Majilis Speaker Yerlan Koshanov makes visit to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD. KAZINFORM – A Kazakh delegation led by Speaker of the Majilis Yerlan Koshanov visited Islamabad at the invitation of Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Kazinform reports.

During the visit, the issues of interparliamentary cooperation between the two countries were discussed.

The Majilis Speaker congratulated his counterpart on the 75^th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence and parliament.

«This year marks 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries. Over this period, Kazakhstan and Pakistan have established all-round cooperation,» said Koshanov.

The Chairman of the lower chamber of parliament of Kazakhstan spoke about the large-scale political reforms undergoing in the country at the initiative of the Head of State.

For his part, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf stressed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy.

As part of the visit, Koshanov held a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The former noted that Pakistan is one of the first countries to recognize independence of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan-Pakistan trade and economic relations are on a rise. Last year, the mutual trade turnover stood at $100mln, up 2 times.

The Majilis Speaker also met with President Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi of Pakistan and Chairman of the Pakistani Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani.

Koshanov stressed that the Pakistani market with a population of over 230 million people is of great interest to Kazakhstan.

«Access to the seaports of Pakistan is highly attractive to our country. We’re looking into the possibility to export grain, energy resources, and other commodities. We need to develop regional transit and logistics infrastructure,» said the Speaker of the Kazakh Majilis.

The issues of multilateral, educational and cultural cooperation were discussed as well at the meetings.