Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector-General Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz returned to Riyadh today from Astana, after a state tour that took him to China, South Korea, Malaysia and Kazakhstan. Late this evening, a joint Saudi-Kazakhstani communiqué was issued at the end of his four-day official visit.

Prior to his departure, Prince Sultan visited a school in Astana and donated U.S. $2 million for its upkeep. The school, set up a year ago, offers 5th to 10th grade education leading to admission to military college. Yesterday, Prince Sultan addressed the Kazakhstani Parliament, and met with parliamentarians. Referring to Kazakhstan's rich natural resources as worthy of development, he urged easement of taxation to encourage foreign businessmen to invest in the country, and pointed out how the Saudi economic system fosters an environment for investment, with no taxes or restrictions imposed on investors. Prince Sultan, after being received by President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev on his arrival to lay the foundation stone of the new Kazakhstani Parliament building that is being funded by the Kingdom, announced that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz had also donated U.S. $5 million to establish a medical center in Astana.

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