950823

Benazir meets

Kazakh president:

4 agreements

signed

ALMATY: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev here held one-to-one meeting at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday evening.

The meeting went beyond the scheduled time and lasted over an hour. The two leaders discussed the security situation in the region including the problems of Kashmir, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Prime Minister Bhutto praised Kazakhstan President for his role in arranging the fourth round of intra-Tajiks talks.

The two leaders after their talks witnessed the signing of four agreements between the two countries. These agreements were signed by Foreign Minister Sardar Aseff Ahmad Ali and his counterpart and relate to principles of mutual cooperation, helping each other in legal cases, avoidance of double taxation and reciprocal trips by the citizens of both the countries.

JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE

Benazir Bhutto said that the agreements signed between Pakistan and Kazakhstan on Wednesday envisage cooperation in a wide range of fields and have laid a solid foundation for further strengthening of bilateral relations.

In a statement made at the joint Press Conference here, she said her visit to Kazakhstan has been very fruitful.

About Kazakhstan, she further said: "Kazakhstan is the largest Central Asian Republic, rich in mineral resources as well as in its historical and cultural heritage. We are convinced that Kazakhstan has a great role to play in the future".

Benazir Bhutto noted that President Nursultan Nazarbayev has accepted my invitation to visit Pakistan at the earliest opportunity. "We look forward to receiving him in Pakistan and to carrying forward the dialogue between our two brotherly countries."

Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said that India cannot deny the Kashmiri people their inalienable right of self-determination.

Speaking at the banquet held in her honour by President of Kazkhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, here, she said in Jammu and Kashmir, the brutal repression unleashed by India on the Kashmiri people for the past six years remains unparalleled in recent history.

However, despite the daily atrocities by the six hundred thousand occupying forces, the Kashmiri people are unflinching in their resolve, she added.

About Afghanistan, she said, Afghanistan people, having successfully overcome foreign occupation, have now fallen victim of new self-inflicted wounds.

About bilateral relations existing between Pakistan and Kazkhstan, Benazir Bhutto said, "our journey to Kazakhstan, the first by a Pakistani Prime Minister, is for me, a journey of rediscovery. It is a reaffirmation of the historic links, that have bound our two countries, ever since the intrepid warriors from the steppes of Cental Asia, made their way into South Asia, and settled in the region that is now Pakistan."

Today, with artificial barriers, having been swept aside, she said "We can renew these links, giving them the new qualitative and quantitative dimensions, that the modern day world demands and our regional proximity makes possibile. This is the promise of the Economic Cooperation Organization, the regional body for promoting collaboration, to which we both belong".

Within this Organization and bilaterally, she further stated "We are committed to the strengthening of Pak-Kazakh ties. Since we last met in Davos, we have made successfuol efforts to move towards this goal. The quadripartite Agreement on "Traffic in Transit through Karakoram Highway", concluded by Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyztan and China, and the bilateral agreement on "International Motor Transport", have opened new vistas for economic exchanges and people to people contacts".

"Once these routes are activated, there will be direct access from the steppes of Kazakhstan to the shores of the Arabian Sea. We are ready to offer our port facilities to Kazakhstan's trade with the outside world," the Prime Minister said.

"Motivated by the spirit of fraternal goodwill and despite our own financial constraints, we have extneded credit for the installation of a cement plant in Chimkent. Its completion will, we hope, add another dimension to our steadily growing economic relations," she added.

The Kazakh President said the two countries had set up a joint economic commission and its first meeting would be held in Islamabad by the end of this year to enhance cooperation in economic and other fields. He said, he had accepted the proposal of Pakistan Prime Minister for the construction of a road between Pakistan and Kazakhstan. He said, Pakistan had offered a credit of million dollars for the supply of cement plant to Kazakhstan.

The Kazakh President disclosed that Pakistan had shown interest in the purchase of food stuff from Kazakhstan. Both the leaders discussed the prospects of airlinkage between the two countries, cooperation in oil and gas sectors and processing of agriculture produce.

In reply to a question, President Nazarbayev said, peace in the region could be achieved through development of economic and political cooperation between the countries of the region.

ROUSING WELCOME

Prime Minister Benazir arrived in Almaty to a rousing welcome on Wednesday afternoon on a three-day official visit of Kazakhstan on the invitation of President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

At the airport, the Prime Minister was warmly received by Kazakh Premier Akezhan Kazhegeldin, Mrs. Kazhegeldin and other high officials of the Kazakh Government.

She was profousely garlanded and presented bouquets by two small girls attired in their traditional costumes.

Besides Asif Ali Zardari, MNA, the Prime Minister among others was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali, Shahid Hassan Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Economic Sector.