ASTANA – President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev was awarded the Order of Manas of the first degree by President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev during his working visit to Astana on July 6.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev receives the Order of Manas from President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev.
On behalf of the people of Kyrgyzstan, Atambayev awarded the Order of Manas to his counterpart for his significant contribution to the friendship and good neighbourliness between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
The Order of Manas is Kyrgyzstan’s highest state award. It is awarded to Kyrgyz and foreign statesmen who make a great contribution to the development of the country. Among recipients of the award are former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel.
Nazarbayev thanked his counterpart for the honour and noted the importance of continuing to develop cooperation between the two countries.
“I will try to do my best in order to strengthen friendship and brotherhood between our countries, as well as to ensure further increase of the level of our relations,” Nazarbayev said. He also drew attention to the historic, linguistic and cultural closeness of the two nations.
“All citizens of Kazakhstan wish stability and harmony to be maintained in Kyrgyzstan. We hope your country will continue to grow and become a strong state,” Nazarbayev said.
During their meeting, the two heads of state discussed issues of bilateral cooperation and ways to collaborate in the framework of regional and international structures. They also exchanged views on the most relevant topics of the international agenda.
Later that day, Nazarbayev, Atambayev and former President of Turkey Abdullah Gul attended the Nurly Yessil laser show on the right bank of the Yessil River, one of the main events of the Astana Day holiday weekend. The show was followed by a fireworks display.
