President lays flowers

In scope of his visit to Kazakhstan President Viktor Yushchenko laid flowers today near the Monument to Defenders of the Fatherland in Astana.

Other participants of the meeting from Ukrane were Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko, Minister for Culture Vasyl Vovkun, Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan, Minister of Industrial Policy Volodymyr Novytsky, Minister for Regional Development Vasyl Kuybida, Minister of Housing Oleksiy Kucherenko, deputy President’s Secretariat Chief of Staff Oleksandr Chalyy, Dnipropetrovsk Regional Administration head Viktor Bondar, Zaporizhzhya mayor Evhen Kartashov.

Yesterday the President Yushchenko took part in a ceremony of opening a Year of Ukraine in Kazakhstan. President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev also took part in the opening, president's press office reported.

“We have established a firm basis for close and dynamic cooperation in humanitarian and energy field, in industry and high-tech. I hope that the Year of Ukraine in Kazakhstan will open new possibilities for our cooperation,” Viktor Yushchenko said in his address during the ceremony.

From his part President Nazarbayev expressed expectancies that holding Year of Ukraine in Kazakhstan would become an important stage of development of bilateral relations between the countries. He also noted that in last few years Ukrainian-Kazakh cooperation has reached new standards. “Being in office Victor Yushchenko has put lots of effort into it,” Nursultan Nazarbayev said.