ASTANA. May 8. KAZINFORM The Government of the Kingdom of Norway highly estimates cooperation with Kazakhstan in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, Secretary of State of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry Torgeir Larsen said at the opening of an international seminar in Astana.

Mr Larsen stressed that one of the most important steps of Kazakhstan as a sovereign state was to abandon the nuclear arsenal. According to President Nazarbayyev's article in New York Times, it allowed Kazakhstan to become a prosperous and respected country.

The seminar was held on the initiative of the Norwegian Foreign Affairs Ministry. Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Norway in the field of nuclear non-proliferation is long-standing and fruitful.