Kazakhstan and Türkiye have signed a readmission agreement establishing clear rules for returning people who are staying or residing in either country without legal permission to their home country.

Kazakh Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadenov and Türkiye’s Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi signed the agreement in Astana on the sidelines of a meeting of the interior ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), according to Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry.

The agreement is aimed at strengthening cooperation on migration and security issues between the two countries.

The ministers also discussed closer cooperation between law enforcement agencies, including efforts to combat transnational and cybercrime, criminal investigations, migration security, personnel training and cooperation between operational units.

Sadenov described the agreement as another practical step toward strengthening bilateral cooperation.

The two sides also agreed to establish closer direct ties between their law enforcement units, exchange expertise and improve joint efforts to address pressing security challenges.

Kazakhstan has previously signed readmission agreements with 21 countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Belarus, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Moldova, Poland, Estonia, Serbia, France and Italy.