President Yanukovych officially welcomed by President Nazarbayev in Astana

Military orchestra performed anthems of the two states; the two Presidents have passed the guards of honor.

The welcoming ceremony ended with mutual introduction of the official delegations of Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

The Ukrainian delegation includes Chief of Staff Sergiy Lyovochkin, Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, Minister of Fuel and Energy Yuriy Boyko, Minister of Transport and Communications Kostyantyn Yefymenko, Industrial Policy Minister Dmytro Kolesnikov, Agrarian Policy Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk, Director General of the National Space Agency of Ukraine Yuriy Alekseev.

After the official welcoming ceremony the two Presidents proceeded to the Astana Presidential Palace for a tete-a-tete. After the meeting they are to take part as chairmen in Ukrainian-Kazakh talks in a broad format.