Kyrgyz President Atambaev Starts Two-Day Visit To Astana

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev during a recent meeting on the sidelines of a multilateral gathering in Moscow

ASTANA -- Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev has started a two-day official visit to neighboring Kazakhstan.

The Kyrgyz presidential office said Atambaev was scheduled to meet Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbaev and Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov during the trip.

Agreements on border issues, energy, customs, water resources, and Kazakh investments in the Kyrgyz economy are expected to be signed.

Kyrgyz-Kazakh trade volume reached $224 million in the first quarter of 2012, almost twice as much as in the same period last year.

Goods from Kazakhstan are reported to account for up to 15 percent of Kyrgyzstan's imports -- second after Russia-made goods, which account for around 30 percent of Kyrgyz imports.