Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos on Friday held a telephone conversation with Kazakhstan’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister Murat Nurtleu.

Cyprus’ foreign ministry described the conversation as “in-depth” and said it “focused on bilateral relations and current regional developments”, while its Kazakh counterpart said they had discussed “prospects of bilateral relations, as well as interaction within international organisations”.

“The interest in further strengthening political dialogue, trade, economic, and investment-based cooperation between Astana and Nicosia was confirmed,” the Kazakh foreign ministry said, adding that Kombos and Nurtleu had “reviewed the schedule of high-level events for 2025”.

The call comes amid strengthening relations between Cyprus and Kazakhstan, with Kombos having travelled to Astana to meet Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in March.

Kombos had also met Nurtleu during that visit, with Nurtleu having said Cyprus is one of Kazakhstan’s “most important and reliable partners in the European Union”.

“We highly appreciate the initiative of opening the embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Astana. The government of Kazakhstan is ready to fully support the opening of the diplomatic mission,” he added.

He went on to say that Kazakhstan has “attracted over $4 billion (€3.8bn) in direct investment” from Cyprus since 2004, while Kazakh investments in Cyprus currently amount to $1.4bn (€1.3bn).

Additionally, he said, more than 390 companies are registered in Kazakhstan with Cypriot capital participating.

Kombos had spoken at the time of “untapped potential” in terms of relations between the two countries and called for a “forum” to be created, while also overseeing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries’ aeronautical authorities.

This, he said, may in the future allow for the establishment of direct flights between Cyprus and Kazakhstan.

Strengthening relations between the Republic of Cyprus and Central Asian countries in recent years have proven an obstacle for those wishing to bolster the north’s presence on the international stage, with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar not receiving an invite to the 10th summit of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) in Astana last year.

Reacting to his exclusion from the summit, Tatar blamed the “Greek Cypriot mentality”.

He said the Greek Cypriot side has “increased its efforts to ensure there is no improvement in the isolation imposed by the TRNC by all international organisations and countries in which they are unfairly and unlawfully members, including the European Union”.

“This malicious policy of the Greek Cypriot leadership continues intensively towards the OTS’ member states through the use of various channels, including threats. For these reasons, we could not attend this year’s summit,” he said.

However, Tatar did bounce back to receive an invite and be present at this year’s OTS summit in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek.