Kazakhstan Prime Minister awarded honorary doctoral title by China's Wuhan University

WUHAN, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Masimov was awarded an honorary Ph.D. degree and "outstanding alumnus" by his alma mater Wuhan University on Thursday in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province.

Masimov kicked off his four-day official visit to China on Wednesday and arrived in Wuhan on Thursday morning. He studied in the School of Law of Wuhan University between 1989 and 1991 when he was in his twenties.

"I was deeply touched by the city's beautiful scenery and the professors' earnest attitude on study," he said when visiting the school.

In his speech in Chinese, he pledged to continue committing himself to Kazakhstan's development and strengthening the bilateral ties between Kazakhstan and China.

When meeting with Li Hongzhong, governor of Hubei Province, he said Kazakhstan and Hubei are highly complimentary in economy, sharing huge potential for cooperation in the areas of agriculture, education, science and technology.

On the Beijing Olympic Games, Masimov said Kazakhstan will fully support China and sincerely hope this grand event will be successful.

Masimov also visited the East Lake High-tech Development Zone and Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Company Ltd., before he flew to Hainan Province to attend the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on April 12.