Kairat Kelimbetov, the Chairman of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna, and Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, Chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica, inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Rome, Gazeta..kz reported. The MoU was signed in the presence of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. Guarguaglini said The signing of this agreement represents an important opportunity for the Italian transport industry and rail-associated companies which can offer their technologies and products to countries like Kazakhstan that are heavily involved in major rail projects. The agreement was signed to conclude industrial co-operation agreements with Finmeccanica Group companies in the rail, electro-optics and helicopter sectors. Besides the agreement includes the possibility of setting up technological centres of excellence. One specific provision of the MoU between Finmeccanica and Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk- Kazyna (an industrial and financial state holding company) is the establishment of a working group to analyse Kazakhstan’s changing needs and the business opportunities for Finmeccanica Group companies. With regard to the rail sector, Askar Mamin, the Chairman of Temir Zholy, Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, Finmeccanica Chairman and CEO, and Mauro Moretti, CEO of the Italian rail operator Ferrovie dello Stato, signed an MoU for wide-ranging co-operation in the development of the Kazakh rail sector. Temir Zholy and Ansaldo STS signed a joint venture agreement on rail signaling, electrification systems and the establishment of command and control centers for railway stations in Kazakhstan and neighboring countries.