First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev said that he left the country at the peak of his popularity.

Speaking at the Astana Club forum, the former Kazakh president reminded how some foreign leaders were resigning and came back to power.

"Once Charles De Gaulle (former president of France), Mr. Lee Kuan Yew (former prime minister of Singapore) resigned. Mahathir Mohamad (prime minister of Malaysia) - he came back to power, at 92, and it happens. I was Kazakhstan’s head since Soviet times. The years were especially difficult after the collapse of the Soviet Union," Sputnik Kazakhstan cited him as saying.

Kazakhstan was like a “broken plate,” he recalled, as there were no food, electricity in the country.

“During these years, our country improved its economy by 20 times. We built the government, which was not seen on the map yet. This country on the map is now a respectful nation,” the former president said.

“I know that my resignation was sadly received by our population,” he added.

Nazarbayev announced his resignation on March 19, 2019. He remains posts of Chairman of the Security Council and the Nur Otan party. He is also a member of the Constitutional Council.