New Delhi, Oct 29 : Union Minister of Power Sushilkumar Shinde met Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov at the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana today and discussed the bilateral and other issues of regional and international significance.

During the meeting, Shinde thanked Kazakhstan for its support on very important issues including in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and India''s membership in the United Nations Security Council.

He suggested that India could cooperate with Kazakhstan in setting up fertilizer plants there for exporting the fertilizers to India.

Shinde said that India is looking forward to the visit of the President of Kazakhstan, which would further strengthen the friendly political ties as well as economic and commercial relations.

The meeting held in the backdrop of the international financial crisis, also focused on the measures undertaken to deal with it.

Shinde expressed confidence in the robustness of the Indian economy and financial institutions which under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh have tried to balance growth and inflation.

He also explained the role of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in strong regulation of financial sector in accordance with prudent financial norms. (ANI)