PRESIDENT OF KAZAKHSTAN VISITING PAKISTAN ON TWO-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT (DECEMBER 8-9)

Islamabad, December 06, 2003

The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev is arriving Islamabad on a two-day official visit to Pakistan on December 8, 2003.

During this visit a bilateral Investment Treaty will be signed between the two Governments. The Federal Minister for Privatisation & Investment Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh will sign on behalf of the Government of Pakistan, while the Kazakh Minister for Trade & Industry Mr. Abllbek Jaxybekov will sign on behalf of his country. The visiting distinguished guest, the Kazakh President Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev will also attend a Business Forum on 9th of December to which he is bringing 30 top businessmen from Kazakhstan. Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh will host this function on December 9,2003. The Forum will also launch President Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev's book "Epicenter of Peace".

Four other agreements will also be signed on development of academic cooperation between National University of Modern Languages and the Oblai Khan University, cooperation in the sphere of environment, agreement between the State Bank of Pakistan and the National Bank of Kazakhstan on conditions for opening subsidiary Banks and cooperation in the area of Banking Supervision and on the establishment of bilateral relations in the field of urban economic management. The agreements will be signed in the presence of the President General Pervez Musharraf and the President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The Kazakh delegation includes the Kazakh Ministers for Foreign Affairs Mr.  Kassymzhomart Tokaev, Education & Science Mr. Zhaksybek Kulekeyev, Trade &  Industry Mr. Abllbek Jaxybekov, Chairman National Bank of Kazakhistan, Mayor  of Astama, Capital of Kazakhstan and thirty businessmen.

Pakistan and Kazakhstan have set up Joint Ministerial/ Economic Commission, which first met in January 1993. So far four meetings of JMC had taken place since its inception. A quadripartite Agreement on Traffic in transit between Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China was signed in Islamabad on November 24, 1998. The implementation rules of this agreement were finalized and signed at a ministerial level meeting of signatory countries on November24, 1998.