ISLAMABAD: Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday for a two-day official visit aimed at further enhancing bilateral relations between Pakistan and Kazakhstan.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar received the visiting leader at Rawalpindi’s Nur Khan Airbase, where a 21-gun salute was presented in his honour. Streets in the federal capital were decorated with Kazakhstan’s national flags to mark the occasion.
President Tokayev is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising senior cabinet members and top officials. Pakistan and Kazakhstan enjoy longstanding friendly relations, with Kazakhstan emerging as Pakistan’s largest export destination among Central Asian states.
According to official sources, President Tokayev is scheduled to hold separate meetings with President Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his stay. He is also expected to address the Pakistan–Kazakhstan Business Forum, highlighting economic and investment opportunities between the two countries.
Earlier, the President’s Secretariat announced that President Zardari will confer the Nishan-i-Pakistan, the country’s highest civilian honour, on the presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The Uzbek president is expected to visit Pakistan later this month.
The Foreign Office stated that the visit offers a timely opportunity for both sides to conduct a comprehensive review of bilateral relations. Discussions are expected to focus on expanding cooperation in trade, logistics, regional connectivity, education, people-to-people exchanges, and coordination at regional and international forums.
The visit is being viewed as mutually beneficial. For Pakistan, it supports efforts to position the country as a vital land bridge connecting Central and South Asia, while for Kazakhstan, it offers avenues to diversify trade routes amid ongoing geopolitical challenges in Eurasia following the Russia–Ukraine conflict.
Ahead of the visit, Kazakh Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek was already in Pakistan. On Monday, eight memoranda of understanding were signed between higher education institutions of both countries to promote joint research, faculty and student exchanges, academic collaboration, and capacity-building initiatives. Additionally, Kazakhstan education centres were inaugurated at three public sector universities in Islamabad.
Previously, during the September visit of then Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Murat Nurtleu, Pakistan and Kazakhstan had signed an Action Plan of Cooperation aimed at further strengthening bilateral ties.
