On February 11, Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin invited Ambassador Arystanov Nurgali of Kazakhstan to a luncheon in Seoul, expressing his gratitude for the ambassador’s active support in facilitating the application of Kazakhstan's Turkistan Region for NEAR associate membership.
Mr. Lim explaind that the application of Turkistan Region for associate membership will be officially approved at the NEAR General Assembly in Liaoning Province, China. He also requested that any other regions in Kazakhstan interested in joining NEAR associate membership submit their applications by early March.
Mr. Arystanov emphasized that the Kazakhstan Embassy highly values its cooperation with NEAR. He further explained that, in addition to Turkistan Region, other regional governments in Kazakhstan are also considering applying for NEAR associate membership. He expressed his commitment to supporting those regions in joining NEAR as swiftly as possible.
In response, Mr. Lim stated that with Turkistan Region’s joining of NEAR as a starting point, NEAR will work to strengthen its cooperation with the Kazakhstan Embassy and regional governments in Kazakhstan. He also expressed his commitment to working towards expanding exchanges and cooperation between Kazakhstan’s regional governments and NEAR member governments including those in South Korea.
Turkistan Region has recently submitted an application for NEAR associate membership to the NEAR Secretariat through the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the Republic of Korea.