Ukrainian President holds phone conversation with former president of Kazakhstan Nazarbayev
President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, had a telephone conversation with the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, reads the report published on Ukrainian President's website.
Poroshenko acknowledged Nazarbayev’s significant personal contribution to the establishment and development of Ukraine- Kazakhstan relations.
"The interlocutors expressed confidence in further strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation based on friendship and respect between both countries and nations," said the report.
On March 19, Nazarbayev announced his resignation from the post of president of the country. He was the president of Kazakhstan since April 1990. In April 2015, he was re-elected for a fifth consecutive term in early elections, winning 97.75% of the vote.
In February, shortly before leaving the presidency, Nazarbayev changed the government. The Cabinet of Ministers was dismissed after sharp criticism from the head of state due to the growing problems in the economic and the social sphere.
According to the legislation, the chairman of the Senate, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, became the interim president of Kazakhstan. After he took the oath, Tokayev announced that Kazakhstan must perpetuate Nazarbayev’s name and renamed Astana to Nursultan.
The capital of Kazakhstan was named Astana in 1998. Previously this city was called Akmola, Tselinograd and Akmolinsk.