An Israeli delegation headed by Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Binyamin Ben-Eliezer is to visit Kazakhstan on April 13-15, 2010. The delegation will take part in the V session of the Kazakh-Israeli Intergovernmental Commission on trade-economic cooperation. A press conference is planned to be held within the session, Kazinform has learnt from the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and New Technologies.

Women’s health issues have become an object of intense interest during a national conference held by the Nur Otan party in its central office in Astana last week. The conference, Women’s Health, the Health of the Nation, was organized through co-operative efforts of the Nur Otan’s Social Council operating under the Mazhilis of Parliament, the National Commission on Women Affairs and Demographic Policy, and the Alliance of Women’s Organizations of Kazakhstan.

The Al Hilal Bank, the first Islamic bank in Kazakhstan wholly owned by the governmental Abu Dhabi Investment Council, opened its office in Astana and Almaty in mid-March, creating opportunities for businesses to borrow money based on Islamic principles. The Bank’s primary objective is to contribute to the development and prosperity of Kazakhstan’s economy through providing access to innovative Islamic banking solutions to businesses and the public.

The OSCE has launched a photo contest to highlight tolerance and non-discrimination - key priorities of the OSCE Chairmanship of Kazakhstan in 2010 - with winners receiving a round-trip to Astana in June. Deadline for entries is 10 May.

There is a window of opportunity to diversify Kazakhstan's economy as the crisis ebbs and before commodity prices shoot up again, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's country director for Kazakhstan tells bne, and the EBRD plans to invest up to $1bn to support the government's development plans.