6 February,2008… Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs , Ambassador Tamer Khalil visited Kazakhstan during the period from 30 January to 2nd February 2008 in which he headed the Egyptian side in the fifth round of political consultations between the Foreign Ministers of both countries , whereas the Kazakh side was headed by Assistant Foreign Minister ,Nurlan Yermeekbayev. Ambassador Khalil also held bilateral meetings with the Ministers of Education, Culture, and Assistant Ministers of Interior, Health, and Trade and Industry. The consultations, which took place in a cordial and friendly atmosphere reflecting the relations of friendship between the two countries, tackled the various aspects of the bilateral relations, and provided the opportunity for exchanging points of view regarding several regional issues of mutual concern, and discussing means of enhancing coordination regarding several international issues . Ambassador Khalil apprised his Kazakh counterpart of the Egyptian point of view regarding the Middle East Peace Process, and the Egyptian assessment of the developments in the region. The Kazah Assistant Foreign Minister reviewed the most important internal economic developments in his country, as well as the developments in Central Asia, and the role played by his country in realizing security and stability in the region. The Kazakh Assistant Foreign Minister discussed  his country's stance regarding regional and international issues of common concern. The two sides agreed on the importance of supporting efforts for combating terrorism, confronting Islam defamation campaigns, and enhancing initiatives for dialogue among civilizations. Both  sides also stressed the importance of directing more attention to explore broader aspects of  cooperation between various countries and regions as expressed in the Asian Middle Eastern dialogue of which Egypt and Kazakhstan are members. Talks between the two sides also crystallized the joint commitment to enhance relations of friendship and cooperation and welcome the positive developments in bilateral relations in the last few years, which were culminated in the visit made by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to Astana in November 2006, the visit made by Kazakh President  Nursultan Nazarbayev to Egypt in March 2007 , and the positive results of the Fourth Joint Committee for economic cooperation which was held in Astana in February ,2007. The two sides agreed to promote economic cooperation by developing communications between the business communities in Egypt and Kazakhstan, and working to create a suitable encouraging environment in fields of trade and investment, and exploring new fields for economic cooperation