𝐏𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧-𝐊𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐤𝐡𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧’ 𝐛𝐲 𝐇.𝐄. 𝐘𝐞𝐫𝐳𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐧

Islamabad, December 2, 2025 — NUST Institute of Policy Studies (NIPS) hosted the keynote address by H.E. Yerzhan Kistafin, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Pakistan, on “Pakistan-Kazakhstan Relations: Avenues of Cooperation,” on Tuesday. The keynote was attended by veteran diplomats, senior officials, social science academics, experts, and students.

Excellency Kistafin began his keynote by acknowledging NUST as a pioneering institution of higher learning. Reflecting on longstanding diplomatic relations established on February 24, 1992, the Ambassador highlighted bilateral ties across diplomacy, education, trade, regional connectivity, culture, people-to-people exchanges, and sports.

The Ambassador underscored the importance of security and stability for regional development and trade promotion. He considered that evolving geopolitical threats such as terrorism, extremism, and trafficking could disrupt connectivity. He stressed that dialogue, direct interaction between law enforcement agencies, and intelligence sharing were key pillars of bilateral cooperation. Emphasizing the centrality of connectivity to peaceful interstate relations, the Ambassador stated that potential connectivity corridors based on a strong regional framework of connectivity were vital for regional trade and prosperity. He highlighted the long-term bilateral trade potential of up to US$14 billion. He talked about plans for a major business forum to strengthen collaboration across sports, education, and culture. The Ambassador stated that higher education in Kazakhstan had experienced rapid growth in recent years, with 31,500 foreign students studying in the country. He noted that university-to-university cooperation in advanced research and innovation promotion coupled with bilateral student mobility were priority areas of Pak-Kazakh cooperation. The Ambassador proposed the urgent formation of a bilateral joint working group on education.

The keynote was followed by an extensive Q&A session in which the attendees raised many thought-provoking questions and comments on the future of multi-domain Pak-Kazakh cooperation. In the end, the audience unanimously praised Ambassador Kistafin for his exceptional dynamism and congratulated him for receiving the “Ambassador of the Year” award here in Islamabad last month.