Penza, 29 December 2015. PenzaNews. Representatives of the Penza region are invited to take part in the Russia-Kazakhstan IQ-club of experts that aims to further cooperation between the social structures as well as scientific, expert and information centers of the two countries.

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The IQ-club was founded by the political analysis center “Sever-Yug” (Moscow), “The Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Father of the Nation” (Astana), and the information and analysis center “Eurasia-Povolzhye” (Saratov).

The club’s presentation was held on December 21 on two locations of “Rossiya Segodnya” international news agency and at the Moscow Lomonosov State University.

The video conference organized by “Rossiya Segodnya” featured Yulia Yakusheva, executive director of “Sever-Yug”; Timur Shaymergenov, assistant director of the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan; and Nurlan Yerimbetov, president of the Kazakhstan Civil Alliance, who joined the conference from Astana.

Marina Lapenko, director of “Eurasia-Povolzhye,” stressed the attention on the importance to involve a wide spectrum of non-profits, located in Russian-Kazakh border areas, in the joint work.

The first session of the IQ-club was held at the MSU. During the event, the experts discussed the general issues present in bilateral relations, as well as issues of economy, security, civil dialogue and expert cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan.

In his comment on the opening of the Russia-Kazakhstan IQ-club of experts, Ivan Malikov, president of the Penza company “VolgaInterMedia,” pointed out that the announced working structure is very relevant for the region.

“In September 2015, Sochi hosted an extended meeting of the Russia-Kazakhstan Border Cooperation Business Council (RKBC) as part of the 12th forum of Russia-Kazakhstan Interregional Cooperation which also involved representatives of the Penza region. The interest in cooperation with Kazakhstan is not incidental, as it is a market with a very big capacity for the size and scope of the Penza region. The representation of the region in the process of expert contacts formation with Kazakhstan, and with ‘Eurasia-Povolzhye’ in particular, is a very important aspect of the newly-created organization. Why is that necessary? The thing is, politicians are only making framework decisions; business needs fast reaction on changing situation; the Eurasian Economic Union, clear view of the united labor market. It is the objective for the experts to tie it all together, consider the interests of every party, and bring the opinions in Russian and Kazakh regions to the executive bodies of the Eurasian Economic Union. The regions must also be heard in the Eurasian Economic Committee,” he said.