Updated on Tuesday, April 08, 2008, 00:00 IST

Astana (Kazakhstan), April 08: Giving a major boost to their ties, India and Kazakhstan on Tuesday agreed to get into the "projects-specific" mode in various sectors like oil and natural gas and textiles.

Vice President Hamid Ansari, who is on an official visit here, had an "extremely warm and cordial" meeting with Kazakhstan's President Noorsultan Nazarbayev during which Astana also gave indications that it was ready for export of more hydro-carbons to India.

Kazakhstan is the second largest former soviet state after Russia and has huge oil and gas reserves. It is also rich in minerals, including uranium.

During the nearly hour-long meeting, the two leaders agreed that there was mutual commonality on various issues such as terrorism and drug trafficking; and the same was needed to be brought in the field of trade and economy. The two countries already have a joint working group on terrorism.

Nazarbayev also said that India and China, the two fastest developing countries, will be the drivers in Asia.

The two leaders agreed that there was a need to get into "projects-specific" mode in fields like textiles, hydro-carbons, IT and education.

On the issue of energy, both leaders noted that quite a lot of groundwork has been done.

They also exchanged views on "trouble spots" in the neighbourhood, such as war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Besides, the two sides highlighted the need for closer cooperation in the cultural field. The Vice President also referred to the lack of direct surface transport linkages between the two countries.

The Kazakh President will be visiting India, a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs said, adding the dates for the same will be fixed later.

Bureau Report