ASTANA. April 24 (Interfax-AVN) - Kazakhstan and NATO have agreed to conduct NATO's Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) Security Forum in Astana on June 24-25, 2009, an informed source told Interfax.
"During its recent visit to Astana a NATO working group signed a memorandum of understanding, obliging the parties, Kazakhstan and NATO, to prepare for and conduct the EAPC Security Forum in Astana on June 24-25 this year," the source said.
The forum will be attended by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, as well as NATO delegation leaders, international military representatives and NATO senior defense officials, he said.
"Security will be stepped up" in Astana for a period of holding the forum, the source said.
An EAPC security forum is NATO's annual informal high-level meeting attended by foreign and defense ministers, prominent statesmen and scientists, representatives from media outlets and non-governmental organizations.