Lisbon hosts reception celebrating Kazakhstan's independence

ASTANA. December 10. KAZINFORM Lisbon for the first time in the history of bilateral relations with Astana hosted a celebration of the Day of Independence of Kazakhstan on December 6, the Kazakh MFA's press service informs.

Eminent political figures, reps of presidential administration, national assembly, foreign ministry, mayor's office, and large private companies of Portugal were in attendance.

In his opening remarks Kazakh ambassador Nurlan Danenov told about Kazakhstan's successful development under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. It was noted that the Kazakh-Portuguese relations intensified both in bilateral and multilateral format. Official visit to Astana of Portuguese minister of state and minister of foreign affairs Paulo Portas in June 2012 added to the development of political dialogue, and allowed to outline new prospects of economic cooperation.

The Kazakh envoy expressed gratitude to Portugal for its support of Astana's bid to host the international exhibition 'EXPO-2017'. The Portuguese side, as the host of 'EXPO-1998' in Lisbon, was kindly invited to participate in the implementation of this ambitious project in Astana.

The event was also dated to the 20^th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between Kazakhstan and Portugal. In the course of the reception, N. Dadenov discussed with politicians and economists of Portugal prospects of stepping up mutually profitable cooperation, taking into experience and potential of the two countries.