PM NAJIB TO DELIVER SPECIAL ADDRESS AT WIEF IN KAZAKHSTAN

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak will deliver a
special address at the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Astana,
Kazakhstan, next Monday.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
Karim Massimov, President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh, Prime Minister of
Bahrain Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of
Tajikistan Oqil Oqilov and Prof Dr Boediono, Vice President of Indonesia will be
also attending the forum.

"We are excited that the WIEF has gone to Kazakhstan and look forward to
Prime Minister Najib's presence and his efforts at building bridges between
Malaysia, Kazakhstan and other countries in the Muslim world," Chairmain of the
World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation Musa Hitam said.

With the theme 'Globalising Growth: Connect, Compete, Collaborate', this is
the first year the forum is being held outside the Asian and Middle East
regions, reflecting the growing global reach of the WIEF, Musa said in a
statement Friday.

He said this year's event will highlight the vast investment opportunities
available in Kazakhstan and forge stronger cross border partnerships between the
member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the rest of the
world, particularly other Muslim nations.

Other highlights at the event will include the Leadership Panel, which will
also discuss entrepreneurship as a vehicle of growth, Countries in Focus Forum
showcasing business, trade and investment opportunities in selected developing
countries and Parallel Sessions covering Islamic banking, green technologies,
infrastructure development, the halal economy, food security and alternative
energy.