President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kazakhistan's Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov discussed bilateral relations and regional and global developments on Thursday.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, and Erdoğan’s chief advisor Akif Çağatay Kılıç were present at a closed-door meeting.
"The meeting addressed bilateral relations between Türkiye and Kazakhstan, regional and global issues, Israel's attacks on Gaza, and the recent situation in the region," said the Presidential Communications Directorate on X.
Underlining that the Israeli government is trying to escalate conflicts across the region, Erdoğan stressed the urgent need for an immediate and lasting cease-fire and enhanced collaboration within the Organization of Turkic States to facilitate humanitarian aid to Gaza.
"President Erdoğan also stated that it is important to develop relations with Kazakhstan in counter-terrorism, the economy, and other areas, particularly the defense industry," the directorate added.
Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which claimed about 1,200 lives.
More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, and 85% of the enclave's population has been forced into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of essentials such as food and medicines.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
Kazakhstan is one of Türkiye's key economic and political allies in Central Asia as Ankara strives to boost cooperation with Turkic states in the region. In 2009, the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement and later, set up a high-level strategic cooperation council.
In time, trade volume increased between countries while Turkish investments in Kazakhstan proliferated, particularly in the construction sector. Kazakhstan has also been host to talks on Türkiye's neighbor Syria as countries seek a peaceful resolution to civil war in the country.
Türkiye has sought closer ties with Turkic-speaking Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.
In 2009, Türkiye and Kazakhstan signed a “Strategic Partnership Agreement” which resulted in Türkiye becoming one of the most important political and economic partners of Kazakhstan in the region.
Bilateral relations between the two countries include various aspects such as trade, investment, culture, tourism, health, education and military issues, all of which are fields of cooperation developed on the basis of mutual benefit.
