Reading hosts visit of Kazakhstan's new ambassador to UK
Release Date 24 November 2014
The University of Reading welcomes the new Kazakh ambassador to the UK to its Greenlands and Whiteknights campuses today.
Reading is the first UK University that His Excellency Erzhan Kazykhanov has chosen to visit since presenting his credentials as Kazakhstan's ambassador to the United Kingdom in September.
Both the UK and Kazakhstan see education as key to developing relations between the two countries. The University of Reading has been active in educational relations with partners in Kazakhstan for a number of years, welcoming large numbers of Kazakh students to its campuses and in research relationships.
The Centre for Euro-Asian Studies, which was established at Reading in 1996, has played a profound role in attracting Kazakhstani students to the University of Reading. Since then, Reading has developed cooperative relations with a number of institutions in Kazakhstan, including Kainar University, Kazakh-British Technical University, Economic Research Institute, and the national statistical agency of Kazakhstan.
Reading academics have also provided advice to government bodies, including the National Agency on Development of Local Content. In the past five years, more than 100 students and scholars from Kazakhstan have studied at the University of Reading.
Vincenzo Raimo, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement at the University of Reading, said: ‘It is a privilege to welcome Ambassador Kazykhanov to the University and to the Henley Business School.
"We have strong links with Kazakhstan and the fact that the ambassador has chosen Reading as his first UK university to visit is a testament to strong relationships which have been established by colleagues in Henley Business School and the wider University of Reading with counterparts in Kazakhstan."