- Kazakhstan and Armenia have been building relations on the basis of trust and mutual respect for many years. How would you characterize the current state of the bilateral dialogue and its significance for both countries?
- The 1999 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Armenia and Kazakhstan clearly established the vector of interstate cooperation, based both on reaffirming the existing friendly ties and traditions of mutual respect between the peoples of the two countries and on the mutual desire to develop and deepen relations in all areas. At the same time, it is quite evident that Armenia-Kazakhstan bilateral relations acquired an entirely new quality following the reciprocal high-level official visits that took place in 2024-2025: the visit of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the Republic of Armenia and the return visit of Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan to the Republic of Kazakhstan. This conclusion is due not only to the fact that these visits were not timed to coincide with any multilateral summit and were purely bilateral in nature, not only to the fact that they took place after a period of discontinuity in such visits, not only to the fact that nearly three dozen intergovernmental and interagency documents were signed and Joint Statements were adopted as a result, but also to the fact that Armenia-Kazakhstan relations have been elevated to the level of strategic partnership. This is the best confirmation of the momentum that has emerged in recent years in relations between Yerevan and Astana, which is possible in an atmosphere of constructive and trusting dialogue. For both Armenia and Kazakhstan, which seek to fully unlock the potential of cooperation, this level of relations, reinforced by growing mutual interest and an expanding legal and treaty framework, serves as a serious foundation for further enriching the bilateral agenda with new examples of mutually beneficial and forward-looking cooperation.
- Recently, Kazakhstan and Armenia have been implementing a number of specific initiatives and projects. Which of them do you consider the most significant at the current stage, and why do they reflect the real momentum of cooperation?
- At present, a number of joint projects and initiatives are at various stages of implementation. It is encouraging that some of them have reached the final stage of execution.
Conceptually, it is important to establish that any initiatives should be geared toward ensuring that, at the level of government institutions, the business community, civil society, and each individual citizen, there is a real sense of involvement in the process of deepening Armenian-Kazakh relations. It is important to make clear that these relations are not only developing along the lines of strategic partnership, but that the relevant circles are also acting as their active champions and key beneficiaries.
In this regard, I would particularly like to note that alongside the traditional areas of cooperation, cooperation is also steadily developing within new projects that are relevant to our countries. In particular, noteworthy is the agreement reached back in 2024 to establish a branch of the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, an Armenian educational project that brings together a range of advanced solutions and technological know-how, on the platform of the Alem.ai International Artificial Intelligence Center.
- Economic cooperation is gradually moving from intentions to practical steps. In which areas are there already tangible results, and where, in your view, does the greatest growth potential lie?
- The momentum currently observed in the trade and economic sphere indicates that these relations are becoming more institutionalized by the day, advancing both in line with the decisions of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation and in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Roadmaps for Trade and Economic Cooperation for 2023-2025 and 2026-2030.
In addition, ongoing work is aimed at mutually informing business entities in the two countries about the trade, economic, transit, and investment potential of Armenia and Kazakhstan. It is expected that the activities of the Armenian-Kazakh Business Council, established in November of last year, will, in particular, help intensify specialized and sector-specific contacts.
In light of Armenia’s and Kazakhstan’s efforts to unlock their countries’ transit potential, as well as the geoeconomic realities and trends observed both in the South Caucasus and in Central Asia, and especially considering the efforts of the Government of Armenia aimed at unblocking all transportation links in our region, it appears that the transport and logistics sector, along with transit, can serve as a driver of bilateral cooperation.
There is every opportunity to align the international transport routes being developed by Kazakhstan with the Crossroads of Peace concept developed by the Government of Armenia
Other promising areas include the potential for cooperation in digitalization and high technology, within which Armenian companies are ready to share their developments and gratefully adopt the positive experience of their Kazakh counterparts.
And the number of such areas is steadily growing. This is not even to mention cooperation through decentralized cooperation, whose philosophy is fully relevant in the case of friendly states building strategic partnership.
It is obvious that the horizons of cooperation and its mutually beneficial nature will expand substantially with the launch of direct air service between Yerevan and Astana, which today is more needed and more eagerly anticipated than ever.
- The Armenian community in Kazakhstan has traditionally played an important role in the humanitarian ties between our countries. How does the Embassy engage with the community, and which initiatives are your priorities today?
- Building interstate relations when there is a historically established community, as opposed to doing so without such an important—in fact, living—bridge between peoples and countries, means starting from two different points, as well as bearing different degrees of responsibility.
When speaking about the community, one must proceed from the understanding that the vast majority of its representatives are citizens of the host country who care equally deeply about both their historical homeland and Kazakhstan.
And here it is entirely natural that the Embassy, acting in close cooperation with Kazakhstan’s government agencies and public organizations, will continue to help create conditions under which members of the community, while actively participating in the life of the country and society, can preserve their national identity, language, culture, and traditions. Moreover, all of the community’s efforts undertaken in the interest of strengthening its role as an important conduit of Armenian-Kazakh friendship will invariably enjoy the effective support of the diplomatic mission.
It is precisely within this logic that cooperation is being built and that cultural, humanitarian, trade, and economic projects are being implemented.
- Cultural cooperation remains an important instrument for strengthening mutual understanding. Which cultural or educational projects between Armenia and Kazakhstan do you consider most important for developing people-to-people ties?
- Armenia and Kazakhstan are united not only by economic interests, but also by rich cultural ties. Cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere is supported by numerous agreements at various levels, including the Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Culture.
Since 2010, the Abai Center for Kazakh Language, Culture and History has operated under the Department of Turkology at Yerevan State University. Armenian national cultural centers operate in various cities across Kazakhstan. In close cooperation with Matenadaran, Armenia’s Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, where about 17,000 manuscripts are preserved, and Yerevan State University, Kazakhstani scholars are advancing a project to study Armenian-script Kipchak manuscripts, which, I am confident, will not only reveal new chapters in the history of the Kipchaks and Kazakhstan as a whole, but will also undoubtedly confirm the enduring and, crucially, trusting nature of the relationship between the peoples of our countries.
A new level of forward-looking interstate relations has also been reflected in the cultural and humanitarian sphere. Thus, for the first time in recent decades, cross-cultural Culture Days were held in 2024 and 2025. In April 2025, Yerevan hosted the ceremonial opening of Abai Qunanbaiuly Park, named after the founder of written Kazakh literature, the poet and thinker Abai Qunanbaiuly. Six months later, Astana hosted the ceremonial opening of Saint Mesrop Mashtots Street, named after the Armenian philosopher, scholar-linguist, and creator of the Armenian alphabet. Without question, all of this is another important expression of friendship between the peoples of the two countries.
During the Armenian prime minister’s official visit to Kazakhstan in November of last year, an impressive package of memorandums of cooperation between the national libraries, film organizations, museums, and higher education and science institutions was adopted among the bilateral documents signed in the presence of the heads of the two states.
- Historical memory and the experience of the past largely shape the nature of contemporary relations. In your view, which lessons of history are especially relevant at the current stage of cooperation between our countries?
- Without a doubt, over the centuries the paths of the peoples of Armenia and Kazakhstan have repeatedly been closely intertwined and enriched by traditions of mutual respect for carefully preserved national values and views. It is precisely this that laid the foundation for the friendship and strategic partnership we see today.
A Kazakh proverb says: “Zhaqsy zholdas — zharym yrys“ (“A good friend is half of happiness/good fortune“). I believe the most important message, one that will never lose its relevance, is the understanding that friendship must be continually enriched with new examples both at the interstate level and at the level of the societies of the two countries, the business community, and the creative intelligentsia. Most importantly, this should happen through initiatives that would be of interest to the younger generation. That means that even today, when the broadest possible toolkit exists for maintaining ties and communications, regular live interaction is more important than ever.
The potential of bilateral relations is quite evident. It would be shortsighted not to use it in the interests of sustainable development in our countries, for the benefit of strengthening friendship and further expanding the horizons of the relationship, so that Yerevan and Astana continue steadily to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation as strategic partners.
The Embassy’s main priority is, of course, the work determined by the agreements reached at the highest level, aimed at advancing political dialogue, implementing mutually beneficial trade, economic, and cultural and humanitarian projects, and diversifying and simplifying the connectivity linking our countries.
I am confident that the construction of the buildings of Armenia’s diplomatic mission in Astana and Kazakhstan’s Embassy in Yerevan, which will undoubtedly enhance the architectural profile of the capitals, will not only create proper conditions for their effective work, but will also become a symbol of the strength and long-term nature of the Armenian-Kazakh strategic partnership. All of the above can be, and I am confident will be, realized only with mutual support
