ISLAMABAD, Sept 29: Transport ministers of Pakistan, China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzystan will meet in Almaty to mark the opening of the road connecting the four countries, says Kazakhstan’s charge d’affairs Sapagali Aubakirov.
Speaking at a press briefing here on Monday, he said the Horgos-Almaty-Bishkek-Kashgar-Islamabad-Karachi route is expected to increase the prospects of trade between the four countries.
“We encourage Pakistani businessmen to start thinking about using the Karakoram Highway for trade with Kazakhstan,” he urged.
Stressing the need for resuming regular flights between Kazakhstan and Pakistan, Mr Aubakirov said the matter will be discussed in the next session of the Pakistan-Kazakhstan Joint Ministerial Commission, scheduled to be held later this year.
Referring to the convening of the World Religious Congress by Kazakhstan on Sept 23-24, he said the idea behind the initiative was to foster greater harmony between adherents of different religions.
Participants of the Congress, he said, had decided to hold similar meetings at least once every three years.
He said the next religious congress would be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, adding that the country was also contemplating about establishing a secretariat for the forum.
Terming his country a bridge between the West and the East, the Kazakh diplomat said more than 120 ethnic groups, representing 46 religions, lived in the country.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev shared with the delegates his intention to construct a ‘Palace of Nations’ in Astana, Kazakhstan’s new capital. “The Palace of Nations will become a symbol of the unity for the people of Kazakhstan,” he remarked.
He said delegates of the congress had adopted a resolution, declaring that promotion of tolerance, truth, justice and love to be the objective of all religions.
He said that extremism, terrorism and other forms of violence in the name religion had nothing to do with the genuine understanding of religion, adding that such views were threat to human life and should be rejected.—PPI