"For the first time in a long century history of Kazakhstan, Kazakh people have chosen the place of their capital and built this wonderful city, we could only dream about it 30 years ago," said Nazarbayev speaking at the international scientific-practical conference "30 years of leadership" on Friday.
In his words, "nobody could imagine it".
"We were thinking how to do it in such difficult time. It wasn't an idle inquiry. We had to give a chance to the young state and people to show the opportunities of Kazakhstan that we could do it," he said speaking on his decision to relocate the capital from Almaty to Nur-Sultan.
He said the sacrifices that people face were worth it.
"In the time, when we could not pay pensions, salaries to teachers, doctors. (...) But we solved it. That is what Kazakh people can do when they are free," he added.
Photo source: picture from an open source