LAUNCHING CEREMONY OF BOOK BY KAZAKHSTAN PRESIDENT ON "EPICENTER OF PEACE" ON TUESDAY

Islamabad, December 08, 2003

The Federal Minister for Privatisation & Investment Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is hosting the launching ceremony of Book, "Epicenter of Peace" by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev being held under the auspices of Pak-Kazakh Business Forum at Islamabad on December 9, 2003 (Tuesday) morning. President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev is on a two-day official visit to Pakistan on December 8, 2003. Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev will also address the Pakistani Businessmen in the Business Forum to which 30 top businessmen from Kazakhstan accompanying the distinguished guest are also participating.

During his visit a bilateral Investment Treaty will be signed this evening between the two Governments in the presence of the President General Pervez Musharraf and the President Nursultan Nazarbayev at Aiwan-e-Sadar. 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.

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 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 Kazakhstan, Mayor of Astama, Capital of Kazakhstan and thirty businessmen who will interact with the Pakistani businessmen for prospective joint ventures in the petroleum, agriculture, fisheries, electronic, mining, textiles, metal fabrication, light engineering etc.

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 November 24, 1998.