Mirziyoyev congratulates Toqayev on his birthday

On May 17, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan had a phone conversation with President Qosim-Jomart Toqayev of Kazakhstan, as reported by the Uzbek presidential press service.

Mirziyoyev extended birthday greetings to Toqayev, wishing him good health, happiness, and success, as well as peace and prosperity for the Kazakh people. He also commended Tokayev for his significant contributions to strengthening the friendship and neighborly relations between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

“The two leaders discussed current issues concerning the expansion of multifaceted cooperation between their countries. They reviewed the implementation of agreements made during a recent meeting in Khiva and planned future high-level events,” the report stated. 

Reports indicated that particular attention was given to developing new trade and economic cooperation projects, enhancing collaboration in industry, transport and logistics, energy, and agriculture, and involving businesses and regional entities. The leaders also stressed the importance of continuing active cultural and humanitarian exchanges.

For context, Qosim-Jomart Toqayev was born on May 17, 1953, in Almaty. He is the son of writer Kemel Tokayev and Turar Shabarboyeva, an employee of the Almaty Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages. He graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in 1975, completed an internship at the USSR Embassy in China, and later trained at the Beijing Institute of Linguistics. In 1992, he graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Toqayev began his career in 1975 at the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was assigned to the Soviet Embassy in Singapore. In 1979, he returned to the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1984 to 1985, he worked in the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being assigned to the Soviet Embassy in China, where he held positions of second secretary, first secretary, and adviser until 1991.

In 1992, Qosim-Jomart Toqayev was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The following year, he advanced to the role of First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1994, Toqayev was named Minister of Foreign Affairs. In March 1999, he was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister, and by October of the same year, he was appointed Prime Minister, following parliamentary approval and a presidential decree. In January 2002, he took on the role of State Secretary - Minister of Foreign Affairs. From 2003 to 2007, Tokayev served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in January 2007, he was elected Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan. In 2008, as Speaker of the Upper Chamber of Parliament, he was also elected Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

In March 2011, Tokayev was appointed UN Deputy Secretary-General, Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, and the UN Secretary-General's Personal Representative to the Conference on Disarmament. He also held the position of Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament. Additionally, he was elected chairman of the Councils of Foreign Ministers for both the CIS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

On October 16, 2013, Toqayev was re-elected as Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan. On March 20, 2019, he was inaugurated as the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.