On November 27, NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin had a luncheon with representatives from Astana City, including Vice Mayor Yevgeniy GLOTOV, who attended the “C5+K” Korea-Central Asia Regional Cooperation Forum. During the luncheon, they exchanged views on Astana’s potential associate membership in NEAR.

Mr. Lim began by expressing his gratitude to Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to South Korea, Mr. Nurgali ARYSTANOV, for arranging the meeting. He then provided an overview of NEAR, highlighting its recent activities and the associate membership system. Additionally, he outlined NEAR’s key events planned for the upcoming year and encouraged Astana City to actively consider joining as an associate member.  

Mr. Glotov noted that Astana City, as the capital of Kazakhstan, is actively engaged in international activities and expressed interest in collaborating with large international organizations such as NEAR. He added that upon his return to Kazakhstan, he would thoroughly brief the Mayor of Astana on the matter of joining NEAR associate membership.

In addition to Mr. Glotov, the luncheon was attended by Nurgali ARYSTANOV, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to South Korea; Baurzhan BAIMUKASH, Chairman of the Social Entrepreneur Corporation “Astana”; Zhanar NUGUMANOVA, Director of the International Cooperation Department of Astana City; and Bauyrzhan DAUTOV, attaché of the Embassy of Kazakhstan.