Kazakhstan, Pakistan ready to intensify bilateral cooperation

ASTANA, September 7 (Itar-Tass) - Kazakhstan and Pakistan are ready to
intensify their bilateral cooperation, Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim
Masimov and his Pakistani counterpart Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said after
their meeting on Wednesday. Gilani is currently on a working visit in
Kazakhstan.
It is high time to give a new impetus to bilateral cooperation, Gilani
said. He said his country was ready to let Kazakhstan use sea ports for
trading operations.
Pakistan will be happy to present all its opportunities for trade, he
said. According to Gilani, cooperation agreements would be drafted in the
near future.
The meeting ended with the signing of an agreement on cooperation
between the Chamber and Commerce and Industry of Kazakhstan and the
Federation of Pakistan's Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
As the Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan reports, the
trade turnover between the two countries exceeded 19.9 million dollars
over the past six months, going up by 30 against the same period of last
year.
At the meeting at the Kazakh government's office the two sides also
expressed their readiness to cooperate in supporting peace in the region.
Stability and peace in the region are 'a point of contact' of
Kazakhstan and Pakistan, Gilani said, adding that both countries might
work together for the sake of stability and peace in Afghanistan.