Large-scale cooperation between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan may lead to economic competition - Tokayev

AKIPRESS.COM - President of Kazakhstan Kasym-Jomart Tokayev said Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are main states in Central Asia and that large-scale cooperation between these two stats may lead to economic competition.
"Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are main states in Central Asia. A large-scale cooperation is developing between our countries that does not exclude the possibility of economic competition. We should not forget about that. Kazakhstan must keep its leading positions. Our country needs to be stable for that," President Tokayev said in an interview with Ana Tili newspaper.
As for the internal culture, "stability should be ensured not by law enforcement agencies, but primarily by people themselves."
"The state must hear lawful demands of its citizens and meet them within the scope of available financial and legal resources. Social lifts should be created for young people. Mistakes in governance and ideology need to be corrected in time. If this happens, then justice will reign, as I said during my election program. Numerous rallies will become unnecessary. Now, our country is exposed to rallies mostly imposed by provocative slogans from abroad. This puts Kazakhstan in unfavorable position at international arena, where a serious competition at the regional level exacerbates," Tokayev said.