Kazakhstan's 26th Independence Day celebrated

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The Embassy of Kazakhstan held a reception to celebrate the country's 26th Independence Day. The reception was held on Monday evening at the Grand Hyatt Doha hotel.
People from different countries, professions, and cultures attended the colourful ceremony. Melodious music from classical Kazakhstan opera singers set the atmosphere at the reception, which was lit in part by small bonfires in the open-air setting. The dinner served at the reception had dishes from a variety of cuisines and further enriched the occasion.
The event started with national anthems of Kazakhstan and Qatar. Askar Shokybaev, Ambassador of Republic of Kazakhstan to State of Qatar, delivered a welcome speech, highlighting different aspects of relations between the two countries. Later, the ambassador and other distinguished guests cut a cake to mark the occasion.
'The event was attended by a wide range of prominent figures of Qatar, leading businessmen, heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Qatar, representatives of cultural, scientific circles and the citizens of Kazakhstan in Qatar, as well as the media, Serik Myrzakhmetov, counsellor at the embassy, told Community.
He added, 'HE Dr Ghaith bin Mubarak al-Kuwari, Minister of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs; Ahmad al-Hamadi, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Akbar al-Baker, Group CEO of Qatar Airways; and Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, General Manager of Katara The Cultural Village; were the prominent Qatari dignitaries attending the event.
He said that the Kazakhstan ethno-jazz group Magic of Nomads and opera singer Bereke Enkebayeva performed to a full house, getting much appreciation from those in attendance.
In his welcome speech on the occasion, ambassador Shokybaev said, 'First of all I would like to thank His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Government of the country and all of our Qatari brothers for increased attention to Kazakhstan and permanent assistance in the issues of development of our co-operation.
'In this regard, special mention should emphasise the fraternal nature of our engagement with Doha, bright as witnessed by the constant unconditional support of the leadership of Qatar, of all, without exception, the international initiatives of Kazakhstan. An important place was occupied by our country with the support of Qatar for the candidacy of our country as non-permanent member in the UN Security Council in 2017-2018. [The support is also underlined by] Doha's full participation in the international specialised exhibition EXPO-2017 in Astana, as well as in the 1st OIC summit on science and technology held in September this year in our capital, he noted.
He further said, 'It should also be noted that in the past year, our countries have implemented a number of important bilateral events. In March this year, Astana and Almaty were visited by a delegation of Qatari banks and investment organisations under the leadership of the Governor of the Central Bank, HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani. In April, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov visited Doha on an official turn and met with His Highness the Emir. HE the Deputy Premier Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani, then in June went to the opening ceremony of the pavilion of the State of Qatar at EXPO 2017.
The ambassador said, 'In October, a high level delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan attended the International Founding Conference of the Global Dryland Alliance, which is very close in terms of food storage and security to the Kazakhstani initiative Islamic Food Security Organization. As result of this visit, the Qatar's Ministry of Municipality and Environment of Qatar sent end of October a delegation of experts to the agricultural exhibitions in Astana.
He said, 'Furthermore, it is encouraging that the first ever bilateral Kazakh-Qatari Business Forum will be held on December 14 (tomorrow) in co-operation between the International Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan and Qatar Chamber for Commerce and Industry. We are expecting a big number of businessmen from Kazakhstan to attend the Made in Qatar Exhibition in Doha. This event will for sure serve as a good platform for the beginning of next year expected 5th session of Kazakh-Qatari high-level commission co-chaired by the two countries.

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