ITALY'S Silvio Berlusconi has praised the virility of Kazakhstan's men during a visit to Rome by its president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, saying this was the reason for the former Soviet country's population growth.
The comment by the 73-year-old Italian leader, who often boasts of his own virility and has been in trouble for hosting parties with prostitutes, came at a meeting with Mr Nazarbayev that Mr Berlusconi said sealed business deals worth billions.
T
he Italian prime minister, praising Kazakhstan's "great natural resources and huge demographic growth" at a meeting with Mr Nazarbayev, added with a smile that the latter "demonstrates the great vitality of all Kazakh males".
Mr Nazarbayev said his country's population had grown by 1.4 million over the past decade to top 16 million people.
He thanked Mr Berlusconi for supporting the Kazakh presidency of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) next year, which has sparked controversy because of his poor record on human rights.
The Kazakh leader, who was also due to visit Pope Benedict, said people from 49 religious denominations lived together in Kazakhstan, making it "an example of how to live together in peace and tolerance".
Human rights campaigners say Kazakhstan is not fit to chair the OSCE because it denies human rights and silences critics of the government.
But analysts say western criticism of Mr Nazarbayev is muted, because of his country's vast oil and gas reserves.
