On 6th December 2022, Pakistan Research Center for a Community with Shared Future (PRCCSF), Islamabad and Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan jointly organized a Conference on “New Kazakhstan-New Initiatives”. The conference aimed to bring together intellectuals from various institutions from Pakistan and Kazakhstan on a single platform to share their expertise and knowledge Kazakhstan socioeconomic transformation, new reforms, political modernization and prospects for cooperation with Pakistan in different fields.
The conference had three sessions. First session was on “A Profound Insight in Kazakhstan Political Modernization”.
The session commenced with the opening remarks by His Excellency Yerzhan Kistafin, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan. He welcomed all the speakers and participants of the conference. He highlighted prospects for collaboration, socioeconomic development, regional connectivity and bilateral ties between Pakistan and Kazakhstan. He stated that opening of direct flight will be beneficial for enhancing relationship between both states.
Other speakers of the session were as follows:
• Brig. Rasheed Wali Janjua, Director Research, IPRI
• Ms. Elmira Kaliyeva, Deputy Director, Institute of Parlimentarism, Kazakhstan
• Ambassador ® Khalid Mahmood, Chairman, ISSI
• Dr. Adam Saud, Dean, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences of Bahria University, Islamabad.
• Mr. Adil Kaukenov, Senior Expert of Kazakhstan Institute of Strategic Studies
The second session was on “Kazakhstan Socioeconomic Transformation and Multivector polices”. In the session. Mr. Khalid Taimur Akram, Executive Director, PRCCSF presented speech on “Kazakhstan on the road of development and Prospects for cooperation”. He discussed Kazakhstan modernization, development of SEZs and constitutional reforms. He also suggested prospects of bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Kazakhstan in various fields of mutual interest.
Dr. Fouzia Hadi Ali, Director, RIC, University of the Punjab, Lahore presented her speech on “Kazakhstan and Pakistan bilateral relations: Accessing benefits and opportunities”. She empathized on academic cooperation in promoting culture and language connectivity between both states.
Other speakers of the session were as follows:
• Mr. Yersultan Zhanseitov, Senior Expert of IWEP, Kazakhstan
• Dr. Saif ur Rehman Malik, Director Research, Army Institute of Military History
• Mr. Irfan Shahzad Takalvi, CEO, Eurasian Century Institute
The theme of third session was “Prospects for Business Cooperation between Kazakhstan & Pakistan”.
Speakers from business sector of Pakistan presented their expert analysis on enhancing joint cooperation between Pakistan and Kazakhstan. They also provided solutions to counter common issues with effective remedies and governments involvement. The speakers of the third session were as follows:
Mr. Mehmood Ul Hassan Awan from FPCCI
Mr. Zahid Latif, Chairman, Islamabad Stock Exchange
Mr. Shoaib Khan from National Logistic Cell, Pakistan
Mr. Saqib Sajjad, Head of Bank of Punjab
Mr. Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, CEO of Centaurus
Mr. Ahmed Zafar, Chief Growth Officer, TCS
His Excellency Yerzhan Kistafin, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan gave the concluding remarks. He thanked all the speakers and participants of the conference for making the event a big success. He also appreciated all suggestions presented by the speakers. He stated that Kazakhstan and Pakistan have huge potential for increasing bilateral coordination in many domains which requires practical steps in future.
The event was attended by 80 participants also attained coverage from different Pakistani Media and Newspaper. The conference was moderated by Ms. Maryam Raza, Deputy Director, PRCCSF.