Kazakhstan seeks to develop space, transport coop with Ukraine.

14/9 Tass 343

KIEV, September 14 (Itar-Tass) - Kazakhstan is particularly interested
in the development of mutual relations with Ukraine in such spheres as
space, agricultural machine building and transport, President of
Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev said at a meeting with Ukrainian leader
Viktor Yanukovich on Tuesday.
The Kazakhstani president is in Kiev on a two-day official visit.
"Our cooperation has major prospects," he is certain. "Taking into
account Kiev's interest in the energy issue, Kazakhstan is ready to be
very attentive in this matter to Ukrainian companies," the head of state
added.
Yanukovich for his part noted that the two states are mutually
interested in the development of cooperation in the fuel and energy
sphere, agricultural machine building and work of the agrarian complexes
on the whole, and in the space technology sphere. "I think that we should
restore a number of the common fundamental research programmes in the
space sphere," he said noting that Ukrainian rocket carriers remain among
the best in the world.
The president also approved the Kazakh side's proposal to unify the
water transport routes between the Caspian and Black Seas. "It is a very
interesting project, and certainly, it has a future," Yanukovich is
certain.
Before 1918, Kazakhstan and Ukraine were part of the Russian Empire
and until 1991 they were part of the USSR. Both countries established
diplomatic relations in 1991. Kazakhstan has an embassy in Kiev and an
honorary consulate in Odessa. Ukraine has an embassy in Astana and a
consulate-general in Almaty.
There are between 895,000 and 2,400,000 ethnic Ukrainians living in
Kazakhstan. Both countries are full members of TRACECA, of the Baku
Initiative, of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, Partnership for
Peace and of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
-0-ezh