AKIPRESS.COM - Embassy of Kazakhstan in South Korea marked last week the country’s Independence Day and held a photo exhibition of the country’s remotest regions, reports Korea Herald.

The pictures, part of the exhibition “Undiscovered Kazakhstan,” were selected by the Foundation of the First President of Kazakhstan, a public organization supporting young scientists, artists, students and researchers.

“Within a span of 24 years, Kazakhstan and Korea pushed our close relations to a comprehensive and strategic partnership that is still expanding,” Kazakh Ambassador Dulat Bakishev said in a speech. “In the early 1990s, we scarcely knew each other, but we now have a solid number of bilateral agreements and joint economic projects.”

Shin Bong-kil, president of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, noted in a speech that the country had become a middle power through the Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy and Nurly Zhol policy alongside acquiring membership in the World Trade Organization this year.

Seoul and Astana cooperate closely through multilateral forums, including the South Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum and Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Secretariat, covering transportation, infrastructure, information communications technology, science, textiles, forestry and agriculture.