance between Moscow and Nur-Sultan. They highlighted the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation in countering the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian leader had a telephone conversation with his Kazakh counterpart, Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev. During it, the parties also discussed cooperation in the fight against coronavirus.
The politicians wished each other a Happy New Year. They also paid special attention to “further building up joint efforts” to combat the pandemic, including the organization of production in Kazakhstan of Russian vaccines against this infection.
The production of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine began in Kazakhstan on 21 December. On the basis of the Karaganda pharmaceutical complex, it is planned to create 2 million doses of this drug in stages.
In early December, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Kazakh Ministry of Health signed a cooperation agreement on the registration and production of this vaccine.
Sputnik V is the first coronavirus vaccine in Russia and the world, developed by the Gamaleya Center. She was registered on 11 August.
Its final efficiency exceeded 91%. For severe cases of COVID-19, the effectiveness was 100%.
Nazarbayev fell ill with COVID-19 in mid-June and recovered in early July. Putin sent him a telegram wishing him a speedy recovery.