The UAE and Kazakhstan plan to implement joint investment projects worth about $11 billion, the country's President has announced during a visit to Abu Dhabi.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the two countries have maintained "exemplary relations and cooperation in many respects" in comments published by state news agency WAM.

Tokayev made the remarks during a keynote speech at the UAE-Kazakhstan business meeting in Abu Dhabi, which was organised by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"I am very pleased to visit your beautiful country. It can be said with confidence that over 28 years we have established exemplary relations between our states and our people. Regular and comprehensive dialogue at the highest level has served as a solid foundation for our relations," he said.

He added that two-way trade grew by 10 percent from January to November 2019 compared to the same period of 2018.

He said direct investment from the UAE to Kazakhstan amounted to $2.1 billion while Kazakhstan investments in the UAE reached $1 billion while close to 350 entities, branches and representative offices from the UAE are operating in Kazakhstan.

"There are ambitious plans to implement joint investment projects worth about $11 billion," he added.

Tokayev also said the UAE is among the top five destinations for tourists from Kazakhstan with about 100,000 Kazakh citizens visiting the UAE annually.

He revealed that Kazakhstan is currently negotiating with Mubadala Investment Company to implement a $ 6.6 billion project on the construction of a petrochemical facility to produce polyethylene in the west of Kazakhstan.

Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and chairman of Abu Dhabi Global Market, said in a speech: "The UAE is currently investing over $2 billion in Kazakhstan, which makes it one of the top sources for foreign direct investments."

The meeting saw three agreements signed spanning educational, agricultural and logistics sectors, WAM added.