Astana hosts meeting of foreign compatriots

ASTANA. KAZINFORM 35 Kazakhs from 10 countries including Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, China etc. gathered in Astana on Tuesday for Sacred Kazakh Land meeting.

First Deputy Chairman of the World Association of Kazakhs Zautbek Turisbekov welcomed the guests. "There are 16 million Kazakhs in the world, 12 million of them live in Kazakhstan and the other 4 million are living in 44 countries. Most of them live in China, Uzbekistan and Russia. As per the President's instructions, we support our compatriots living abroad and maintain close ties with them. Today's event is a proof of our efforts," he said.
  
The meeting participants were also demonstrated a documentary about the Kazakhs of Altay region who were forced to leave their motherland and move to Turkey in the 1930-50s. They walked more than 3,000km, trekked through the Himalayan Mountains and reached Turkey at last.
According to Turisbekov, the film makers worked in collaboration with the archival services of China and Great Britain. The second part of the film will be devoted to the Kazakhs living in the U.S., he added.

The event was organized by the World Association of Kazakhs together with Otandastar (Compatriots) Foundation.