On 6th December 2022, the Pakistan Research Center for a Community with Shared Future (PRCCSF), Islamabad and the 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 of Kazakhstan’s socioeconomic transformation, new reforms, political modernization and prospects for cooperation with Pakistan in different fields.
The conference had three sessions. The first session was on “A Profound Insight into 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, socio-economic development, regional connectivity and bilateral ties between Pakistan and Kazakhstan. He stated that the opening of direct flights would be beneficial for enhancing the relationship between both states.
Other speakers of the session were as follows:
- Rasheed Wali Janjua, Director of Research, IPRI
- Elmira Kaliyeva, Deputy Director, Institute of Parlimentarism, Kazakhstan
- Ambassador ® Khalid Mahmood, Chairman, ISSI
- Adam Saud, Dean, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences of Bahria University, Islamabad.
- Adil Kaukenov, Senior Expert of Kazakhstan Institute of Strategic Studies
The second session was on “Kazakhstan Socioeconomic Transformation and Multivector policies”. In the session. Mr. Khalid Taimur Akram, Executive Director, PRCCSF presented a speech on “Kazakhstan on the road of development and Prospects for cooperation”. He discussed Kazakhstan’s 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 Punjab, Lahore presented her speech on “Kazakhstan and Pakistan bilateral relations: Accessing benefits and opportunities”. She empathized with academic cooperation in promoting culture and language connectivity between both states.
Other speakers of the session were as follows:
- Yersultan Zhanseitov, Senior Expert of IWEP, Kazakhstan
- Saif ur Rehman Malik, Director of Research, Army Institute of Military History
- Irfan Shahzad Takalvi, CEO, of Eurasian Century Institute
The theme of the third session was “Prospects for Business Cooperation between Kazakhstan & Pakistan”.
Speakers from the 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 government 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 the 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 and also attained coverage from different Pakistani Media and Newspapers. Ms. Maryam Raza, Deputy Director, PRCCSF, moderated the conference.