News Desk
Spokesman Report
Islamabad: The Institute of Regional Studies (IRS), Islamabad, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB), jointly hosted a reception in honour of a Kazakhstan Media Delegation at the Pak-China Friendship Centre, Islamabad.
The reception featured addresses by Mr. Ataullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting; H.E. Mr. Yerzhan Kistafin, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan; Ambassador Jauhar Saleem, President IRS; Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed; and Mr. Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Tourism. The event provided a valuable platform for exchanging perspectives on deepening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation between the media communities of Pakistan and Kazakhstan.
Prominent voices from academia and the media fraternity, including Dr. Adam Saud, Professor, Bahria University Islamabad; Dr. Taraq Waheed, Head of Department, SZABIST; senior anchors and journalists Mr. Shaukat Paracha and Mr. Farooq Hassan; as well as Mr. Yargali, a journalist from Kazakhstan, highlighted the growing importance of Pakistan–Kazakhstan relations at a time of renewed bilateral momentum.
The reception was also attended by a number of distinguished guests, including Ms.Farah Naz Akbar(Parliamentary Secretary Federal Education & Professional Training), Ms. Shamaila Rana(MNA), Mr. Ashfaq Ahmad Khalid, Secretary Information; and Ms. Raisa Adil, Executive Director General, External Publicity Wing, MoIB, among others.
The event drew a diverse audience comprising media professionals, academics, diplomats, and senior government officials, reflecting broad-based interest in Pakistan’s expanding engagement with Central Asia.
In his address, Mr. Ataullah Tarar emphasized the strategic importance of Pakistan–Kazakhstan relations and called for broader, sustained, and meaningful cooperation across key sectors, including energy, culture, tourism, trade, education, science and technology, media, and people-to-people exchanges. He further noted that the recent visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Pakistan, Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, underscored the growing importance both countries attach to high-level bilateral engagement and strategic dialogue. Mr. Tarar stated that the governments of Pakistan and Kazakhstan are entering into several agreements and memoranda of understanding aimed at materializing broader cooperation and translating shared intent into tangible outcomes. He expressed confidence that these initiatives would significantly deepen collaboration across multiple sectors and elevate Pakistan–Kazakhstan relations to new heights, reflecting a shared vision for long-term partnership and regional connectivity.
In his remarks, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed described Pakistan–Kazakhstan relations as a vital pillar of Pakistan’s broader engagement with Central Asia, rooted in shared history, mutual respect, and converging strategic interests. He underscored Kazakhstan’s pivotal role in regional stability, connectivity, and economic cooperation, and highlighted Pakistan’s geostrategic position as a natural gateway linking Central Asia with South Asia and beyond. Senator Sayed also commended the exemplary role played by H.E. Mr. Yerzhan Kistafin, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan, in strengthening bilateral ties through proactive diplomacy and sustained engagement, which he noted had significantly contributed to deepening mutual trust and cooperation.
In his welcome remarks, Ambassador Jauhar Saleem, President IRS, stated that Pakistan’s deepening outreach to Central Asia particularly Kazakhstan, reflects a broader regional vision aimed at connecting South Asia with Central Asia, the Caucasus, and beyond through trade corridors and enhanced transport connectivity. He reaffirmed that Pakistan attaches great significance to its brotherly relations with Kazakhstan and seeks to expand them into a broad-based economic partnership. Ambassador Saleem further emphasized the growing scope for moving beyond parallel bilateral engagements toward issue-based bilateral and multilateral cooperation, involving Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and other Central Asian partners, particularly in the areas of connectivity, energy security, and trade facilitation.
