REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, ASTANA -- The government of Kazakhstan shared its experiences on relocating the capital and offered assistance to Indonesia during a bilateral meeting between Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the first Islamic Conference of Organization (OIC) Conference on Science and Technology in Astana, Kazakhstan, Sunday (Sept 10).

Also read: Capital city relocation needs 10 years preparation: Kalla

"I urged the president if he was willing to be an adviser. It is interesting that they were in a very difficult economic situation when they moved the capital. The president said it would be nice if we send a team to Kazakhstan for some kind of comparative study," Vice President Kalla stated.

During the friendly meeting, Vice President Kalla and President Nazarbayev discussed efforts to improve bilateral relations, especially in the economic field. The two sides agreed to encourage the two-way flow of trade and investment.

Also read: Indonesia has potential to raise export, import with Kazakhstan: Kalla

In terms of trade, Kazakstan has offered the use of the Astana-China rail network to overcome transportation and geographical constraints, given the fact that the country does not have a seaport.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has offered the participation of Sharia banks to develop the financial sector in Astana.

Earlier, Kalla had remarked that economic cooperation between Indonesia and Kazakhstan is still small, valued at only some US$25 million.

Hence, it is still possible for both countries to improve cooperation.

Kazakhstan has successfully built the new city of Astana as a substitute for the capital city of Almaty. Astana transformed into a beautiful futuristic city, with wide roads, one of them being a bridge like Semanggi in Jakarta. The architecture of Astana has adopted Russian, Mediterranean, European, and Chinese styles.

The OIC Summit on Science and Technology, to be attended by some 20 heads of state, is being held in the city that is Kazakhstan's pride.

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