On 16 October 2025, on the sidelines of the Astana Think Tank Forum 2025, a meeting was held between the leadership of Pakistan’s Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS) and the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS). The main outcome of the meeting was the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between CISS and KazISS.
Zhandos Shaimardanov, Director KazISS, welcomed the CISS delegation to Astana, highlighted the importance of the agreement, and expressed confidence that it would strengthen research collaboration and institutional partnerships between the two sides.
Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi briefed the KazISS team about CISS’ activities and upcoming projects until December 2025, including the Training of the Trainers Workshop in October 2025 and the CISS–IISS Workshop scheduled for November 2025. He also discussed CISS’ outreach, publications, and collaborations with foreign think tanks.
Zhandos shared their planned research activities and events for the remainder of 2025. Both sides agreed to hold a joint conference in the first quarter of 2026, considering their current schedules. He also briefed the CISS team on their latest report on Central Asia–Afghanistan Cooperation and proposed developing a joint report on Central Asia–Pakistan Cooperation. Ambassador Naqvi welcomed the idea and agreed to pursue it jointly.
