Kazakhstan | Independence Day

Embassy Network | 4th April 2017

Ambassador Erzhan Kazykhanov gives his Independence Day address

Ambassador Kazykhanov, Russian Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko and the Ambassador of Kuwait and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Mr Khaled Al Duwaisan

Ambassador Kazykhanov chats to the Deputy Director of Protocol Francesca Flessati

The Ambassador of Uzbekistan Mr Alisher Kurmanov and the Ambassador of Mr Yazmurad N Seryaev (Turkmenistan)

Guests were given a box of Kazakh apples, which grow wild in Kazakhstan

Slovak Ambassador Dr L’ubomír Rehák and his wife Dana

Lord Cormack gives a congratulatory message

Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Kazakhstan Rt Hon Gisela Stuart MP

The Ambassador of Iceland Mr Thórdur Ægir Óskarsson and the Ambassador of Uruguay Mr Fernando López-Fabregat

Ladies displaying Kazakhstan’s national dress

German Ambassador Dr Peter Ammon and Swiss Ambassador Mr Dominik Furgler

Ambassador Erzhan Kazykhanov welcomes Lord Woolf

Maturing nation

Over the past quarter of century, Kazakhstan “has matured and become a fully-fledged member of the international community” said Ambassador Erzhan Kazykhanov, toasting the progress of his country which will next year take up a seat on the UN Security Council and host Expo 2017. Oil and gas are not the only features of the economy – next year the new Astana International Financial Centre will be launched, a sign of Kazakhstan’s position at the heart of the modern Silk Road.

Guests, including ambassadors, parliamentarians and the business community, joined the Ambassador and as a parting gift were given a box of famous Kazakh apples. The former capital Almaty, means ‘fatherland of apples’ and it’s said the wild Kazakh apples thrive in huge variety – much like the 150 nationalities that call Kazakhstan home.

PHOTOS: PIERRE DE VILLIERS