On Tuesday, November 4, NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin held a virtual meeting with Governor Saktaganov Nurymbet of East Kazakhstan Region, Kazakhstan, who was on an official visit to Korea, arranged by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Seoul. During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on future cooperation.
Secretary-General Lim expressed his appreciation to East Kazakhstan Region for submitting its application to become the fourth NEAR associate member. He introduced NEAR’s activities, the associate membership system, and upcoming major events, expressing his hope that the region would actively participate in NEAR programs and strengthen international cooperation and development through exchanges with other NEAR member regional governments.
He also noted that the official approval of the associate membership will be finalized through a resolution at the 15th NEAR High-Level Officers Meeting, to be held next year in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, and invited Governor Saktaganov to personally attend the meeting and deliver a speech to introduce East Kazakhstan Region. In addition, Secretary-General Lim asked the Governor to convey his appreciation to Ambassador Nurgali Arystanov of Kazakhstan to Korea for his strong support in facilitating the application process.
Governor Saktaganov expressed his gratitude for the NEAR Secretariat’s trust and support for East Kazakhstan Region’s associate membership application. He provided an overview of the region and stated his intention to actively participate in NEAR activities and promote exchanges with NEAR member regional governments.
He also remarked that East Kazakhstan shares many similarities with Korea and extended an invitation for Secretary-General Lim to visit the region in the future.
East Kazakhstan Region officially submitted its NEAR associate membership application on November 4.