Today, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to the capital of Kazakhstan. Residents of Astana are actively sharing footage of the capital's preparations for the guest's arrival.
At the same time, some Kazakhs are wondering how this upcoming visit differs from previous visits by the Russian head of state. The editorial team of FBRK has looked into why Putin's state visit to Kazakhstan is of particular importance.
As a rule, state, official and working visits by presidents are different types of diplomatic trips, which differ in their goals and scope of tasks, as well as, of course, in protocol nuances.
A state visit is the highest and most official type of visit. It underscores the importance of bilateral relations between countries and is a symbol of respect and honour for the host country.
Such a visit is carried out exclusively by the head of state and usually happens only once during his entire term in office. It is worth noting that a previous visit of this kind by Vladimir Putin to Kazakhstan took place 9 years ago – in 2015.
An official visit, like a state visit, is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, but has a less ceremonial format.
A working visit has specific goals, such as discussing particular issues of bilateral cooperation.
It is expected that Vladimir Putin's visit will last two days, during which he will hold talks with Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and take part in the CSTO summit.
Ahead of the event, the leaders of the two countries each published an article in the press, in which they spoke about current relations and prospects for further cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia. You can read a brief summary of the articles via the link.