OREANDA-NEWS. On May 18, 2008 15 heads of state and government including US President George Bush, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Afghanistan Khamid Karzai, King of Jordan, Abdullah II ben Hussein ben Talal took part in the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, reported the Official website www.akorda.kz. 

Among 1, 5 thousand participants from 60 countries there are more than 80 ministers, businessmen and social figures, including Quartet Representative (UN, EU, US and RF) in the Middle East Tony Blair, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed El-Baradei, and President of the World Bank Robert Zoellick.

The topic of the forum is very actual. The participants of the forum discussed trends on economic development of one of the most sensitive in political aspect regions of the world. An exchange of opinions focused on a series of futuristic versions that examine how long-term world trends influence the Middle East region took place at the forum. Its objective is to determine measures necessary for adequate opposition to negative challenges, to assist in finding potential vectors of development of the region in the nearest 20 years.

The topic of discussion concerned political (Israeli-Palestinian conflict) and economic issues on overcoming the world financial crisis, effective use of oil resources, development of social entrepreneurship, ensuring food security.

The Kazakhstani evening with the guests of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East has become one of the key events of the forum.

Before beginning of the Kazakhstani evening Nursultan Nazarbayev held a meeting with Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Claus Schwab.

Hosts of the Forum emphasized that Kazakhstan became an economic leader of the Central Asia. Over the years of independence the gross domestic product per capita increased tenfold. The country is also being successfully implementing political reforms.

Addressing the guests of the forum, President Nursultan Nazarbayev said that the forum’s value is that it attracted immense political, business, and intellectual potential of the region for getting adequate answers to complicated modern challenges.

Talking about economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Middle East countries, Nursultan Nazarbayev emphasized that Arabian businessmen were one the first who estimated investment attraction of non-raw materials sector of country’s economy.

Kazakhstan’s partners from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan are starting implementation of several economic projects for total sum more than 30 \\$ billion. Among the projects to be realized in Kazakhstan there is a new satellite-city Aktau-City, the first Energy Hub in the Caspian region, development of Kenderli, zone for tourists on the Caspian Sea.

Kazakhstan launches two large Direct Investments Funds, one of them with partners from the United Arab Emirates; the second one is being created with the partners from Bahrain.

My participation in the forum and today’s evening witness truly friendly relations of Kazakhstan with the Middle East countries and show our shared aspiration to the closest cooperation, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

Kazakhstan considers the Middle East countries as prospective partners in economic, political and cultural aspects. Republic established good relations of mutual understanding and cooperation that have to be filled with active economic partnership.

We will achieve the desired results only by joint efforts. For this we have all necessary prerequisites and conditions, and the main thing – good will, Head of the state underscored.