Kazakh President opens Year of Kazakhstan in Korea
SEOUL. April 21. KAZINFORM /Yernur Akanbai/ The state visit of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to the Republic of Korea has begun with the opening ceremony of the Year of Kazakhstan in Korea with participation of President Lee Myung-bak.
"Today we have opened the Year of Kazakhstan in the Republic of Korea. This is a significant event in the history of Kazakh-Korean relations. It symbolizes a new stage in cooperation and partnership of our states", N. Nazarbayev said.
He noted that Kazakhstan and Korea had deep historical links. "According to historians, Kazak and Korean peoples have common roots going down to one of the ancient ancestral home - the region of Altai and Central Eurasia. The history of different ages has a lot of other evidence of contact between cultures of our peoples. In the difficult time of Stalin's repression Kazakh land received tens of thousands of exiled Koreans. Their families survived due to the support and help on behalf of the Kazakh people", the President of Kazakhstan emphasized.
N. Nazarbayev expressed hope that the Year of Kazakhstan would be interesting to all citizens of Korea in terms of learning more about culture, art, history and present day of Kazakhstan.
He thanked the President of Korea, all Korean organizations and citizens for the support in holding the Year of Kazakhstan in their country.
The Kazakh President noted the significant contribution of the Korean Diaspora in Kazakhstan to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two states.