“First: Relations between Iran and Kazakhstan”
Relations between Iran and Kazakhstan are developing stably. Iran was one of the countries that recognized Kazakhstan’s independence from the beginning and was the second country after the United States to open its embassy in the country. There is no land border between Iran and Kazakhstan, but they become two neighboring states through the Caspian Sea.
Iran has an embassy and consulate in Kazakhstan; in contrast, Kazakhstan has two consulates in Iran. There are about 10,000 Kazakh Diasporas in Iran, mostly in cities such as (Gurgan, Bandar, Turkmenistan and Akkala). The reason behind the normalization and development of bilateral relations between them is their views on foreign.
In 1997, Kazakh President Nursultan NazarBayev described Iran’s significance to Kazakhstan in an article entitled “Neighbors of the Caspian Sea” in the framework of his book “In the Four Ways of the Centuries”
“For us, Iran is a foreign policy partner, which has a great strategy”, includes;
First, Iran is a state on the seaboards of the Caspian Sea. We cannot solve issues of this sea and its underwater resources without coordination and cooperation with Iran.
Second, an entrance through which we can reach the world market directly passes through this country.
Third, Iran is a state that is very important in resolving economic and political developments in the Islamic world.” According to Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s foreign policy is not based on the recommendations of others, but it depends on its own interests.
When emphasizing on the economic aspect of the foreign policy of the Kazakh state, the importance of Iran for Kazakhstan can be seen within three points:
First, it is related to the issue of the Caspian Sea, as Kazakh President Nazarbayev pointed out, this sea route is important in two ways (changing sea conditions and resource management) and then the transportation of resources and security of the port.
Second, it is related to the transportation and transfer of Kazakh products and goods to the world markets, where Iran is the most convenient gateway for Kazakhstan.
Third, it is characterized by the economic interconnection of the region.
Iran-Kazakhstan relations are developing in good manner. In the grip of Russia-China relations, it is natural for Kazakhstan to use the dimension of the Islamic world to balance the two forces. Kazakh President Nazarbayev defines the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a unified platform of Confucianism, Christianity and Islam. In this regard, it is obvious that the Islamic world dimension of Iran’s activities can be seen in the organization, so this will strengthen Kazakhstan position in the organization. Russian expert Dmitri Trenin said he had full confidence in Astana and wanted it to play the third pillar of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) with Moscow and Beijing. Considering to this analysis, the importance of Kazakhstan’s support for Iran is once again obvious.
