PM meets Kazakhstan president Nazarbayev

Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday met Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev during which they decided to set up a Joint Working Group for timely implementation of various plans aimed at giving boost to trade and investment ties.

Singh and Nazarbayev met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit here.

Nazarbayev was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi in January this year but could not meet Singh who was indisposed due to heart ailment.

The two leaders discussed cooperation and projects in energy, civil nuclear, and oil and gas sectors, many of which are in the process of fructifying, foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters here.

Menon said there was considerable interest among Indian companies for setting up business in Kazakhstan, particularly in petroleum and pharma sectors.

Progress has been rapid since January this year when the Kazakh president had visited India, he said.

Singh and Nazarbayev decided to set up a Joint Working Group headed by foreign secretaries of the two countries to set a timeframe for implementation of various plans, Menon said.