09-08-08 President Lee Myung-bak and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met in Beijing and agreed to jointly explore oil, gas and mineral resources in the central Asian country, Lee's aides in Seoul said. The two leaders were in the Chinese capital for the Olympics.
In a meeting with Nazarbayev, Lee asked for his support for South Korean firms wanting to participate in a $ 4.5 bn thermal power plant project and the construction of a mid-sized atomic reactor in Kazakhstan, said the aides.

In response, Nazarbayev expressed satisfaction at the rapidly expanding bilateral relations in politics, economy, culture and other fields and voiced a wish to further boost ties with South Korea in the fields of petrochemicals and information technology, in particular, they said.
The two leaders reviewed a strategic partnership agreement signed during South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo's visit to Kazakhstan in May and agreed to visit each other's country in the near future, the aides said.

Kazakhstan accounts for 97 % of Central Asia's entire oil reserves and ranks second and 11th globally in terms of natural gas and uranium reserves, respectively.