Hyderabad: Kazakhstan has become the new centre for destination weddings as many Indians are choosing it to ring their wedding bells. Indian tourists have grown at 40 per cent in the country explained Yerlan Alimbayev, ambassador of Kazakhstan to India, who was in the city.
In turn, Kazakhs look at India for medical facilities. There were 25,000 Kazakh nationals who opted for medical treatment in India this year. Hyderabad is also the most favoured destination for medical treatment.
The landscape of Kazakhstan also has the movie industry scouting their countryside for exotic locations. The common thread bet-ween India and Kaza-khstan is Urdu. There are five thousand common words between Urdu and the Kazak language. There are also similarities in the cuisines like pulao, biryani, kebabs, and samosas, all of which Kazaks also eat.
Looking back in history, relations between India and Kazakhstan are ancient and dates back to more than 2500 years. There has been a constant and regular flow of trade in goods and, more importantly, exchange of ideas and cultural influences. The flow of Buddhism from India to Central Asia and Sufi ideas from Central Asia to India are two such examples. These deep-rooted linkages are evident even today.
When it comes to the diplomatic relationship, in 1992, India was the first country to extend its hand for bilateral relations when Kazakh-stan got its independence.
Alimbayev and his delegation announced the establishment of an honorary consulate in Hyderabad.
This is to foster stronger relations with Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The ambassador said “Kazakhstan has a very huge tourism potential and economic and investment opportunities. For the last two years, we have been opening up our economy and, politically, Kazakhstan is very stable. Our relations with India are excellent and we share similar positions on many issues in international relations. We have a huge trade turnover between both countries which has touched $1.2 billion and is expected to reach $1.5 bn by the end of this year.
We want Indian investors to invest in mining, oil refinery, infrastructure, agriculture and food processing and machinery production. Indian products being manufactured in Kazakhstan will be the best option, so we invite all investors from Telangana and AP. We are ready to support them. We met the business community in Hyderabad and found the main three sectors to be the industrial sector, Infrastructure and environment sectors.”
