Reception devoted to 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence held in Berlin

BERLIN. December 3. KAZINFORM /Dimash Syzdykov/ A concert and a solemn reception dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence took place at Berlin's Urania Congress Hall.

More than a thousand guests gathered to congratulate Kazakhstan. Among them were Cornelia Pieper, State Minister in the German Foreign Office; Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former Foreign Minister of Germany; Horst Köhler, former President of Germany; Michael Glos, former German Economy Minister.

Kazakh Ambassador Nurlan Onzhanov gave a speech in the Kazakh and German languages. He thanked Gremany for the dynamic and mutually beneficial cooperation. He recalled the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's visit to Berlin in 2009, when the two presidents opened the Year of Kazakhstan in Germany. He also emphasized the intense cooperation between Kazakhstan and Germany within the framework of the UN and OSCE.

It was noted that Kazakh-German trade turnover increased by 26 percent and exceeded Euro 3.5 billion in the first half of 2011.