Kazakhstan, Astana, April 30 / Trend D. Mukhtarov /
One of the main obstacles for developing bilateral Israeli-Kazakh relations is the lack of a direct flight, Israeli Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Astana Tasman Eliyahu said in an interview with Trend today.
"Today, one can travel from Kazakhstan to Israel through Kiev, Germany, Turkey and Austria," he said. "This takes a lot of time considering transfer, which does not attract businessmen of both sides."
He added that the import volume from Kazakhstan to Israel is approximately $1.5 billion, mainly oil and grain. The export volume from Israel to Kazakhstan amounted to $126 million as of 2012.
"I intend to meet with the management of the Air Astana national company to draw attention to the fact that our embassy issues about 6,000 visas to Kazakh citizens per year," he said. "This is a sufficient argument for opening a direct flight."