During his official visit to Kazakhstan on September 14-15, 2009, Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Tan Dung announced that Vietnam will become a full-fledged member of the CICA instead of simply an observer as it was before. Currently, the CICA, which unites 20 Asian nations, including India, Pakistan, Israel and other Arab counties, provides a useful platform for discussion of security issues.
During their talks, the Prime Ministers of the two countries agreed to increase cooperation in economics, trade and investment, particularly in oil and gas. Kazakh Prime Minister Massimov expressed his admiration for Vietnam’s achievements during the renewal and integration process. Dung praised Kazakhstan’s role in the region and the world, especially its key initiatives to pursue the disarmament of nuclear weapons, reinforce the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), build up trust and increase cooperation in Asia.
After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of seven cooperative documents.
The documents included an agreement on strategic cooperation between the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group and Kazakhstan’s State Oil Company Kaz MunaiGaz. Dung met with Kazak President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev. He assured Nazarbayev that Vietnam attaches great importance to promoting all-round cooperation with Kazakhstan. Nazarbayev spoke highly of the talks between the two Prime Ministers which he said will lay a firm foundation for strengthening bilateral cooperation.
Kazakhstan, NATO to develop partnership
Secretary of State – Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Saudabayev met the visiting NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia Robert F. Simmons on September 11.
The two sides discussed cooperation issues, including implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan adopted in 2006, the results of NATO Security Forum last summer in Astana, the Central Asian security situation. Kanat Saudabayev informed his interlocutor on the cooperation perspectives between the OSCE and NATO on the Afghan issue.
