Malaysia's agong, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, began a visit to Kazakhstan today with talks on cooperation in combating terrorism and possible Kazakh membership of the Asean group of southeast Asian nations, the Kazakh president's office said.

"Kazakhstan expresses its interest in participating in the security work of Asean as a full member of this organisation," Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's office said in a written statement.

The former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan has tried hard to form new ties with Asian countries since the Soviet Union collapsed in 2001.

Oil exploration

Nazarbayev raised the possibility of Malaysian energy giant Petronas joining in the development of Kazakhstan's oil and natural gas reserves in the Caspian, which Kazakhstan hopes will produce close to 150 million tonnes of oil annually within the next 10 to 12 years, the statement said.

Kazakhstan would like Asia to be a major market for Kazakh energy, but currently lacks the pipelines to transport the oil and gas.

Its plans to build a pipeline from its western oil fields to China are viewed sceptically by observers due to the vast distance and questionable economics of such a construction.

Kazakh exports to Malaysia were worth just RM10 million in 2002 while Malaysian exports to Kazakhstan were worth RM39 million, Nazarbayev's office said.

The Malaysian head of state was expected to take part in a variety of cultural and social events in Kazakhstan before leaving on Sunday. - AFP