Thu, November 05, 2009
ROME, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev arrived in Rome on Wednesday for a two-day visit aiming to boost bilateral cooperation and endorse new trade agreements.
Nazarbayev is expected to meet with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday. Economic, energy and trade investments would be the focus of the meeting.
In an interview with the Italian news agency Adnkronos, Nazarbayev explained that the purpose of his visit to Rome was "to build on positive trends in Kazakh-Italian relations, expand and deepen trade and investment cooperation, while also giving a boost to political interaction."
The president said he greatly respected Italy's leading role in the European Union.
"Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and I plan to discuss actual problems of world politics, issues of bilateral cooperation in trade and economic and investment spheres," he added.
The two leaders are expected to endorse five bilateral economic treaties during Nazarbayev's visit, with some leading Italian companies signing 13 commercial accords with their Kazakh counterparts.
There are currently 130 Italian companies who do business in Kazakhstan, and bilateral trade is worth 13 billion U.S. dollars a year.
Italy's energy giant, Eni, and defense and transport contractor, Finmeccanica, are among the companies expected to benefit from the new trade agreements.
Talks would also focus on global issues such as the fight against terrorism and military cooperation.
"A treaty on strategic partnership and a number of intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in the fight against organized crime, military issues among others, are supposed to be signed," Nazarbayev announced.
The president of Kazakhstan said he had great expectations for his journey to Rome.
"I am convinced my visit will open wide prospects of cooperation in various areas for us and, in general, will take bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level," he asserted.
