External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee performed the first protocol duties of the Prime Minister on Saturday as he received Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underwent a bypass surgery, Mukherjee joined President Pratibha Patil in welcoming Nazarbayev on the forecourt of the majestic Presidential Palace.