President Mesic and Kazakh PM Discuss the Promotion of Economic Ties (HINA)
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, currently on a two-day visit to Kazakhstan, met Prime Minister Karim Massimov and Parliament Speaker Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev on Thursday to discuss ways of promoting economic ties between the two countries.
Massimov expressed his readiness to ensure the speediest possible implementation of joint economic projects which Mesic discussed earlier in the day with his host, President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
"Our economy is intensively developing and in the next five years we plan to build more than 50 million square metres of residential space," Massimov said.
The Kazakh prime minister showed an interest in Croatian companies building a construction material factory in Kazakhstan since the construction industry in that country is not sufficiently developed. He also said he expected the major involvement of Croatian companies in the construction of a highway network.
Speaking of the pharmaceutical industry in Kazakhstan, Massimov said that domestic production met only 10 per cent of the country's needs and that Kazakhstan annually imported EUR 1 billion worth of medicines. In this context he said he saw a possibility for the construction of a factory for Kazakh needs.
President Mesic said he was pleased with the great interest of the Kazakh government in the involvement of Croatian companies in the oil sector, construction and the pharmaceutical industry.
After the meeting, the governments of the two countries signed an agreement on cooperation in combating organised crime, trafficking in psychotropic drugs, terrorism, and other illegal activities.
During the meeting with Parliament Speaker Tokayev, the good cooperation between the two countries at bilateral and multilateral levels was cofirmed and the need was reiterated for stronger economic ties. Tokayev said he was confident that Croatia would soon become a full member of the European Union and that consequently cooperation with Croatia would become even more important for Kazakhstan's foreign policy. Both Mesic and Tokayev stressed the importance of parliamentary cooperation for the further promotion of bilateral relations.
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