304354 E918A Sultanov b k Kazakhstan Today

The Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

KAZAKHSTAN TODAY

Almaty, 2010

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION..................................................................................13

Chapter 1. THE HISTORY OF KAZAKH STATEHOOD1.1. Kazakhstan before the 15th Century .................................................231.2. Kazakh Khanate (15th-18th Centuries) ..............................................351.3. Kazakhstan in the Russian Empire ..................................................411.4. Kazakhstan in the USSR ..................................................................481.5. Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR and the Constitutional Law On State Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan .........................................................571.6. The Election of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (December 1991) ............................611.7. The First Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 1993 .......621.8. The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 30 August 1995 ............................................................................641.9. The National Referendum on Extending the Term of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan ...............................66 1.10 The State Symbols of the Republic of Kazakhstan ..........................67

Chapter 2. DOMESTIC POLICY2.1. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev .........................................712.2. The Kazakhstan-2030 Strategy ........................................................772.3. The 2007 Constitutional Reform......................................................852.4. The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan ...............................902.5. The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan .............................952.6. Reforms in the Judicial System ...................................................... 1052.7. The Party System ........................................................................... 1082.8. Kazakhstan Is a Multiethnic State .................................................. 1162.9. The Non-Governmental Sector ...................................................... 1182.10. The Media ..................................................................................... 121

Chapter 3. FOREIGN POLICY3.1. Kazakhstan’s Multi-Vector Foreign Policy .................................... 1273.2. Kazakhstan’s Nuclear-Free Status ................................................. 1373.3. Kazakhstan – the Chairman of the OSCE in 2010 ......................... 1393.4. Kazakhstan and Russia .................................................................. 1453.5. Kazakhstan and China .................................................................... 1523.6. Kazakhstan’s Cooperation with Central Asian Countries .............. 157

UDK 323/324 (574)BBК 66.3 (5 каз)К 26

Scientifi c publication

Recommended for publication by the Scientifi c Councilof the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies

under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Edited by B.K. Sultanov

Editorial board: B.K. Sultanov, L.M. Muzaparova, R.Yu. Vasilenko,

U.M. Nyssanbek, N.B. Seydin (responsible for publication)

Authors: M.A. Abisheva (ch(apter) 2; s(ection) 3.11), A.M. Borangaliyev (s. 4.6, 4.7, 4.12, 4.14), A.U. Ibragimova (s. 4.4, 4.13), R.Yu. Izimov (s. 3.5), K.D. Isayev (s. 3.8),

T.A. Kozyrev (ch. 2), S.K. Kushkumbayev (s. 3.6, 3.16), M.T. Laumulin (introduction), S.S. Lukpanova (s. 3.3), A.A. Morozov (ch. 1, 2), A.K. Nazarbetova (s. 5.5),

M.Ye. Nurgaliyev (s. 3.7, 3.11, 3.12), A.Zh. Rakhimzhanova (s. 4.1, 4.3, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, appendices), G.G. Rakhmatulina (s. 3.15, 4.1., 4.2, 4.5, 4.15),

Ye.T. Seilekhanov (ch. 2, s. 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4), V.N. Sitenko (s. 3.13, 3.14), B.K. Sultanov (s. 3.1, 3.2, 3.4), L.A. Timofeyenko (s. 3.9, 3.10)

Kazakhstan Today: monograph / Edited by B.K. Sultanov – Almaty: The Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 2010. – 356 p.

ISBN 978-601-7242-11-4

This joint monograph aims to present a generalised image of modern Kazakhstan. The book focuses on Kazakhstan’s role in the international community and discusses issues of the political, economic and social life of modern Kazakh society. It contains the history of the country and information on its present administrative-territorial divisions, population and government system.

The book presents Kazakhstan’s main steps on the path of the establishment of statehood and interim results of the country’s development in its years of independence.

The joint monograph targets primarily foreign readers who do not know much about the Republic of Kazakhstan, and will be also useful to local political analysts, researchers, civil servants, students and university teachers, and others.

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© KazISS, 2010

UDК 323/324 (574) BBК 66.3 (5 каз)ISBN 978-601-7242-11-4

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3.7. Kazakhstan and the USA ............................................................... 1633.8. Kazakhstan and the EU .................................................................. 1693.9. Kazakhstan and Middle Eastern Countries .................................... 1773.10. Kazakhstan and South Asian Countries ........................................ 1833.11. Kazakhstan and Asia-Pacifi c Countries ........................................ 1883.12. Kazakhstan and the UN ................................................................ 1953.13. Kazakhstan and the CIS ................................................................ 2003.14. Kazakhstan and the SCO .............................................................. 2053.15. Kazakhstan and the EAEC ............................................................ 2103.16. Kazakhstan and the CICA ............................................................. 215

Chapter 4. KAZAKHSTAN’S ECONOMY4.1. Strategy for Economic Reform ....................................................... 2254.2. Kazakhstan’s Natural Resources ..................................................... 2324.3. The Investment Climate in Kazakhstan .......................................... 2374.4. Small and Medium Businesses ....................................................... 2404.5. Oil and Gas Production and Transport ............................................ 2434.6. Mining ............................................................................................. 2494.7. Processing Industry ......................................................................... 2524.8. Space Industry ................................................................................. 2574.9. Agriculture ...................................................................................... 2604.10. Trade ............................................................................................. 2654.11. Banking ......................................................................................... 2694.12. Transport ....................................................................................... 2724.13. Communications ........................................................................... 2764.14. Tourism ......................................................................................... 2784.15. Foreign Economic Relations ......................................................... 281

Chapter 5. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN5.1. Education ........................................................................................ 2875.2. Science ............................................................................................ 2985.3. Public Health ................................................................................... 3065.4. Environment .................................................................................... 3115.5. Gender Policy .................................................................................. 319

Appendices. KAZAKHSTAN in FIGURES ...................................... 323

Information about authors .................................................................. 352Information about the KazISS ............................................................ 354

Kazakhstan today

FOREWORD

Dear Reader,

You are about to read this book about modern Kazakhstan, which is the world’s ninth largest country and the second in the CIS after Russia in terms of territory, and is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of natural resources; it is considered to be the most stable of the former Soviet states.

Our country has been attracting the world’s attention over the past two decades with its successes in the creation of institutions of state-hood, the implementation of market reforms in the economy and the formation of a tolerant multi-denominational and multiethnic society. Kazakhstan is famous for its contribution to the strengthening of global stability and nuclear security, as an initiator and active player in many processes in the sphere of disarmament, confi dence building and the creation of a collective system of security.

This book refl ects our desire to tell the foreign reader more about Kazakhstan – a country with an ancient culture and a long history, a talented population and a stable economy. Located in the very centre of the great Eurasian continent, Kazakhstan is a country in which different and diverse phenomena have become intertwined and syn-thesised. This country simultaneously belongs to both the East and the West. Our country is populated by people that belong to different ethnic groups and cultures.

In the fi rst chapter of this book you fi nd information on the his-tory of Kazakhstan and the formation of Kazakh statehood. The very history of the statehood of Kazakhs started in the 15th century, although the history of Turkic nomads, who are the direct ancestors of Kazakhstan, stretches for at least another millennium. This chapter provides all the relevant information about the government system of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the documents and symbols of our country. Here you will learn the conditions in which modern Kazakhstan was created when it received independence following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

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Kazakhstan today

The second chapter of the book is devoted to the domestic political processes in Kazakhstan, the country’s government system, the main political forces and the nature of the political regime established in the country. The book draws particular attention to the institution of the presidency’s place and role in the government system. This at-tention is understandable, given the fi rst Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s contribution to the process of building statehood and his infl uence on it. In this chapter it is noted that Kazakhstan’s gov-ernment institutions are not static in nature, rather they are always at the stage of modernisation and reformation. This equally concerns both political reforms in general and reforms in the parliamentary and judicial systems.

The only solution in terms of strengthening the unitary nature of Kazakhstan and preserving its political stability was a combina-tion of the model of unitary state with strong presidential power. In Kazakhstan, as in other liberal countries, political opposition exists. The emergence of the opposition was largely a result of the economic reforms conducted.

To me, as the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Re-public of Kazakhstan, the most important is the third chapter, which is devoted to the international standing and relations of Kazakhstan with the rest of the world. In the almost 20-year period of its existence as an independent state from the late 1991 to 2010 the Republic of Kazakhstan joined the system of international relations, adopted its foreign policy, drafted a clear and coherent foreign policy concept and realised its national interests.

Kazakhstan’s foreign policy and involvement in the affairs of the international community have developed rigorously in all key aspects that have become traditional. This includes participation in interna-tional and regional organisations (the UN, the EU, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference), development of bilateral relations (with Russia, Central Asian and CIS countries, the USA, EU member states, China, Muslim countries and Asia-Pacifi c states). Thus, Kazakhstan’s foreign

policy is based on three key directions: international law, multilateral relations and bilateral relations.

At the initial stage of the development of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy strategy (in the fi rst half of 1990s) the Eurasian Bridge concept was put forward, which pointed out that in terms of geography, culture, history and civilisation Kazakhstan belonged to both Europe and Asia. Later, in the second half of the 1990s, this concept was transformed into a doctrine of multi-vector diplomacy. This doctrine aimed to pursue foreign policies in all directions important to Kazakhstan: the CIS, Central Asia, East and West, Europe and Asia, the Muslim world, Asia-Pacifi c, developed powers and so on.

During the implementation of foreign policy in different periods Kazakhstan faced different priorities and objectives. For example, between 1992 and 1995 nuclear problems occupied a signifi cant place in Kazakhstan’s relations with the USA, Russia and the West in general. In the second half of the 1990s the problem of the Cas-pian Sea, its delimitation and the designing of routes to transport Caspian hydrocarbons became a priority. At the beginning of the 21st century the issues of ensuring national and regional security, fi ghting international terrorism, drugs and so on became particularly relevant. During its entire history sovereign Kazakhstan’s foreign policy aimed to expand integration in the post-Soviet space: within the CIS, the Central Asian Economic Community and the Eurasian Economic Community. Relations with Central Asian countries have always been a priority for Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan has successfully entered the international community and international structures at global, regional and subregional levels. The country has joined most international treaties and agreements and, as a result, became part of the international legal space. Kazakhstan is party to international security treaties like the Treaty on the Non-Pro-liferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty I, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, as well as all the main documents of the UN and the OSCE.

Kazakhstan, like all former Soviet republics, became member of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on 30 January 1992. From the very fi rst days of its membership of this

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Kazakhstan today

organisation Kazakhstan started actively promote the strengthening of security in the CSCE/OSCE. As early as at the Helsinki summit in 1992 President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed the creation of special forces under the CSCE for the prevention of regional confl icts and maintaining peace in Eurasia. It was precisely then Kazakhstan fl oated the idea of creating the Asian equivalent of the OSCE – the Conference on Interaction and Confi dence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). Kazakhstan’s cooperation with the OSCE has been important for strengthening its positions in the international arena in general and relations with OSCE member states which represent Eurasia, Europe and North America and boosting the security of Kazakhstan and the entire Central Asian region, as well as develop-ing democracy, ensuring human rights, pursuing balanced policy on ethnic minorities and preserving internal stability. The OSCE experience was also useful for convening the Conference on Interac-tion and Confi dence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), initiated by Kazakhstan. In autumn 2007 at the Madrid meeting of the foreign ministers of OSCE member states Kazakhstan was elected chairman of the organisation in 2010, the duties of which our country started performing on 1 January 2010.

As OSCE chairman Kazakhstan plans to focus on achieving the best balance between all three baskets of the OSCE. This approach will make it possible to see problems in their totality and effectively withstand not only the external manifestations of modern challenges and threats but also work with the sources of their origin. In addition, Kazakhstan considers the expansion and strengthening of a consensual fi eld on the fundamental issues of the organisation’s development as one of the OSCE’s main tasks. In particular attention will be paid to holding the OSCE summit in Astana in 2010, which will discuss current security problems in the zone of responsibility of the OSCE, the situation in Afghanistan and issues of tolerance.

Kazakhstan remains loyal to its role of initiator of integration processes in the post-Soviet space. At the same time, Astana under-stands that the maximum level of integration can take place only in the economic sphere (and in the military-strategic sphere only in an extraordinary case). Kazakhstan’s political sovereignty should be

preserved in any development of the situation. This means that Ka-zakhstan aims to follow the European model of integration.

Russia is Kazakhstan’s main foreign policy partner. The two coun-tries are co-founders of the CIS, the Eurasian Economic Community and the Customs Union and are interacting within the CSTO and SCO, as well as participating in multilateral talks on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. Therefore, the multilateral nature of Kazakh-Russian relations is very noticeable.

Relations between Kazakhstan and China, which is its second larg-est neighbour, occupy an important place in Astana’s foreign policy. They cover a broad range of issues in the political, economic, trade, ethnic, border and military spheres. The Chinese factor is permanent in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. Between 1992 and 2010 the main aspects of bilateral cooperation were fully defi ned. Problems that represent mutual interests are borders, crossborder rivers, trade and economic cooperation, the state of the Kazakh diaspora in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, cooperation in the spheres of oil and gas, transport and investment.

A positive moment in Kazakhstan’s ties with the USA was that Washington practically recognised Kazakhstan as the leader (in terms of reforms and economic development) in Central Asia and to some extent in the CIS. Washington arrived at the conclusion that Astana should assume the role of leader in the region which helps the development of infrastructure in the energy sector and the creation of additional transit routes for hydrocarbons. Kazakhstan was the fi rst CIS country to be offi cially recognised by America as a market economy country.

At the very beginning of the formation of independent Ka-zakhstan’s foreign policy and foreign economic policy the country’s leadership clearly realised that Western Europe and the EU institu-tions were the political and economic force that must be taken into account in the country’s foreign policy strategy. In 1992 the decision was taken to launch cooperation between Kazakhstan and NATO. Kazakhstan received additional security guarantees from NATO. On 27 May 1994 Kazakhstan signed the Partnership for Peace framework document. We in Kazakhstan perfectly understand, especially in the

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Kazakhstan today

context of the antiterrorist operation in Afghanistan, that the North Atlantic Alliance is one of the most important guarantors of security in Central Asia.

Kazakhstan’s multi-vector foreign policy was shaped by the country’s pursuit of independent policy towards other power cen-tres and regional powers in the second half of the 1990s. The latest events have shown that Kazakhstan is indeed capable of conducting an indeed multi-vector, yet also independent, policy at various inter-national levels.

Relations between Kazakhstan and Russia, China, Central Asian states, the USA and the EU are of strategic importance, which objec-tively cannot be doubted. Kazakhstan’s future foreign policy, like in the previous years, will aim at ensuring the security of the country and the security of its population security, as well the economic progress and sustainable development of the country.

The book’s fourth chapter discusses Kazakhstan’s economic de-velopment. In recent years Kazakhstan is believed to be one of the most economically successful countries in the CIS. Progress in eco-nomic transformations in Kazakhstan is a shining example of those diffi culties that have to be overcome on the path towards a market economy by even a newly independent state that is the richest in terms of natural resources.

The country’s economy has come a long way, accompanied by a dramatic slump in production and high levels of infl ations at the beginning and the stabilisation of the economy, a small economic growth and a reduction in infl ation in the late 1990s, when Kazakhstan completed a phase of macroeconomic stabilisation, the creation of its fi nancial system and privatisation in the chief sectors of the economy. Between then and the beginning of the global crisis the Kazakh economy was on the rise.

Economic reforms resulted in serious socio-political changes in the country. All this had a complex, but generally positive, effect. The economic strategy placed emphasis on the macroeconomic stabilisa-tion of the economy, the development of the fi nancial sector and the banking system, the freeing-up of entrepreneurial vigour through economic reforms and investment.

Even now, there are problems in Kazakhstan. At the local level Kazakhstan has disproportions in terms of the size of the popula-tion, its structure and development. Local differences in climatic and geographical conditions in terms of demographic dynamics and socioeconomic conditions led to the uneven distribution and density of Kazakhstan’s population. There are great socioeconomic differ-ences between the different regions of Kazakhstan. On the one hand, there are regions with a predominantly rural population and with agricultural and old industrial infrastructure; on the other, there are regions with a high level of urban population, with deposits of natural resources and competitive industry.

The fi nal chapter of the book discusses the human dimensions of modern Kazakhstan – education, science, healthcare, environmental protection and gender policy. Reforms, conducted by the Kazakh government after 1991, had to touch these spheres of social life too. At present, the higher education system is undergoing radical changes in Kazakhstan. In this sphere we have signed international agreements, including the Bologna Declaration.

When referring to education and training specialists we should mention the Bolashak state programme, which occupied a remark-able place in the Kazakh education system in the mid-1990s. The programme is about preparing specialists for the country in the very spheres where there are shortages and taking the best of everything from foreign countries, while preserving young people’s attachment to the motherland, patriotism and a sense of national responsibility. The main strategic aim is to enable Kazakhstan to rely on its own resources, including in the education system, in the decades to come.

As Kazakhstan’s fi rst President Nursultan Nazarbayev understands the objective of modernising the country and its society, the task is to move our independence from the outside world and the state of the object to the conscious management of processes of borrowing from external elements that help the modernisation of the political and governmental systems, i.e. become subjects and creators of our own modernisation.

So what is modern Kazakhstan? A country that is successfully leaving behind the negative elements of its Soviet legacy, building

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INTRODUCTION

Modern Kazakhstan covers a territory in the very heart of the Eur-asian continent. It is a country where various and often contradictory phenomena are entwined and synthesised; a country which at once belongs to East and West as a link of the Eurasian civilisation that has absorbed spiritual basics, ideas of humanism and the best traditions of world cultures and religions.

Kazakhstan is located in the centre of Eurasia almost at an equal distance from the Atlantic and the Pacifi c. In terms of size, the country is the ninth largest in the world (2.7 million sq km), behind Russia, Canada, China, the USA, Brazil, Australia, India and Argentina. Its deep continental location signifi cantly infl uences the country’s climatic conditions.

Kazakhstan today

an open and democratic society, which is liberal and secular in spirit. Kazakhstan is now leaving the transitional stage with economic reforms outpacing political ones. Facing various problems and dif-fi culties, Kazakhstan and its political elite have learnt to solve them and this should be recognised as the chief achievement of the post-Soviet era.

From a political, legal and psychological point of view Ka-zakhstan is a diverse society. Another inevitable objective faced by the new Kazakh political elite is to consolidate society. In Kazakhstan’s policy these priorities stand out: the construction of an effi cient state which is capable of surviving in globalising international relations, of leading economically in the region and of remaining loyal to its Eurasian roots. Kazakhstan has everything to become a prosperous democratic state: ethnic diversity, a vast territory, a diverse economy and a well-educated population.

Kanat SaudabayevSecretary of State of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Minister of

Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan

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On Kazakhstan’s expanses one can fi nd mountains and plains, wide and deep rivers and dry deserts. In its west lies the Caspian de-pression, and, to its east, the Ustyurt Plateau, stretching to the shores of the Aral Sea. The vast Turan lowland and the Kyzylkum desert are in the country’s south which are replaced by the Moyunkum and Betpak-Dala deserts further to the east. The plain is constrained by the southern offsets of the Urals Mountains and the low-rise Mugalzhar Mountains and the Turgai Valley. In the central part of the country are the Kazakh Uplands and in the southeast are mountain ranges, including Peak Khan Tengri (6,995 m).

Kazakhstan has a great number of lakes and rivers, and the Caspian Sea coast stretches for 2,340 km the country’s west and southwest. The Ural River that merges with the Ilek tributary and the Emba River all fl ow into the Caspian Sea.

To the east of the Caspian Sea in the sand desert is the Aral Sea, which not so long ago was the world’s fourth largest lake. In the southeast is another big lake – Balkhash which covers an area of 18,200 sq km. Kazakhstan has almost 7,000 lakes, whose combined water surface exceeds 45,000 sq km.

Remoteness from the oceans and the vast territory determine the sharp continental nature of the country’s climate, its zoning and in-suffi cient precipitation. Kazakhstan’s climate differs from adjacent countries and from countries located on similar latitudes.

Despite Kazakhstan’s particular climate, on sunny days its southern regions are not dissimilar to Egypt and California [1].

The average temperature in January ranges between -19 and -4 degrees Centigrade, while the average temperature in July fl uctuates between +19 and +26 degrees Centigrade with varying considerably between regions. Precipitation is also distributed unevenly: from less than 100 mm per year in desert areas to 1,600 mm in the mountains.

Kazakhstan possesses sizeable reserves of mineral resources – oil, gas, coal and metals. According to expert estimates, out of the 110 ele-ments of the periodic table, 99 have been discovered in the country and 70 have been explored, while only 60 are actively being extracted.

Kazakhstan is a major producer of tungsten and occupies fi rst place in terms of reserves, second place in terms of chromium and phos-

phorus ore reserves, fourth place on lead and molybdenum reserves and eighth place on iron ore. The country also has major deposits of iron, manganese and chromium ores, gold, barytes, potassium salts, compounds of bromine, sulphates and phosphorites.

Kazakhstan is also rich in mineral, medicinal, industrial and ther-mal water reserves.

Energy resources occupy a special place in the country. Fourteen promising oil basins, located all over the country, have been discov-ered, but so far only 160 oil and gas fi elds with combined reserves of 2.7 billion tonnes have been explored.

The results of the latest explorations make it possible to suggest that major oil fi elds developed in western Kazakhstan on the Caspian Sea coast – Tengiz, Prorva, Kalamkas and Karazhanbas – are frag-ments of a greater oil structure, the nucleus of which is located in the northern part of the Caspian Sea. Its total reserves may reach as high as 3-3.5 billion tonnes of oil and 2,000-2,500 billion cu m of gas.

The rich natural resources have encouraged industrial development in the country. One of Kazakhstan’s major industrial enterprises is the Sokolov-Sarbai Ore-enrichment Production Association, which is one of the country’s leaders in iron ore production and processing. Other fl agships of Kazakhstan’s industry include Mittal Steel Group, a leading steel producer, and the Access Komir coal company.

The Kazmunaigas national oil and gas company is one of the largest companies in the country and is involved in drafting and implementing the single state policy and strategy in the oil and gas sphere. Kazmunaigas conducts the full cycle of work in this sphere: it explores, develops, extracts, processes, transports and sells hydro-carbons as well as building and operating oil and gas pipelines and production facilities in Kazakhstan and abroad [2].

Thus, the country’s advantageous geopolitical location, its vast territory and natural resources, political and economic stability ob-jectively determine Kazakhstan’s fi rm positions in the Central Asian region. Its relations with the European Union and chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2010 are important in order for Kazakhstan to advance its interests in the global geopolitical system.

Kazakhstan today

16 17

Despite the diverse natural and other conditions that exist in any modern country, its real integrity and political, economic and social stability are maintained by a clearly functioning system of coopera-tion between all of its regions.

Kazakhstan now has 14 regions and two cities of national impor-tance.

North Kazakhstan Oblast borders the Russian Federation. Its ad-ministrative centre is Petropavlovsk. The region’s main production spheres are the processing of agricultural products which accounts for 35.4% of total output, power engineering with 31.5% and machine-building and metal processing with 23%.

Pavlodar Oblast is located in the country’s north and borders the Russian Federation. The region has well-developed power engi-neering, metal and oil refi ning sectors. Grain production and animal husbandry dominate in the agricultural sector.

Kostanai Oblast is also located in northern Kazakhstan and borders Russia. Its iron ore extraction and food industry are well-developed. Grain production and meat and dairy production are the main seg-ments of its agriculture.

Akmola Oblast is another northern region, traditionally strong in agriculture, especially well-known for the quality of its grain.

Karaganda Oblast is Kazakhstan’s largest region, which is located in the country’s centre. Its main city is Karaganda. The region has well-developed energy, coal, ferrous and non-ferrous metal, chemical and food industries. Grain and meat production dominate its agriculture.

Aktobe Oblast is situated on the border of the two continents – Asia and Europe. The region is located in the country’s west and borders the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan; its administrative centre is Aktobe. It has a unique mineral resources base and occupies fi rst place in the world in terms of chromite ore, third place in Kazakhstan in copper ore and oil reserves and forth place in the country in terms of gas reserves. Ore-enrichment, chemical, food and machine-building sectors are well-developed.

Atyrau Oblast is in the country’s west and borders Russia. Its capital is Atyrau. The main mineral resources are oil and gas, potas-sium salts; manganese, barium, calcium, bromine, cooking salt, lime

and clay. Oil production, oil refi ning, petrochemistry, fi shing and fi sh products, and the cultivation of melons, watermelons and pumpkins are major sectors of its economy.

West Kazakhstan Oblast borders Russia. The region’s capital is Uralsk. Gas production, machine-building, the food industry and grain and potato production are well-developed.

Mangistau Oblast borders Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The ad-ministrative centre of the region is Aktau. The main mineral resources are oil and gas. The oil and gas sector is a key sector in the region. Aktau also has a port on the Caspian Sea.

South Kazakhstan Oblast is one of the largest regions in the coun-try. Located in the south, it borders with Uzbekistan and its capital is Shymkent. Non-ferrous metallurgy, machine-building, the food industry and cotton production are developed well in the country. In addition, the region has plenty of mineral resources.

Kyzylorda Oblast is also located in southern Kazakhstan. The region has the Aral Sea, which is an environmental disaster zone. The region extracts oil and cooking salt and cultivates rice. The region is home to the world-famous Baikonur space launching site which enjoys a special status and is practically run jointly by Kazakhstan and Russia (in accordance with an agreement signed on 25 March 1994) [3].

Zhambyl Oblast is in the country’s south and borders Kyrgyzstan. Its capital, Taraz, is an ancient Silk Road town, which has marked its 2000th anniversary. The region is famous for one of the world’s major deposits of phosphorites. The Amangeldy gas fi eld has been put into operation and will satisfy demand for gas in the entire south of the country. Animal husbandry and crop farming are well-developed in this region.

East Kazakhstan Oblast borders Russia and China. Its administra-tive centre is Ust-Kamenogorsk. Most of its territory covers the Altai Mountains (the highest peak is over 4,000 metres). The Irtysh River fl ows through the region. Non-ferrous metallurgy, machine-building, power engineering, the timber industry, the food sector and meat and dairy production are key sectors in this region.

Almaty Oblast is situated in Kazakhstan’s southeast and borders Kyrgyzstan and China. Taldykorgan is the region’s capital. The key economic sectors are power engineering, metal processing, produc-

Kazakhstan today

18 19

tion of equipment and instruments and the light and food industries. The strongest agricultural segments are grain, beetroot and potato production, the wine industry and tobacco cultivation.

The city of Almaty was Kazakhstan’s capital from 1929 until 1997. Its population was 1,130,100 people at the beginning of 1998, and this fi gure now stands at around 1.5 million.

The city is located on the northern foothills of the Ile (Zailiyskiy) Alatau Mountains between the Ulken Almaty River and Kishi Almaty River. The city’s northernmost point is at an altitude of 670 metres above the sea level and the southernmost at 970 metres. The city covers an area of 287.6 sq km.

Almaty has the status of a city of national signifi cance. It is the larg-est fi nancial, scientifi c, education, cultural and tourism centre of the country. The city’s many research establishments conduct studies practi-cally in all spheres of science and they are united under the umbrella of the National Academy of Sciences, which was set up in 1946.

The city is home to 75% of the country’s commercial banks and a majority of private pension funds and this determines its role as the country’s fi nancial centre.

Almaty, as a fi nancial, scientifi c and cultural centre, has high in-vestment attractiveness and fulfi ls some of the functions of a capital city, acquiring the image of international business centre. It is the country’s largest transport hub.

Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan. President Nursultan Nazar-bayev initiated to move capital from Almaty to Akmola and this decision was passed by the Supreme Soviet of Kazakhstan on 6 July 1994. On 20 October 1997, by a presidential decree Akmola (it was renamed Astana in 1998) was announced as the capital of the Re-public of Kazakhstan, and Astana is now the centre of the country’s economic, political and cultural life.

The Kazakh settlement of Karaotkel was located on the site of modern Astana and it was on the northern branch of the Great Silk Road which linked Europe and Asia. In 1832, a military fortifi cation was founded in the settlement and it swiftly turned into a major trade centre. The town changed names several times – it was called Akmo-linsk until 1961, Tselinograd in 1961-1992 and the previous name in

the Kazakh spelling of Akmola was returned to the city from 1992 until 1998 and it received the new name, Astana, on 6 May 1998. By 2008, the capital’s population had already exceeded 600,000.

The capital now has 20 twin cities – Moscow, Minsk, Kiev, Chisinau, Tashkent, Riga, Tbilisi, Baku, Cairo, Islamabad, Berlin, Budapest, Warsaw, Vilnius, Ankara, Gdansk, Dubai, Bangkok, Seoul and Amman. Astana became a member of the International Assembly of Capitals and Cities in 2000.

The pace and wide range of transformations that are taking place in Astana have not gone unnoticed by the international community. UNESCO awarded Astana with the title and medal City of Peace in 1999. The new capital of sovereign Kazakhstan – Astana – is becom-ing an increasingly important political, socioeconomic and cultural centre of not only Kazakhstan but also of Central Asia and Eurasia. Now claiming a broad reputation as a rapidly developing city, As-tana is generating professional interest among politicians, political scientists and sociologists.

As one of the world’s largest nations, Kazakhstan has a relatively small population – its population density is 6.1 people per square kilometre. The country’s population is 16.4 million people (2009), and life expectancy is 66.5 years.

In the past two decades population growth has slowed in Kazakhstan. This is explained by, on the one hand, emigration of signifi cant part of the population, and, on the other hand, a steady reduction in natural growth. However, emigration rates gradually slowed, while natural growth increased. From 2002 natural growth has outpaced a negative migration balance, and since 2004 Kazakhstan’s population has started growing as a result of natural growth and inward migration.

In 1992 the government began encouraging ethnic Kazakhs who were living abroad to return to Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan’s population is multiethnic: there are 131 ethnic groups in the country. According to 2007 statistics, ethnic Kazakhs account for 59.18% of the population, ethnic Russians 25.63% and other ethnic groups total 15.19% [15, p 44]. Current and more precise data will be obtained from the results of the census held in the country between 25 February and 6 March 2009.

Kazakhstan today

20 21

The state takes into account the multiethnic nature of the country’s population. With the aim of strengthening social stability and inter-ethnic accord in the country, the Assembly of Kazakhstan’s Peoples [sic] was set up as an advisory body under the Kazakh president in 1995.* The assembly aims to draft practical recommendations to consolidate society based on assessment of events and forecasts of the political situation in the country. As a result of joint efforts by government agencies and the Assembly of Kazakhstan’s People the state of interethnic relations is stable and has favourable dynamics.

Kazakhstan has for a long time distinguished itself because of the peaceful coexistence of many different ethnic groups practising various religions – Tengrianism, Zoroastrism, Buddhism, Christian-ity, Judaism and Islam, and in modern history, after the break-up of the USSR, Kazakhstan has become one of the few new independent countries to develop steadily and without confl ict.

Kazakhstan, as a multicultural country, now acts as a bridge be-tween East and West. There are about 3,500 religious organisations, representing 46 denominations.

The role and place of religion have signifi cantly changed in modern Kazakh society. In Kazakhstan, like in the entire world, religion is playing an increasingly noticeable role, and this specifi cally concerns socio-politi-cal processes. It is through religion that a signifi cant part of the population is trying to revive traditional values and fundamental morals.

The role and place of religion are also changing in the system of social relations, which is why a constructive dialogue between denominations is one of the main ways to achieve stability – both in the country and in the world.

The third Congress of World and Traditional Religions was held in Astana in July 2009. Kazakhstan is an ideal place for this type of meeting because interethnic and inter-religious accord has always received particular attention here.

Important decisions aimed at ensuring the peaceful and stable development of Kazakhstan were the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground and the declaration of the country’s territory as a

nuclear-free zone. Over 40 years (1949-1989) 450 atmospheric, ground and underground tests had been carried out, which have contaminated the ground over a considerable area and caused irreparable damage to the lives and health of almost half a million Kazakh citizens.

Kazakhstan, which obtained independence in December 1991, in-herited the world’s fourth largest nuclear arsenal, one which exceeded those of Britain, France and China combined.

This historical step has become a great contribution by Kazakhstan to the global process of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, the signifi cance of which is acquiring increasingly immense topicality. Since then Kazakhstan has fully freed itself from the entire nuclear arsenal and destroyed the entire auxiliary infrastructure such as launching silos and test tunnels at the site. Having voluntarily given up nuclear weapons and built peaceful relations with the rest of the world, Kazakhstan has ensured favourable conditions for its economic development and prosperity.

Another major facility of strategic importance Kazakhstan inher-ited form the USSR was the world-famous Baikonur space launching site, which was a symbol of the Soviet Union’s geopolitical power.

All types of Soviet-made booster rockets have been launched from this cosmodrome. Baikonur is one of the world’s three space launch-ing facilities, along with the ones on Cape Canaveral (the USA) and Jiuquan (China), which are designed to launch manned spacecraft. It was Baikonur that sent the fi rst satellite and the fi rst man into space; it also launched the manned spacecraft Vostok, Voskhod and Soyuz and orbital stations Salyut and Mir, as well as the Energiya-Buran space system and interplanetary space apparatuses.

The cosmodrome experienced a critical period in 1991-1993 after the break-up of the USSR. The situation was resolved in the follow-ing way: the cosmodrome, along with the town of Leninsk (renamed Baikonyr in December 1995) was leased out to Russia in 1994. The annual rent is $115m, which is paid in kind with military and other vehicles and equipment. A further $50m per year is provided for maintaining infrastructure.

Plans to build Kazakhstan’s Baiterek space launching facility at Baikonur were announced in late 2004. It is expected that it will * In 2007 it was renamed the Assembly of Kazakhstan’s People.

Kazakhstan today

22 23

launch commercial satellites with Angara rocket boosters. Russia and Kazakhstan will operate the new facility on a parity basis.

Baikonur today is still a complex system, designed to launch spacecraft and ballistic objects. This base, serviced by space troops, launches practically all the newest spacecraft that are designed in Russia.

The greatest value of Baikonur for Russia and global space sci-ence is that only this cosmodrome is capable of launching manned spacecraft and heavy Proton rockets, which have to bear the main workload of commercial launches now.

The space launching site covers an area of 6,717 sq km. A total of 80,000 people live at the cosmodrome, half of them are Kazakh citizens who service it and its infrastructure.

Kazakhstan is now an example of successful development among post-Soviet countries. The former Kazakh SSR was replaced by a rapidly modernising country which has established itself as a sover-eign state and an equal member of the international community in its years of independence. Kazakhstan is a leader in terms of economic growth not only among CIS countries, but also all countries with transitional economies.

Because of its geopolitical location, energy resources, weighed and balanced foreign policy, modern Kazakhstan acts as a stabilis-ing factor in the Central Asian region and serves as a catalyst for its further development.

References

1. Большой Атлас истории и культуры Казахстана / Гл. рук. проекта – А.Ш. Бимендиев; гл. ред. – К.М. Байпаков (пред.) и др.; научн. ред. – К. З. Ускенбай. – Алматы: АО «АБДИ Компани», 2008. – 880 с.

2. Морозов А. А. Казахстан за годы независимости / Под общ. ред. Б.К. Султанова. Научно-популярное издание. – Алматы: КИСИ при Президенте РК, 2005. – 236 с.

3. http://www.materik.ru

CHAPTER 1. THE HISTORY OF KAZAKH STATEHOOD

1.1. Kazakhstan before the 15th Century

People settled in Kazakhstan’s territory about one million years ago in the Upper Palaeolithic Age, and this has been proven by the excava-tion of cavemen encampments: Borykazgan and Tanirkazgan in the Karatau Mountains; Kudaikol, Zhaman-Aibat, Obalysai, Ogiz-Tau, Ulken Ak Maya in central Kazakhstan; Arystandy and Karaungur in south Kazakhstan; Onezhek in Mangistau Oblast; Kanai, Svinchatka, Peshchera and Novo-Nikolskoye in eastern Kazakhstan; Shatpakol, Shoshdaul, Kyz-Yemshek, Kainar, Zhylan-Kaban, Koi-Kara, Saryka-mys, Shayandy in Atyrau Oblast and other camps.

During this period economic activity was about consuming readily available natural products – cavemen collected wild crops, fruit and berries and hunted wild animals.

Kazakhstan today

24 25

Hunting infl uenced the humans’ outlook on the world – a cult of hunting magic emerged and it was based on a belief in establishing power over animals by obtaining their image or symbol – so-called totemism. The main primitive arts were the painting of animals, carv-ing and primitive sculptural arts.

Preserved and examined monuments of the Palaeolithic Age make it possible to conclude that proto-Kazakh territory (i.e. the territory of present-day Kazakhstan) was part of a zone of formation and de-velopment of humans since the early Palaeolithic Age.

The Palaeolithic Age was replaced with the Mesolithic Age and later with the Neolithic Age. At that time crop farming and animal husbandry developed and people made the fi rst bows and arrows to make hunting easier.

Socially, the Neolithic Age was a period of tribal communities and the supremacy of collective labour and common ownership of production tools. In addition, this was the time of greater forms of societal organisation: formations of tribes or tribal unions, which, in turn, consisted of several tribal communities united by blood relation-ship and the homogenous nature of economic activity.

There are currently over 500 known Neolithic monuments in Kazakhstan; the brightest and most interesting of these are the Kul Sary camp in western Kazakhstan and Kyzyl-Su in the country’s east. Neolithic tribes of Kazakhstan, preserving their specifi cs and distinc-tive cultural traditions, developed in close interaction with tribes of neighbouring regions.

The period that followed was the Eneolithic Age – copper-stone age, which started the switch from the use of stone to the use of metal. The adoption of copper tools of labour gave an impetus to the development of crop farming and animal husbandry, which, as a result, gradually replaced hunting and collection. Thus, the consuming economic formation was replaced with a producing one. The basics of mining, sowing and ceramic production were then founded. The sophistication of activity led to further evolution of the social forma-tion – tribes started uniting into tribal unions.

Among the Eneolithic monuments discovered in Kazakhstan, researchers single out the monuments from the Botai culture, which

received its name from the Botai railway station in Akmola Oblast and are dated back to the third to second millennia BC.

Excavations unearthed traces of 158 units of housing. Examina-tion showed that these were buildings from the last period of the settlement’s existence. Archaeologists discovered tools made of dif-ferent types of rocks, clay and bones.

Functional defi nitions showed the sophisticated economic mode of the population. For example, bone elements of bridles and hopple clasps pointed to the beginning of domestication of horses; stone clubs, knives, daggers, arrow-heads, darts and spears were linked to hunting; harpoons pointed to fi shing. The existence of tools to process and polish skins, needles, pricks and pierces described the sophisticated nature of the economic life of representatives of the Botai culture.

Bronze was invented on the Eurasian steppes at the turn of the second to fi rst millennia BC. Ancient people managed – through add-ing tin to copper – to make metal articles much stronger.

Tribes that inhabited Kazakhstan’s territory in the Bronze Age left archaeological monuments (settlements, burial grounds, mines and petroglyphs) which belong to the Andronian culture (the name was derived from the place of the fi rst excavations of a burial ground outside the village of Andronovo near the town of Achinsk in southern Siberia). Archaeologist Mikhail Gryaznov discovered similar burial grounds in western Kazakhstan. Later Andronian monuments were also found in southern and southeastern Kazakhstan and other parts of Central Asia.

Representatives of the Andronian culture are related by origin, economic activity, language and culture tribes and tribal unions. Studies of Andronian artefacts led to the conclusion that most of their settlements had been built along river banks. Grain grinders, rectangular and round pestles for crushing and milling grain, sickles and stone hoes were found in all settlements.

Animal husbandry played a considerable part in the lives of Andronians. Animals produced food, wool, leather, bones for items and dung fuel. The main products were meat and milk and the main animals were sheep, cows and horses.

Kazakhstan today Chapter 1. The History of Kazakh Statehood

26 27

Andronians often roamed when pastures around their settlements became exhausted. Later, in the 15th century BC, they developed the drive-to-range form of animal husbandry, i.e. shepherds drove animals to remote pastures and drove them back only in autumn.

The chief ethnographic features of the culture that distinguished the Andronian population from others are burial grounds in form of stone fences of different shapes: rectangular, round or oval.

Another distinctive trait of the Andronians was the production of metal jewellery – earrings, pendants and pieces for head-dresses.

Andronian monuments have been found and studied almost in all regions of Kazakhstan. In western Kazakhstan the Kirgeldy burial ground and the settlement of Tasty-Butak were studied; in central Kazakhstan the Bylkyldyk, Karasai, Temir-Astau, Karabiye, Yelshi-bek, Balasar, Aksu-Ayuly, Tegibai-Bulak, Buguly, Bota, Akshatau and Aishrak burial mounds and settlements; in eastern Kazakhstan the Kanai, Sarykol and Koitas mounds; in northern Kazakhstan – Borovoye, Alekseyevskoye and Yefi movskoye; in southern and southeastern Kazakhstan the Tamgaly, and Karakuduk burial grounds and settlements and the Tegisken mausoleums.

Today a very well-known tourism site is the Tamgaly petroglyphs. The Tamgaly forge is located 170 km north of Almaty. Archaeologists believe the gorge was home to a sanctuary for one of the Andronian tribes. The preserved artefacts are images of sun-headed gods, deco-rated warriors, grooms and brides, women delivering and multi-fi gure compositions depicting human beings and animals, scenes of hunting animals and sacrifi cing bulls that had been chiselled on smooth rock surfaces. Compositions depicting chariots are very rare, while solar signs are widespread.

Most petroglyphs were painted in the Bronze Age. Pictures painted in the Sak “animal” style, are mainly separate from much earlier petroglyphs, but in some cases they complement and even overlap them.

Apart from petroglyphs, a great number of burial grounds were discovered at Tamgaly: stone burial boxes of the Middle and Late Bronze Age, earth mounds and stones dated between the Early Iron Age and the present age.

Thus, in the Bronze Age of the development of humankind tre-mendous changes took place in the territory of Kazakhstan. Archaic forms of economic activity and everyday life of the Neolithic Age were replaced with crop farming and animal husbandry, temporary camps with settlements, stone and silicon instruments with high-qual-ity items of alloys of different metals. Bronze Age tribes developed distinctive cultures which became the basis of the culture of early nomads of the Iron Age.

At the beginning of the Bronze Age, in the fi rst millennium BC, the population of present-day Kazakhstan switched to a nomadic lifestyle. Tribal unions emerged at that time, and the primitive com-munal society started decaying. Information about tribes and tribal unions that inhabited Kazakhstan dates back to the middle of the fi rst millennium BC.

According to ancient Persian sources, they bore the name of Saks and occupied Zhetysu (or Semirechiye in southeastern Kazakhstan, northern Kyrgyzstan and western China) and the basin of the Syr Darya River; Sauromats inhabited northwestern Kazakhstan, while Caspians lived on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea. These tribes were involved in animal husbandry and crop farming.

It was approximately at that time that states such as Sogd and Bactria existed in the southwest of the region with a signifi cant level of culture for the time. In the late fourth-early third centuries BC new tribes of Uisuns formed in the territory of present-day Kazakhstan between Lake Balkhash and the foothills of the Tien Shan Moun-tains, Kangyui in the foothills of the Karatau Mountains and Alans, descendants of Sauromats, settled in the western steppes of modern Kazakhstan.

In the fi rst half of the fi rst millennium BC the primitive formation decayed in these areas and, in the sixth century, it was replaced with the feudal formation that existed for over 1,500 years. The Great Silk Road, which cut through modern-day Kazakhstan and linked China with Byzantium, played a crucial role in the development of the region. The chief commodity was silk fabrics. As a result, many towns emerged along the northern path of the route in the basin of the Syr Darya River.


28 29

Perhaps the best known ancient town is Otrar, which was located at the confl uence of two rivers – the Arys and the Syr Darya. This place is called the Otrar Oasis, the ancient names of which are Turband, Turarband and Turar.

The oasis is now located in South Kazakhstan Oblast’s Otrar District. To the west it is constrained by the Kyzylkum desert, which covers an area between the two rivers – the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya. The Syr Darya’s right bank, which is part of the oasis, is a plain yet slightly hilly steppe covered with monotonous fl ora. It ends at the foothills of the Karatau range.

The Otrar Oasis has always occupied a convenient strategic position in southern Kazakhstan. The Great Silk Road ran through Otrar, which is why almost all mediaeval Arab and Persian authors mention it.

Otrar was located at the junction of various geographical land-scapes and was a trade and transport hub at the time because south-bound routes along the Syr Darya (to Shash, Sogd and further to Merv, Nishapur and Rey) and north- and west-bound routes – through Khorezm (to the Aral Sea region, the Volga region, the Black Sea region and the Caucasus) intersected there.

Kazakh scientists have been conducting archaeological research and excavations in the Otrar Oasis since 1969. The ancient towns of Otrar, Kuiruktobe, Kok-Mardan, Altyntobe and Mardan-Kuik have been excavated. The town quarters of the 16th-18th, 14th-15th and 11th and 12th centuries; a potters’ quarter from the 13th-14th centuries; baths from the 13th-15th centuries; a brick workshop from the 13th-14th centuries and a mosque and palace from the late 14th-15th centuries were unearthed in Otrar.

The juma mosque of the late 14th-early 15th centuries was an in-teresting building in Otrar. Its construction was linked to Tamerlane, who ordered the construction of the mausoleum to Hajji Ahmed Yas-saui in Turkestan and the mausoleum to Arystan Baba in the Otrar Oasis in Kazakhstan.

No less famous was the town of Sygnak. It was fi rst mentioned in sources in the 10th century. In the 12th century Sygnak became the capital of the state of Kypchaks.

The 13th century historian Juvayni described the destruction of the town by the Mongols in 1219 for showing resistance. He wrote that Jochi, moving downstream along the Syr Darya, conquered one town after another. Jochi was accompanied by two local traders – Hasan Hajji and Ali Hajji. Hasan Hajji was sent to Sygnak to persuade its residents to surrender. However, the residents killed the trader and offered resistance to the invaders. Only after seven days of attack was Sygnak captured and its disobedient population massacred com-pletely. Life in Syr Darya towns, many of which remained in ruins, was suspended for a long time.

In the middle of the 13th century, Sygnak, which was listed as Sgnakh, was visited by Armenian King Hethum I and the town was mentioned once. In the second half of the 14th century the town became the capital of the White Horde. Sygnak was ruled by khans – Erzen, his son Mubarek Hajji, Urus Khan and Tokhtamysh. It had a mint and a construction boom.

After the failed fi ght of Tokhtamysh against Tamerlane the town was captured by Tamerlane’s grandson – Ulugbek, who tried to gain a foothold on the Syr Darya, but in 1423 he encountered a defeat and was pushed back to the south by troops of Barak Khan, a grandson of Urus Khan.

Sygnak, located on the border with the always boiling and restless steppe, occupied a strategic place. One could only rule the steppe when one controlled Sygnak and the fertile plains cultivated by the farmers, around it.

In the 14th-18th centuries Sygnak belonged to Kazakhs and was the largest town in the lower streams of the Syr Darya. Trade was active in noisy eastern markets and the environs were cultivated and watered by canals that took water from the Syr Darya – Ordakent, Kyzyltal, Buzgul-Uzyak, Tyumen-Aryk and others. The best bows and arrows supplied by nomads were very popular, which meant that they could buy grain, fabrics and luxury items.

Around the ruins of the town there is now a dry steppe, covered with saxaul and thorny bushes. Low-rise hillocks with the ruins of brick buildings and tiles point to the remnants of the architectural constructions which must have been in abundance around Sygnak.


30 31

The town of Taraz, which occupied an important place on the Great Silk Road, exists and prospers to this day.

The history of the emergence of Taraz is a very ancient one and is intertwined with the histories of the major tribal unions of Saks, Uisuns, Kanlys and Alans who inhabited in large tracts of Kazakh-stan.

The fi rst references to the town were made in the sixth-seventh centuries: in 568 Byzantine envoy Zemarch, on his way to Turkic Kagan Dizabul, mentioned Taraz, and Buddhist pilgrim Suan Jian, who crossed Zhetysu in 630, described some towns in this region, including Taraz.

It is conventionally believed that Taraz was founded in 568 when it was fi rst mentioned in Greek written sources. The emergence of the town was helped by favourable conditions – a relatively mild climate, fertile soil, rich pastures of its environs, which attracted many peace-ful animal herders and tillers.

Archaeologists believe that the ancient Taraz consisted of the traditional parts of Central Asian towns: a citadel and a shahristan (the centre of town).

The ruler of the town lived in the citadel with the walls stretch-ing 145 and 113 metres – he possessed the entire oasis. The citadel housed treasures, weapons and stockpiles of goods owned by the ruler, nobility and traders. The citadel also minted copper coins from the eighth century and, later, bronze coins.

In the eastern part of the shahristan archaeologists discovered a “lock” of gates overlooking the Talas River. Arab geographer Makdisi observed that the chief gate of the shahristan had been the eastern gate. The shahristan represented a rectangular site oriented to all cardinal points. The eastern side stretched for 390 metres, the northern for 360 metres; total area was about 14 ha.

Excavations discovered a pipeline, pre-gate buildings, fort walls and many other facilities. The most amazing fact is that excavations unearthed fi ve cultural layers of the town and each of them produced many fi nds (samples of ceramic items of different shapes), proving the high level of production. It is worth noting that the third layer produced many Tyurgesh and Muslim coins.

The most ancient lawyer of Taraz is the fi fth – the poorest in terms of fi nds. However, wells and holes were discovered in several places and many fi nds were unearthed in them – the handle of a burial sar-cophagus in a form of monkey head, a statue of a horse with a saddle and the entire harness, items with handles in forms of bird heads and tile pipes with a length of 45 to 70 cm and a diameter of 21 to 23 cm, with a total length of 12 metres, were found in these.

Studies of the water pipeline showed that the town was supplied water in three ways: fi rstly, water was supplied directly from the Talas River (it used to fl ow nearby town walls); secondly, from irrigation ditches and wells (excavations showed that these were numerous); thirdly, from a water pipeline.

One of the major discoveries was the location of an ancient temple. Historical sources tell us that it used to be a church which Ismail ibn Ahmed later turned into a mosque.

One of the most interesting facilities of the town is a mediaeval bath, located at the northeastern corner of the citadel. A rectangular shape, it consisted of fi ve rooms and was decorated with frescoes. In some rooms paintings covered the whole wall. The element of the paintings is a geometrical ornament: octagon stars linked via crosses, octagons and trefoils of red, black and yellow colours.

Within the walls there were heat-transmitting pipes laid under the fl oor and walls which evenly heated the entire premises. Water buckets and a bath were found in the rooms. This sort of heating was popular and was used in the time at Uzbeks baths in Bukhara, Samarkand and other Central Asian towns. People entered the bath from the north. A fl oor was preserved from it as it was made of square tiles of burnt clay.

Archaeological excavations discovered the artisans’ quarter in an-cient Taraz. A building with an original ceramic stove was preserved inside a clay-wall building. It had a cupola-shape form and walls (5-6 cm wide) of burnt bricks made of crosshatched walls. The stove was about one metre in diameter and 40 cm tall. The stove was similar to tandoori used now to bake fl at bread.

Judging by the tandoori and its relatively small size and its com-plicated confi guration (double walls and air-pumping pipe), the stove


32 33

was used to bake spherical and conical containers. This demanded high temperatures. Not far from the stove, within the building, several of these containers (not decorated) were discovered.

During excavations a great number of irrigation and household ceramic items were found, which were usually of good quality and had good burning. Most watering vessels, such as plates, bowls and pialas had, along with geometrical ornaments, Arabic writings – ex-cerpts from the Koran or prayers to God.

A vessel of Sogdian type with a glossy surface decorated with big ornaments reminiscent of narcissus fl owers looking down was also found.

The numerous fi nds show that at the time Taraz was a major trade and cultural centre of the Talas valley with busy, noisy bazaars, shady gardens and magnifi cent mosques. Little craft workshops produced household items, unique and original. These items were popular in regions far away from Taraz.

Taraz, like other towns, decayed at the beginning of the 12th century as a result of the Genghis Khan invasion.

The town is linked to a tragic event known as the Otrar catastrophe when Genghis Khan sent a trade caravan of several hundreds of camels loaded with leather, jewellery, furs, silver and gold accompanied by 450 people in summer 1218 to Otrar. “Otrar ruler Kypchak Kayir-Khan Inalchik suspected traders of spying and ordered their killing, and robbed their caravan. Genghis Khan through his envoys demanded the extradition of Kaiyr Khan, but in response his envoys were killed” [1, p 55]. Genghis Khan could not forgive such an impudent move and took his troops to wage a war against Central Asia.

It seems that Genghis Khan paid particular attention to his assaults against Muslim countries. He seemed to collect information from Muslim traders and defectors about the internal situation and military power of the state of Khorezmshah.

In September 1219 Genghis Khan started his campaign. His army was made up of 150,000 troops, including 111,000 Mongols and oth-ers were soldiers of Genghis Khan’s vassals – Uighurs and Karluks. The route of the Mongol army’s advancement to Maverannahr lied through the Irtysh River and densely-populated and economically

most developed parts of Kazakhstan – through Zhetysu to towns along the Syr Darya.

The population of present-day southern Kazakhstan was fi rst to face the Mongol invaders and they offered resolute resistance. The Mongols staged en-masse terror and violence and destroyed whole regions and many towns.

Arabic and Persian sources listed about 30 towns in different regions where the population was fully massacred by the Mongols [2, p 6].

Genghis Khan’s invasion played an important role in Kazakhstan’s history because its territory became part of the three Mongol Uluses: the largest (steppe) part was ruled by the Jochi Ulus, southern and southeastern Kazakhstan by the Chagatai Ulus and the northeastern part of Zhetysu by the Ugudei Ulus.

The Jochi Ulus occupied vast lands to the west of the Irtysh River encompassing the northern part of Zhetysu and the whole of Desht-e Kypchak to the lower Volga region. The Chagatai Ulus, in addition to previously mentioned areas, occupied East Turkestan and Mav-erannahr (an area between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya). Ugudei possessed western Mongolia, the upper streams of the Irtysh River and the Tarbagatai range.

Genghis’s descendants tried to turn their realms into independent possessions. After the death of Genghis Khan this trend increased and the empire fell apart into several independent countries.

The successor to Jochi, who died in the same 1227, was his son Batu. He conquered western Desht-e Kypchak, the lands of Volga Bulgars and further western areas. He destroyed major Russian princedoms and devastated Poland, Hungary, the Czechs and others.

As a result of a seven-year campaign (1236-1242) Batu took hold of lands west to the Volga River to the lower streams of the Danube, including the Crimea and the North Caucasus and West Kypchak steppes. Batu founded a new Mongol state – the Golden Horde which included the territories of Jochi Ulus – Eastern Desht-e Kypchak, part of Khorezmshah and western Siberia as well as newly conquered lands in the west.


34 35

Russian principalities destroyed by Batu became vassals of the Golden Horde. Russian princes received titles from the Golden Horde and paid taxes, but remained relatively independent.

According to some eastern sources, Batu’s state was called the Jochi Ulus and it was known as the Golden Horde. Its capital was Sarai-Batu (near Russia’s Astrakhan) and it was later known as Sarai-Berke.

Initially, the Golden Horde was subordinated to greater Mongol khans, but by 1260 the Mongol Empire disintegrated into independent uluses. Then under Berke Khan (1256-1266), a brother of Batu, the Golden Horde became an independent state. Its successor Mengu Khan (1266-1280) started minting his own coins.

The Golden Horde turned out to be an unstable country because it was weakened by internal discord, which resulted in the formation of the Ak Orda (White Horde) Khanate in the territory of present-day Kazakhstan between the Syr Darya River and the Aral Sea and the Ishim River in the northeast.

By the beginning of the 15th century, Ak Orda had been broken up into several pieces: the Nogai Horde which occupied the area between the Urals Mountains and the Volga and the Uzbek Khanate which stretched from downstream Syr Darya to the Urals and the Tobol River. In the second half of the 15th century Kazakh khanates started to form and this process completed the formation of the Kazakh eth-nos in the early 16th century. The ethnic composition was made up of ancient tribes of Uisuns, Kanlys, Kypchaks, Konyrats, Dulats, Argyns and Mongol tribes who arrived here in the 13th century; tribes that came from the Volga-Urals region, and tribes from the disintegrated Siberian Khanate of Kuchum.

As often happens in history, it is hard to judge the events of that time. Obviously, the Mongol conquest was accompanied by the destruction of towns and large-scale massacres, the destruction of production and the blossom of slave trade.

However, the Mongol rule encouraged trade, international relations and established postal services. Moreover, the Mongols, following their idea of centralised power, united previously chaotic tribes. The norms of nomadic lifestyle were regulated by Genghis Khan’s Yasa – a collection of common law adopted for the new conditions.

1.2. Kazakh Khanate (15th-18th Centuries)

The reference point in the establishment of Kazakh statehood is believed to be the emergence of the Kazakh Khanate in 1456.

The formation of the Kazakh Khanate was closely linked to the history of both the Golden Horde and Mogulistan. By the 14th-15th centuries most of present-day Kazakhstan was part of the Golden Horde. The south and Zhetysu of Kazakhstan was part of Mogul Stan – the state of Chagatais which was established in 1370 after Tamerlane seized power in Central Asia.

From the second half of the 14th century, the process of split and later of disintegration of the Golden Horde began. Many differ-ent independent khanates emerged in the territory of Kazakhstan, among which the formation named the State of Nomadic Uzbeks by historians was distinguished. This khanate reached its zenith under Khan Abulkhair (1429-1468). The population of this khanate were Uzbek-Kazakhs.

In the late 1450s Sultan Dzhanibek and Sultan Kerei, with tribes of Alshyns, Argyns, Kereis, Kypchaks and Zhalairs, moved to the territory of Mogulistan. In 1456 Sultan Kerei was elected khan in the territory of present-day southern Kazakhstan – the supreme ruler of Kazakhs. This moment was the beginning of the history of the establishment of Kazakh statehood.

Ever since the emergence of the Kazakh Khanate on Central Asia’s map the word Kazakh has become an ethnonym – the name of a people. From the emergence of the Kazakh Khanate the gradual process of its ex-pansion started because of various Kazakh tribes voluntarily joining.

Historians single out Khan Kasym (1511-1518), Khan Khak-Nazar (1538-1580), Khan Tauekel (1582-1598) and Khan Yesim (1598-1628) from among political fi gures of that period as personalities who played an important role in the formation and strengthening of the Kazakh Khanate.

Under Khan Yesim the process of uniting Kazakh tribes into one state was completed. That period included the division of the Kazakh people into three Zhuzes – Great (Uly), Middle (Orta) and Little (Kishi).


36 37

Zhuz is an economically and geographically specifi c district in-habited by a group of communities which, until the formation of the Kazakh ethnos, was the territory of a tribal union. The word Zhuz means “part” or “side”. The foundations of the formation of Zhuzes were a merger of certain tribes into tribal unions.

Zhetysu, the homeland of the Great Zhuz, is one of the main centres of the ethnogenesis of the forming Kazakh ethnos. The Great Zhuz was populated by Uisuns, Kanlys, Dulats, Albans, Suans, Zhalairs, Sirgeli, Oshakty and other tribes, most of which were related to an-cient inhabitants of Zhetysu. In Russian sources the Great Zhuz was sometimes called the Uisun Horde or the Great Uisun Horde.

Another specifi c district of roaming was to the north of Zhetysu. The main winter grounds were in the areas around the Syr Darya, the Karatau Mountains and the Moyunkum desert, while summer grounds were around the Tobol, Yesil, Nura and Sary-Su rivers in central Kazakhstan. These vast lands were inhabited by the main tribal unions of the Middle Zhuz: Kypchaks, Argyns, Naimans, Kereits, Konyrats and Uaks. However, the synonym of the Middle Zhuz was the name of the union of Argyns. As early as in the 17th century, like now, Argyns made up the majority of the Middle Zhuz.

Western Kazakhstan had its own, relatively closed district of win-ter and summer grounds. Winter pastures were in the lower reaches of the Syr Darya and the Ural River and in the meeting point of the Yrgyz and Turgai Rivers and other places, while summer ground were along the Ural, the Tobol, the Yrgyz Rivers and the Mugalzhar Mountains. That is where the Little Zhuz was formed by three main tribal unions – Alimuly, Baiuly and Zhetiru. The nomadic population of the Little Zhuz was linked to the sedentary districts of the Volga and Ural Rivers.

Despite the relative distinctiveness, representatives of all three Zhuzes spoke in one language. There were tiny differences in dia-lects but they could understand one another perfectly. There were also differences in everyday life, dresses, furniture and utensils and folklore.

The social relations of the Kazakhs were conditioned by the no-madic lifestyle – domestication of livestock and grazing it on pastures,

and the consecutive processing of products of economic activity. One of the earliest forms of ownership was the ownership of livestock, and this phenomenon helped property and social differentiation deepen.

At the same time, some scientists believe, there was no private ownership of land, in contrast to sedentary societies. Land belonged to a community or tribe. Routes of roaming had been developed by centuries-long experience. Kazakhs grazed their livestock on hills in the summer, and on the plains in winter.

Some Kazakhs were involved in farming crops, mainly, in southern Kazakhstan, Zhetysu and the areas around the Shu, Talas, Syr Darya and Arys rivers.

Crafts and household trades related to the processing of animal products – tanning, blacksmith and shoe-making – also played a particular role in the economy of Kazakhs. Carpentry and jewellery also developed at that time.

The social organisation of the Kazakhs was above all a combina-tion of different relations, primarily genealogy. Major groups, even an ethnos, as Kazakhs understood it, was a result of the segmentation of one initial family. Family is still a key notion for Kazakhs today.

The socioeconomic relations that existed in nomadic societies were unique. In traditional Kazakh society there were three large social groups. Social status, not material wellbeing, was the defi ning factor.

Ak-suiyek (white-bone) aristocrats, including the Tore and Kozha (Hajji) subgroups, were the highest social stratum. The Tores were believed to have descended from Genghis Khan. The Kozhas were believed to be descendants of fi rst followers of Islam and enjoyed huge authority among Kazakhs. The Tores and Kozhas were not part of the traditional Zhuz system and were believed to constitute the steppe aristocracy.

Middle classes – kara-suiyek (black-bone) – were the biggest group: these were families which ran their own economic entities. They were the main force of a tribe, its human, military and produc-tion resources.

There were several groups among the black-bones which had professional and administrative nature. These were bis (judges) and


38 39

batyrs (warriors). The bis were the most authoritative people in the steppe and they performed administrative and judicial functions. Batyr-warlords mainly acted during military campaigns and led militias of tribal unions.

The lowest class was the Kuls, or slaves who had practically no rights. However, the institution of slavery in the nomadic society was not developed to such a great extent as in sedentary society and the number of slaves was insignifi cant.

This social organisation was characteristic of the Kazakh Khanate, which occupied western Zhetysu and the valleys of the Shu and Talas Rivers by the middle of 15th century.

The Kazakh Khanate was not a centralised state and its po-litical and administrative system was infl uenced by the nomadic lifestyle and living conditions of the population. The khanate consisted of feudal possessions – uluses, which were headed by sultans who were descendants of Genghis Khan. The head of state was the khan, who combined supreme powers (civil, military and administrative).

The Kazakh Khanate reached its highest level of development in the 17th century under Khan Tauke (1687-1817). Scientists credit his rule with the establishment of the legal basis of Kazakh society – the Zheti Zhargy (Seven Principles) code of laws. This code regulated land, military, judicial and family relations; it also detailed punish-ment for criminal offences.

The judicial system was based on the common law – adapt – and the Muslim law – the sharia. Judicial functions were performed by the bis who also headed tribes. Particularly complicated cases were heard by a congress of bis. Sultans and even the khan took part in hearing some cases. For hearing cases, bis, sultans and the khan received remuneration – bilik, khanlyk and some other gifts.

If the defendant avoided hearings or fulfi lling rulings, the claimant had the right to perform the barymta (forced seizure of livestock).

According to Zheti Zhargy, usually criminal liability was extended directly to the guilty person, but the principle of collective responsibil-ity of a community was also practised. For example, if the defendant did not turn up at hearings or did not pay the obligatory kun (price),

then the fi ne was recovered from the entire community. In such cases members of the community exercised the right to punish the guilty person. A measure of punishment, such as imprisonment, did not exist in Kazakh society, so there were no prisons.

After the death of Khan Tauke feudal internal fi ghts worsened, as a result of which the Kazakh Khanate was politically divisive. In that period the foreign political situation also worsened. Volga Kalmyks and Yaitsk Cossacks raided the Kazakh Khanate from the west, Si-berian Cossack and Bashkirs from the north and Bukhara and Khiva troops from the south.

However, the chief enemy was the Dzungars or western Mongolian tribes who united into the Dzungarian Khanate. Dzungars advanced into the steppe gradually: fi erce fi ghts interchanged with truces, so raids stopped for some time, but peaceful periods were short-lived. The Dzungarian Khanate strengthened and grew, demanding new resources.

In spring 1723, Dzungars launched a large-scale assault on the Kazakh Khanate. This war was remembered as years of great disaster. Kazakhs had to retreat and moved away to Khiva, Samarkand and Bukhara.

After receiving a temporary respite, and, with a desire for revenge the Kazakh people managed to consolidate and offer armed resistance. A year later Kazakhs, led by Khan Abulkhair, achieved a number of victories and relieved the Dzungars of Otrar, Shymkent, Turkestan and Sairam.

In 1726 the tribal leaders of all three Kazakh Zhuzes held a con-gress and elected a sardar – the supreme commander-in-chief of united Kazakh troops. Little Zhuz Khan Abulkhair became the sardar and led the Kazakh militia to several victories, including the well-known battle at Bulanty in the Ulytau foothills in Central Kazakhstan and the Anrakay battle near Lake Alakol.

Despite the victories, Khan Abulkhair called his numerous troops back and returned to his tribal lands in western Kazakhstan. This was prompted by an agreement that he, as a victor over the Dzungars, was to occupy the throne of Kazakh khan, but Sultan Abilmambet was elected khan, and this seriously offended Abulkhair.


40 41

This started another fi ght for power and the Kazakh Khanate was split, as a result of which the Little and Middle Zhuzes adopted Rus-sian citizenship. From that time on Kazakhstan’s history was linked to that of the Russian Empire.

1.3. Kazakhstan in the Russian Empire

Kazakhstan’s accession into the Russian Empire was conducted in several phases, starting in the fi rst half of the 18th century and lasting until the 1860s. The preconditions for Kazakhstan joining the Rus-sian Empire were the strengthening of the latter after it incorporated the Kazan and Astrakhan Khanates and geopolitical considerations of Kazakh khans.

Rapidly developing Russia was also interested in relations with Kazakhstan in order to ensure security on traditional trade routes through the Kazakh Khanate to Central Asia and build a buffer zone on the southern borders of the empire. In the 16th century Russia was already close to Kazakh tribal lands. Russian towns had already emerged in the border areas – Tyumen, Tobolsk and Tomsk. Trade was on the rise, and the Russian Empire’s infl uence grew in Kazakh lands.

The Little Zhuz joining Russia was a historically forced step because by the middle of the 18th century, after China destroyed Dzungaria, there was the danger of the victor’s expansion.

In 1730 the Little Zhuz khan, Abulkhair, proposed that the Rus-sian government set up a military union. This was turned down and instead it was suggested that his khanate become a Russian protectorate. On 19 February 1731, Empress Anna Ioannovna signed a decree regarding the Little Zhuz voluntarily joining the Russian Empire. On 10 October 1731, Abulkhair and a majority of tribal leaders of the Little Zhuz signed a treaty and took an oath on the inviolability of the treaty.

It is worth noting that even though the Middle Zhuz, then ruled by Khan Ablai, was to a lesser extent linked to Russia, while the Great Zhuz was occupied by the Dzungars and the Kokand Khanate, Abulkhair’s separate treaty became the beginning of the constantly growing infl uence of Russia on the lives of Kazakhs.

In 1740 the Middle Zhuz also became a Russian protectorate. In 1741-1742, the Dzungars again raided the lands of the Middle and Little Zhuzes, but the involvement of Russian troops forced them to withdraw. Khan Ablai himself was captured by the Dzungars but


42 43

was released a year later following mediation by Orenburg Governor Ivan Neplyuyev.

As a result of the weakening of the Kazakh khans’ power and the remoteness of new regions of Russia, part of the lands of the Middle Zhuz, which formally became a Russian protectorate, and the lands of the Great Zhuz fell under the Kokand Khanate.

In 1787, some Kazakh tribes of the Little Zhuz, which were pressed by the Khiva Khanate, were allowed to cross the Ural River and settle in trans-Volga regions. This decision was offi cially fi xed by Emperor Paul I in 1801, when 7,500 Kazakh households set up the vassal Bukei (Interior) Horde, headed by Sultan Bukei.

This period was also signifi ed by the emergence of the national liberation movement of Kazakhs. The movement, led by Srym Datov, was directly linked to the tsarist government’s attempts to regulate the internal lives of dependent Kazakh tribes.

After adopting the Russian protectorate the signifi cance of the khan power declined, and the vertical power pyramid – khan-sul-tans-tribal leaders – fell into pieces because each tribal leader tried to independently agree with border and central authorities. As a result, this increased internal confrontation and open disobedience to the Russian administration and increased the number of attacks on border posts, freezing trade with Central Asia in the 1790s.

Only by 1797 had Russia managed to pacify the majority of Kazakh tribes and the rebellion subsided. Srym Datov had to move to lands governed by the Khiva Khanate.

In 1818, several tribes of the Great Zhuz announced the adoption of Russian protectorate. In the following 30 years (sometimes under pressure, sometimes voluntarily) most tribes of the Great Zhuz became Russian subjects.

In 1822, Emperor Alexander II signed a number of additional docu-ments: the Statute on Governing the Zhetysu and Syrdarya Oblasts and the Statute on Governing Turgai, Ural, Akmola and Semipala-tinsk Oblasts. Bukei Horde became part of Astrakhan Province. The Semirechiye Cossack Troops were established from Cossacks moved from Siberia in the territory of Zhetysu which was regained from the Kokand Khanate.

The continued incorporation of Kazakhstan into the Russian Em-pire was not conducted without confl ict. In 1836 a rebellion formed in the Bukei Horde and lasted until 1838. The main cause of the rebellion, led by Isatai Taimanov and Makhambet Utemisov, was the impoverishment of the majority of Kazakhs as a result of shortages of pastures.

Lands suitable for farming were regularly seized for build-ing Cossack villages, and they were not distributed evenly. This provoked spontaneous revolts, supported by tribal leader Isatai Taimanov and poet Makhambet Utemisov. They urged people to seize lands of the khan and the Urals Cossack Troops, cross the Ural River and seize livestock. Several tribes with their leaders joined the rebellion.

Despite many calls by rebellion leaders to solve the problem in a lawful manner, the tsarist government decided to send punitive expeditions of Urals and Astrakhan Cossacks along with regiments loyal to Khan Dzhangir. In November 1837, the rebels were defeated at Tas-Tyube. Dispersed groups of rebels managed to break through to the left bank of the Ural River and regroup.

After a respite, Isatai Taimanov and Makhambet Utemisov man-aged to attract additional forces and regrouped. This was of concern to the tsarist government. As a result, an expedition made up of regular troops, Urals and Orenburg Cossacks were sent to the other side of the Ural River and the rebels were destroyed on 12 July 1838.

The longest and largest rebellion in the 19th century was the one led by Khan Kenesary Kasymov between 1837 and 1844 and covered the entire territory of the Middle Zhuz and parts of the Little and Great Zhuzes. It was caused by discontent against the rapid colonisation of lands and the strengthening and expansion of military border lines and the shrinking life expanses of nomads, who lost the last remnants of independence.

This discontent helped Khan Kenesary unite a great number of Kazakh tribes. Military actions started in spring 1838 with the siege and burning of the Akmola fort and rebels moved towards the Turgai River. In September 1841, the leaders of the three Kazakh zhuzes elected Kenesary Kasymov khan and declared the revival of the one


44 45

Kazakh Khanate. In August 1841 rebels laid siege Kokand fortresses in Sozak, Zhana-Kurgan, Ak-Mechet and Zhulek. Some victories over the Kokand Khanate helped expand Kenesary’s army.

The situation in the steppe stabilised in that period. Aiming to improve the khanate’s economic situation, Kenesary banned obstacles to and raids on trade caravans which paid good taxes. Diplomatic correspondence was established and Russian, Bukhara and Khiva envoys were received.

As a result, some Russian offi cials responsible for relations with Asia, Orenburg Governor-General Perovsky in particular, started advocating talks and proposing a semi-autonomous unit similar to the Bukei Horde. Tsar Nicholas I’s response to these projects (“there will not be two monarchies in one kingdom”) was straightforward – the confl ict was solved militarily in 1843.

In addition to Cossacks and regular troops, sultans loyal to the tsarist government launched a campaign against Kenesary. Rebels were fi rst driven to the lands of the Great Zhuz and Siberian Cossack troops forced them over the Ili River, then governed from Kokand. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Kenesary fl ed to the lands of the Kyrgyz in the foothills of Alatau. Entering into confl ict with them, Kenesary and the remnants of troops loyal to him were destroyed in a battle on Lake Issyk-Kul.

Meanwhile, the administrative management of Kazakh lands by the tsarist government continued, and in 1850 Kazakhstan was divided into four regions with capitals in Uralsk, Turgai, Akmolinsk and Semipalatinsk.

It should be noted that the governance of vast territories of Central Asia was complicated because there were shortages of resources for the establishment of administrations and skilled bureaucrats.

The regions were divided into districts, volosts and villages. A vil-lage had between 50 and 70 houses and ten to 12 villages were grouped into one volost, while ten to 15 volosts formed a district. Senior sultans, whose administrative powers were preserved by the government, were appointed to strengthen the government’s positions.

Volosts were headed by sultans, who were ranked as Grade 12 offi cials, and villages were headed by village leaders, whose rights

were similar to village perfects. The bi court system was preserved with slight changes.

In the late 19th century, peasants from Russian and Ukrainian provinces were moved to Turkestan. According to the Statute on Gov-erning the Turkestan Territory, only “Russian subjects of Christian faith from the rural folk” were allowed to settle. Migrant peasants were offered over 3 million sq m of land each. This process was sped up during famines and with the start of the Stolypin reforms. Short-ages of farmland in the European part of Russia and the possibility of receiving free land encouraged Russian peasants to move to the Urals region, Siberia and Turkestan.

The census conducted in 1897 showed that out of 8 million people living in Turkestan, Russians numbered about 700,000 people. Over a half of them lived in Semirechiye and Syrdarya Oblasts. By 1916 Russians accounted for a quarter and a tenth of the local population respectively.

Between 1906 and 1912 over 438,000 households of peasants moved to Akmola, Turgai, Ural and Semipalatinsk Oblasts. More than half of the migrants were involved in agriculture, a quarter in administrative, judicial and military-police structures, and one in ten was involved in industry.

Migrant peasants started growing their usual crops: winter wheat, rye, oats, corn, potatoes, clover, fl ax, cabbages, tomatoes and beet-root, which were very rare in Turkestan. In addition, the local popu-lation borrowed elements of animal husbandry such as making hay because nomads grazed their animals in pastures in winter, which was often accompanied by die-offs. There was some distribution of labour: the local population was involved in animal husbandry and grew cotton and watermelons, melons and gourds and crafts, while Russian settlers supplied bread, vegetables and were involved in dairy production.

Famines in central regions of Russia prompted new waves of migration. Tens of thousands moved to Turkestan Territory in 1905-1906, and in December 1910 the tsarist government allowed the mi-gration directorate to seize nomads’ lands and give them to migrants. Migration bureaucrats used this right to seize not only pastures from


46 47

Kazakhs but also winter grounds with cultivated land. Land confi sca-tions heavily damaged the nomadic lifestyle of Kazakhs because under the disguise of excess land the government seized pastures.

All this combined with other factors led to the greatest rebellion in Kazakhstan’s history – a national liberation rebellion led by Aman-geldy Imanov in 1916.

In 1916, the government issued a decree mobilising male popula-tions of Kazakhstan and other Central Asian regions aged between 19 and 43 “to work to build fortifi ed facilities and do military service on the frontlines”; according to the decree, 250,000 people from Turkestan Territory and 230,000 people from Steppe Territory were called up to the army. Until then the Kazakh population had not been conscripted to serve in the army.

Discontent accumulated because of land grabs for building villages for Cossacks and migrants, rapid impoverishment because of horse and livestock sales for the needs of the fi ghting army combined with catastrophic rates of infl ation burst the situation.

The rebellion, which covered most of Turkestan, including Syrdarya, Akmola, Semipalatinsk, Semirechiye, Turgai and Ural Oblasts with more than 10 million of their multiethnic populations, was caused by the crushing of a rally in Khodzhent on 4 July 1916. It was offi cially reported that about 20 rallies were held in Syrdarya Oblast in July alone.

The rebellion was more organised in Turgai Oblast where large-scale military actions covered the entire central Kazakhstan. Rebels laid siege to the regional capital – Turgai. The tsarist government was forced to send regular troops to rebel areas and the rebellion was crushed by spring 1917.

Industrial production in the region started to take roots at the begin-ning of the 20th century. The mining, gold and coal sectors developed rapidly. At the turn of the centuries, the construction of railways helped develop trade both in Kazakhstan and abroad.

The development of capitalist production formed multiethnic working classes, 60% to 70% of which were Kazakhs.

Within the empire, Kazakhstan and Russia formed a single ad-ministrative and economic entity. Russian settlers and local Kazakhs

were actively involved in economic and cultural relations that grew into friendship between the peoples.

As a result, the fates of the Kazakh and Russian peoples were intertwined. Today it is precisely these two ethnic groups that con-stitute a reliable foundation for stability in Kazakhstan’s multiethnic society.


48 49

1.4. Kazakhstan in the USSR

The next stage in the development of Kazakh statehood started during 1917, a critical year for the country. By that time Kazakhstan already had its national cultural elite, who put forward ideas for in-dependent development.

The Kazakh public, led by Alikhan Bukeikhanov at the beginning of the 20th century, tried to re-establish the Kazakh statehood in 1917 as the Alash autonomy.

The evolution of opinions held by Bukeikhanov and his comrades between the beginning of the century and 1917 led to the establishment of the Alash party in July 1917 and the subsequent national liberation struggle. Alash became a national democratic political organisation, mainly made up of representatives of national intelligentsia. Alash’s main idea was to achieve Kazakhstan’s economic and political inde-pendence and adopt capitalistic relations in the country.

As a result, as early as 1917, the Kazakh cultural elite clearly realised the basic differences between their national interests and the interests and views of the Russian liberals.

Alash members fought for Kazakhstan’s independence using le-gitimate political methods. The main ideological difference between the Alash party and Bolsheviks concerned issues surrounding the class repressive nature of the state.

Alash members had consistent views on issues of democratising the government system. In their platform they advocated the presi-dential form of government that was the most advanced at the time and a democratic nature of elections to ensure the participation of all people, regardless of their origin, in the election processes and spoke in favour of personal immunity, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly.

After the Soviet government established itself throughout Kazakh-stan, the leaders of the Alash party had to recognise it as the central government of all ethnic minorities of Russia. Nevertheless, despite this, they set a number of demands for the central Soviet government to ensure the independence of the Alash autonomy to a certain extent. Their chief demand was to unite all lands of the Kazakh people within

the Alash (Kazakh) autonomy, or restore the territorial integrity that was destroyed during colonisation.

A signifi cant role in the consolidation of Kazakh lands (governed by the Kazakh Revolutionary Committee (Kazrevcom) and other administrative-territorial units) and the future uniting of the Kazakh republic, was played at an expanded meeting of Kazrevcom on 27 October 1919.

This meeting discussed the issue of convening an All-Kazakh Congress of Soviets to solve the problem of uniting the Kazakh people into one Soviet autonomous state that had great political signifi cance.

In his speech, Akhmet Baitursynov made a number of proposals: 1) the Soviet government should give the Kazakh people the right to self-government; 2) the residents of some regions which earlier opposed the Soviet government should be pardoned.

The expanded Kazrevcom meeting decided to convene an All-Kazakh Conference of Soviets to discuss the problem of uniting the Kazakh people. This conference was held in Aktobe on 3-11 Janu-ary 1920 and gathered 250 delegates from Turgai, Ural, Akmola, Syrdarya, Semirechiye, Fergana and Trans-Caspian Oblasts and Alash party members.

The conference’s resolution On the Union of Kazakh Oblasts stressed the need to unite all Kazakh oblasts into the Kazakh Autono-mous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), which would join the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Based on this draft, the chairman of the Soviet of People’s Com-missars (SPC) of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), Vladimir Lenin, and the chairman of the All-Russian Cen-tral Executive Committee of Soviets (ACEC), Mikhail Kalinin, signed a decree On the Establishment of the Kyrgyz (Kazakh) Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

In accordance with the decree, the following oblasts and districts became part of the Kyrgyz (Kazakh) Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic:

- Semipalatinsk Oblast with Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk, Ust-Ka-menogorsk, Zaisan and Karakaraly Districts;


50 51

- Akmola Oblast with Atbasar, Akmola, Kokshetau and Pet-ropavlovsk Districts and parts of Omsk District;

- Turgai Oblast with Kostanai, Aktobe, Yrgyz and Turgai Dis-tricts;

- Ural Oblast with Ural, Ilbish, Temir and Guryev (presently Atyrau) Districts;

- Mangistau District of Trans-Caspian Oblast and Fourth and Fifth Volosts of Krasnovodsk District of Trans-Caspian Oblast, in-habited by members of the Adai tribe;

- the Bukei Horde, which was part of Astrakhan Province, and Sinomor Volost and areas of First and Second Coastal Districts of Astrakhan Province, inhabited by Kazakhs.

According to offi cial statistics from 1920, the Kazakh ASSR cov-ered an area of 1,871,239 sq km and its population was 5,046,000 people. Ethnic Kazakhs accounted for over 46% of the total popula-tion.

The declaration of the Kazakh ASSR became a major event in ensuring the territorial integrity of Kazakh Soviet statehood.

At the same time, southern regions, populated by Kazakhs, were still part of the Turkestan ASSR. Moreover, signifi cant numbers of Kazakhs were dispersed in the territories of the Khorezm and Bukhara People’s Republics: Kazakhs accounted for 19.3% of the Turkestan ASSR, 1.5% of the Bukhara People’s Republic and 3.5% of the Khorezm People’s Republic.

The national-state demarcation of multiethnic Central Asia was conducted in 1924 and it focused on the Turkestan ASSR, the Khorezm and Bukhara People’s Republics. It resulted in the establishment of the Uzbek SSR and Turkmen SSR; the Tajik ASSR as part of the Uz-bek SSR; the Kyrgyz ASSR as part of the RSFSR, while the Kazakh districts of former Semirechiye and Syrdarya Oblasts that were part of the Turkestan ASSR were transferred to the Kazakh ASSR. The territory of the Kazakh ASSR increased by 700,000 sq km, and its population by 1,468,000 people.

The reform of the republic’s administrative division had been completed by the beginning of 1925; after the capital city of the

Kazakh ASSR was moved from Orenburg to Ak-Mechet (present-day Kyzylorda), and Orenburg and the districts around it had been transferred to the RSFSR.

Thus, by 1925 almost all Kazakh lands had been united into one republic and the task of ensuring its territorial integrity had been completed.

In 1936, the Kazakh ASSR was transformed into a Soviet republic and this was enshrined in the Soviet Constitution of 1936. Based on and in line with the Soviet Constitution, a new constitution was drafted for the Kazakh SSR. The tenth extraordinary All-Kazakh Congress of Soviets, held in late March 1937, adopted the Constitution of the Kazakh SSR, which consisted of 11 chapters.

In accordance with this constitution, the Kazakh SSR was de-clared a socialist state of workers and peasants. It also declared that the entire power belonged to workers represented by the Soviets of Workers’ Deputies. The economic basis of the Kazakh SSR was the socialist economic system and the socialist form of ownership of production tools and means. Socialist property had two forms – state and collective-cooperative. The small private holdings of peasants and craftsmen were allowed if they were based on personal labour and excluded the exploitation of someone else’s labour. It was stated that the economic life of the Kazakh SSR was defi ned and directed by a state economic plan. The 1936 constitution also declared that the Kazakh SSR voluntarily united with other Soviet republics into the USSR – a union state and had the right to freely leave the USSR. The constitution also defi ned the republic’s administrative-territorial organisation and specifi ed that the territory of the Kazakh SSR could not be changed without its consent. It also recognised single Soviet citizenship and citizenship of the Kazakh SSR. The spheres of pow-ers of the Kazakh SSR and its supreme bodies of government system were clearly defi ned.

The supreme body of government of the Kazakh SSR was the Supreme Soviet which was recognised as the only legislative body. Deputies of the Supreme Soviet were elected by popular vote for four years. The Supreme Soviet elected the presidium of the Supreme So-viet consisting of a chairman, two deputy chairmen, secretary and 15


52 53

members. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was given the right to issue legislative decrees and was delegated other powers. Deputies of the Supreme Soviet enjoyed parliamentary immunity.

The constitution also defi ned the structure of the central bodies of government. The supreme executive body of government of the Kazakh SSR was the Soviet of People’s Commissars which was re-sponsible for and accountable to the Supreme Soviet and its presidium. The Soviet of People’s Commissars set up people’s commissariats: union-republican and republican.

The local bodies of government were the Soviets of Workers’ Deputies which were elected by popular vote for two years. Soviets elected executive committees which were executive bodies. The forms of the work of the Soviets, the frequency of their convocation, the structure of executive committees and spheres of their activities were also defi ned. The structure of local executive bodies was always changing, which entailed constitutional amendments.

At the end of 1936, the Kazakh SSR was divided into eight oblasts, and then later in January 1938, a further three oblasts – Kyzylorda, Pavlodar and Guryev (Atyrau) – were created; 18 months later, in October 1939, another three oblasts – Semipalatinsk, Zhambyl and Akmola – were formed. In March 1944, Kokshetau Oblast was separated from North Kazakhstan Oblast and Taldykorgan Oblast was separated from Almaty Oblast. As a result, by 1945 there were 16 regions in the Kazakh SSR.

Taldykorgan Oblast and Akmola Oblast were abolished (in 1959 and 1960 respectively), and then in 1962 three territories were cre-ated within the Kazakh SSR – West Kazakhstan Territory (which included Aktobe, Ural (present-day West Kazakhstan Oblast) and Guryev (Atyrau) Oblasts) with its administrative centre in Aktobe; South Kazakhstan Territory (which included Kyzylorda, Shymkent (present-day South Kazakhstan Oblast) and Zhambyl Oblasts) with the capital in Shymkent; and Tselinny Territory (which included Kostanai, North Kazakhstan, Kokshetau (whose territory was divided between the North Kazakhstan and Akmola Oblasts in 1999), Pavlodar and Tselinograd (which was restored in 1961, present-day Akmola Oblast) Oblasts) with its centre in Tselinograd (present-day Astana).

West Kazakhstan Oblast was then renamed Ural Oblast, and South Kazakhstan Oblast was renamed Shymkent Oblast. This was done to prevent confusion between these regions with the freshly established territories.

On 20 April 1978 the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR adopted a new constitution. Its preamble stated that a society of genuinely free people of labour in which the prosperity and culture of people had been steadily improving had been created. It was claimed that the Kazakh SSR was an equal republic of the USSR, which united all peoples and ethnic groups.

These provisions of the constitution did not refl ect the real state of Kazakh society in which discontent was brewing over the worsening living conditions, the Communist Party’s diktat and the absence of any hope for the republic’s sovereignty. This discontent was openly manifested in Almaty in December 1986.

The constitution of the Kazakh SSR had 10 chapters and was mod-elled on the Soviet constitution of 1977. One of its chapters discussed the national-state and administrative-territorial system of the Kazakh SSR. In contrast to the constitution of 1937, the new constitution had a chapter which extended the sovereign rights of the republic to an extent. For example, one of its articles said that the Kazakh SSR was involved in solving issues that fell into the jurisdiction of the USSR in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Soviet government and other bodies of the USSR. The Kazakh SSR had the right to establish relations with for-eign countries, conclude treaties with them and exchange diplomatic and consular representatives with them and take part in the activities of international organisations. It is worth noting that the Kazakh SSR could exercise these legal provisions only under monitoring by central bodies.

The republic’s government system was described in the consti-tution’s fi fth chapter which contained provisions about the Supreme Soviet, its structure, lawmaking activities, the Presidium of the Su-preme Soviet and their powers. It was stated that the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR had powers to solve all issues that the Soviet constitution delegated to a union republic. This meant that in this


54 55

constitution, like in previous constitutions, the principle of division of powers between branches of power was not enshrined.

Legally the Supreme Soviet was able to solve all issues which fell under the jurisdiction of the Kazakh SSR. However, this was just a formal provision because all those issues were preliminarily solved by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CC CPSU) and only after that were they legally adopted.

The constitution meticulously regulated the status of the Council of Ministers – the government – as the supreme executive body of government. The Council of Ministers united and directed the work of union republican and republican ministries and state committees.

In 1986 there was an event that was a harbinger of Kazakhstan’s independence. On 16 December 1986, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan held its fi fth plenum and discussed the sole organisational issue – the replacement of the political fi gure who had governed the republic for no less than a quarter of a century: First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, Dinmukhamed Kunayev.

Gennady Kolbin, who had previously been fi rst secretary of the Ulyanovsk Oblast Committee of the Communist Party and had won Mikhail Gorbachev’s approval for actively pursuing an anti-alcohol campaign in Russia’s Ulyanovsk Oblast, became the new head of Kazakhstan. No adviser of Gorbachev in the Kremlin, neither he himself, had analysed the situation at the time and could not predict people’s reaction to an unknown gaining power. Kremlin functionaries continued to regard Kazakhstan as their patrimony. Even the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan was not informed about the new appointment.

On 16 December fi rst a small group of working and student youth staged a protest action in Almaty against the Communist Party’s deci-sion. The rally was peaceful and was of a political nature, but it did not call for the overthrow of the constitutional system nor attack any other ethnic group. On the second day when the number of protesters reached several thousand, mainly students, Moscow ordered the Bliz-zard-86 operation, aimed at dispersing protesters using army units, special-task troops, police and the KGB.

The December 1986 events, which shocked the entire world, proved that a new generation whose national consciousness was above all defi ned by the honour of its people had emerged in the Kazakh lands. It was the fi rst time in 70 years the younger generation had delivered a worthy rebuff to all the hardships experienced by Kazakh-stan because of the administrative-command and often simply violent policy of the central government in Moscow. This was the beginning of the movement towards democracy as part of perestroika across the entire Soviet Union.

Perestroika gave rise to some democratisation of society. For ex-ample, the election legislation was amended in 1989. With the aim of ensuring the representation of public organisations it was decided to allow them to elect a quarter of all members of the Supreme Soviet. Public organisations elected members of the Supreme Soviet at their congresses and republican conferences.

Another novelty was that members of the Supreme Soviet were relieved of their jobs for the duration of their parliamentary mandate. This was the fi rst, small step towards parliamentarianism.

From 1987, production fell in the USSR, and, as a consequence, in Kazakhstan too. At the same time, the party-government system became increasingly paralysed. In 1989 the 15th congress of the Com-munist Party of Kazakhstan relieved Gennady Kolbin of his post of fi rst secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan and replaced him with Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Nursultan Nazarbayev began to implement his own programme. The priority objectives for the new head of Kazakhstan were: fi rstly, strengthening social stability, civil and interethnic accord; secondly, drafting and conducting a programme of economic reforms; thirdly, carefully defi ning and dividing powers between republican and central government bodies.

In accordance with the Kazakh SSR Law On the Adoption of the Post of the President of the Kazakh SSR and Making Amendments and Addenda to the Constitution of the Kazakh SSR of 24 April 1990, the 1978 constitution acquired a new chapter – “President of the Kazakh SSR” which stipulated provisions on the status and powers of president. That same day Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected the


56 57

republic’s fi rst president by a decision by the Supreme Soviet of Kazakhstan.

After the break-up of the Soviet Union and the emergence of an independent, sovereign state, the Constitution of the Kazakh SSR stopped corresponding to new political, economic, social and ideo-logical realities.

In October 1990 the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR was adopted.

The Constitutional Law On State Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, adopted on 16 December 1991, blocked the effect of the Constitution of the Kazakh SSR of 1978 without abolishing it legally, because the basic provisions for the new independent state and the corresponding new conceptual ideas and principles required the adoption of a new constitution.

1.5. Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR and the Constitutional Law On State Independence

of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Against the background of a general political decline in June 1989, a plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan nominated Nursultan Nazarbayev for the post of the head of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. After that by the Supreme Soviet’s decision he was elected fi rst president of the Kazakh SSR. Later, at the end of 1991, the popular election of the fi rst president was held for the fi rst time in Kazakhstan’s history. Nursultan Nazarbayev became president with the majority of the vote.

In the early 1990s, prior to the adoption of the country’s new constitution, the Constitution of the Kazakh SSR, adopted in 1978, was still formally in effect. It is fair to note that this constitution had many provisions that were democratic in nature, even though it was adopted in Soviet times. It clearly refl ected the unity of power and the fact that it belonged to the people. However, this constitution, which was adopted in politically stagnant times, was adapted to the then situation: the extremely high levels of concentration of government functions in the hands of the Communist Party.

From 1990 onwards a number of fundamental amendments were made to the constitution, taking into account the situation that emerged. The fi rst legislative act of this sort was the Declaration Of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR adopted on 25 October 1990.

Thus, in keeping with existing political realities, Kazakhstan adopted the declaration of state sovereignty in October 1990, which was later enshrined in the Constitutional Law On State Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 1991. These legislative acts defi ned the realisation of Kazakhstan’s place and role as an independent democratic and lawful state, as an equal and fully-fl edged member of the international community.

The Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR started the real, practical fulfi lment of the country’s state sovereignty. The Kazakhs, fi rst as part of the RSFSR and then of the USSR, had prac-


58 59

tically no state sovereignty and, as a result, were not able to act as a real entity of international law.

The historical signifi cance of the declaration is, above all, that it has given real meaning to the country’s state sovereignty and reminded Kazakhstan of its own statehood with its centuries-old history, culture and established state and legal traditions, stressing the principle of the territorial integrity of Kazakhstan and declaring the system of division of power as the most important principle of the country’s functioning as a democratic and lawful state.

The declaration fi xed the inviolability and integrity of Kazakhstan’s territory and defi ned the country as an entity of the international law. This historical document declared three fundamental norms that have considerably expanded Kazakhstan’s sovereign rights.

First is the principle of the supremacy of the country’s constitution and laws on Kazakhstan’s territory and the country’s right to suspend on its territory the effect of acts violating the country’s sovereign rights and constitution.

Second is the principle of Kazakhstan’s exclusive ownership of national wealth in its territory. In addition, it proclaimed the country’s right to its share in the common union property, including in the dia-mond, foreign exchange and gold reserves of the USSR.

Third is Kazakhstan’s right to act as an independent entity in international relations and defi ne its foreign policy to pursue its own interests.

In essence, the declaration became the fi rst fundamental legislative act of the young country that began a preparatory stage of the further development of the country’s state and legal system in order to shape full state independence.

The second legislative act of this scale was the Constitutional Law On State Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, adopted on 16 December 1991, which recognised the legal status of the country as a sovereign state. This day is now marked as national holiday – the Independence Day of the Republic of Kazakhstan every year.

On this day the Supreme Soviet, expressing the people’s will, solemnly declared the country’s state independence and stated that

it exercised full power in its territory, independently defi ning and pursuing its domestic and foreign policy.

The constitutional law declared Kazakhstan as an independent, democratic and lawful state, exercising full power on its territory. The signifi cance of these provisions is proven by the fact that they have since been fi xed and further developed in the provisions of the current Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Having developed the key ideas of the declaration of state sover-eignty, the constitutional law univocally set that the Republic of Ka-zakhstan would build its relations with all countries on the principles of international law as required from an independent state. Moreover, the constitutional law clearly defi ned the future aspects of the coun-try’s economic, legal, socio-cultural and political development.

The constitutional law also established the state’s policy for the creation of an independent economic system with its own fi nancial and credit, tax and customs policy based on a plurality of form of ownership. The economic system, specifi ed in the constitutional law, has strengthened through the creation of fi nancial and credit, tax and customs institutions and the adoption of the country’s national cur-rency, the tenge, in 1993.

Based on the provisions of the constitutional law, Kazakhstan very quickly created all the necessary attributes of statehood. It also endorsed symbols of the state – the national fl ag, the national emblem, the national anthem and state decorations.

Single citizenship of Kazakhstan was adopted for the fi rst time. Taking into account this institution, literally days after the declaration of independence – on 20 December 1991, the country adopted the Law On Citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In order to protect the country’s independence and territorial in-tegrity the constitutional law envisaged creating Kazakhstan’s own power-wielding structures – the armed forces, the Republican Guard, internal and border troops.

In addition, the constitutional law, confi rming the Kazakh nation’s right to self-determination, recognised “the united people of Kazakh-stan” as the only source of government in the country. The united people are made up by the Kazakh nation along with citizens of the


60 61

country of all ethnic groups, united with the Kazakh nation by com-monness of historical fate, common hopes and concerns.

In essence, this law had become Kazakhstan’s temporary con-stitution when its independence was being established. In terms of legal force it even exceeded the then Basic Law of the Kazakh SSR and legislative acts of the Soviet Union, whose provisions were recognised in the country’s territory only if they did not contradict the Constitutional Law On State Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan [3].

Following the adoption of this constitutional law Kazakhstan was recognised by many countries as a fully-fl edged member of the inter-national community and all necessary international legal mechanisms were created for cooperation, and the country acquired the voting right to take part in solving regional and global issues. On 2 March 1992 Kazakhstan became a fully-fl edged member of the United Nations.

The main result of the adoption of the Constitutional Law On State Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan was the international recognition of Kazakhstan, the strengthening of its reputation on a regional and global scale and an increase in the country’s status. As an independent state Kazakhstan is a full member of many international and regional institutions and organisations.

The country’s constitution, which defi ned the strategic aspects of the development of society and the state, was drafted and endorsed by the people and a new legal system was created on the basis of the constitutional law. The fundamental human rights and liberties and mechanisms of protecting human rights and freedoms were enshrined in legislation.

Thus, the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR and the Constitutional Law On State Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan have laid the constitutional and legal foundation of the independent state.

1.6. The Election of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (December 1991)

In September 1989, amendments were made to the 1978 constitu-tion to adopt the institution of the highest executive post – the chair-man of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR and later in April 1990 – the institution of the president of the Kazakh SSR.

The president, as the highest government offi cial, was entrusted with functions directly linked to both legislative and highest execu-tive activities.

As the Soviet government’s infl uence was being eroded, the president of the Kazakh SSR was given great powers: he acted as the guarantor of observation of human rights and liberties in the country, observation of the constitution and laws; took measures to protect sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the country; and represented Kazakhstan in the international arena.

The adoption of these provisions bore uncompromising nature between the continuing diktat of the Soviet central bodies and the country’s desire to expand its sovereignty. The adoption of the institution of presidency in Kazakhstan made it possible to fi ll the vacuum of power which was created as the Communist Party lost its governing functions.

The events that followed have shown that in the situation of the rapid disintegration of one union state, the adoption of the post of president was a timely step taken by the country’s leaders that helped establish real independence, protect sovereignty and bring the state out of the political and economic crisis.

The break-up of the Soviet Union made former members of it sovereign. The phase of active dismantling of the totalitarian social-ist system and freeing society from the communist ideology and switching to a market economy started. All this demanded historical decisions that defi ned the future of Kazakhstan.

The popular election of the fi rst president in Kazakhstan’s history was held on 1 December 1991.

As a result of the election, Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected the country’s president with 98.7% of the votes.


62 63

1.7. The First Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 1993

After the declaration of sovereignty Kazakhstan faced a number of complex tasks: strengthening independence, ensuring political stability and national security, and fi nally, identifying the nature of the new statehood, which mean that all the elements of the state system had to be transposed to the features of an independent, democratic state.

Kazakhstan was forced to resolve these issues under very compli-cated conditions. The country was encountering a deep socioeconomic crisis, the consequences of which were: the collapse of industry, hyperinfl ation and a slump in living standards. In this situation the focus had to be fi rst of all placed on the stabilisation and development of the country’s economy.

There had not even been any signs of basics of a market economy – one of the main economic preconditions for the establishments of democracy. In reality, no-one has disproved the theory that the “economic base defi nes the ideological superstructure”, even if they longed to do so.

As a result of the break-up of the USSR, interethnic problems worsened in almost all post-Soviet countries, and this was bound to infl uence the situation in multiethnic Kazakhstan. There are plenty of examples, and the emergence of many new hotbeds of interethnic tension in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) became practically an inevitable attribute of the commonwealth’s post-Soviet development.

Moreover, the country lacked its own, historically developed democratic traditions and experience of functioning democratic institutions. And in the fi rst years of independence the 70-year-long experience of the Soviet past considerably hindered the acceleration of new democratic values in the mass consciousness of the country’s population.

This means that the key aspect of the state’s domestic policy at that stage was the drafting and public discussion of the fi rst Consti-tution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It was high time the country’s

Basic Law was brought in line with the new political and economic realities in the country.

The Supreme Soviet of the 12th convocation voting to dissolve itself in December 1993 and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s declaration of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Kazakhstan, elected on 7 March 1994, as illegitimate (following a civil lawsuit) led to a constitutional crisis and the need to draft a new constitution.

The country’s Supreme Soviet, which drafted the constitution, laid the foundation for Kazakh statehood. It is worth noting that that work on drafting the constitution was conducted in the situation of politi-cal discords that existed in society. The situation was complicated by economic disintegration in the former Soviet Union, the problem of settling payments, high infl ation, a slump in production, a growth in unemployment and falling living standards.

All this was refl ected during the public discussion of the word-ing if the fi rst constitution. Its provisions related to the status of the Russian language, citizenship and the form of Kazakh statehood prompted heat debates.

The fi rs constitution of sovereign Kazakhstan was adopted on 28 January 1993 at the ninth session of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the 12th convocation. As the act of supreme legal power it created the foundation for building national state independence.

However, as the act of supreme legal power Kazakhstan’s fi rst constitution was ambiguous. On the one hand, the constitution helped to conduct market and democratic reforms, and, on the other, caused debates and instability in power, in its legislative branch because of a failure to solve the issue of the division of powers between the legislative and executive branches.

Some fundamental formulations in the constitution that related to the nature of statehood, language problems, private ownership of land and citizenship issue became the subject of increasing attention and factors of social tension.


64 65

1.8. The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 30 August 1995

The recognition of the Supreme Soviet in March 1994 as illegiti-mate prompted the need to adopt a new constitution for the country. The text of the new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan was endorsed in a national referendum on 30 August 1995, which was preceded by wide discussions over the new provisions of the consti-tution among the Kazakh public and foreign experts.

In total, there were about 33,000 public discussions of the draft constitution in Kazakhstan and they involved over 3 million citizens. As part of this campaign almost 30,000 proposals and remarks had been made on it. As a result, over 1,100 amendments and addenda were made to 55 articles.

Item 1 of Article 1 of the new constitution states that “the Republic of Kazakhstan proclaims itself a democratic, secular, legal and social state whose highest values are an individual, his life, rights and free-doms.” In this way Kazakhstan chose a democratic model for state development, the legal provisions of which met the needs of the state construction in the country.

“We, the people of Kazakhstan, united by a common historic fate, creating a state on the indigenous Kazakh land, considering ourselves a peace-loving and civil society, dedicated to the ideals of freedom, equality and concord, wishing to take a worthy place in the interna-tional community, realising our high levels of responsibility before the present and future generations, proceeding from our sovereign right, adopt this constitution.”

These are the exact words the Basic Law of the Republic of Ka-zakhstan begins with. Kazakhstan’s constitution – not declaratively, but with its entire structure and technical-legal basis and a system of clear-cut state, political and legal categories – creates fi rm precondi-tions for building and developing a modern state and a social market economy.

The general outline of Kazakhstan’s statehood is clearly defi ned in Article 1 of the Basic Law, which says that “the Republic of Kazakhstan proclaims itself a democratic, secular, legal and social

state whose highest values are an individual, his life, rights and freedoms.”

The constitution defi nes Kazakhstan as a unitary and indivisible state. The chief characteristic of a unitary state is that it does not have any national-state or autonomous entities. Being unitary means single citizenship, legislation and a system of government.

According to the constitution, Kazakhstan is a republic with the presidential form of government, where the president is the head of state, the highest government offi cial, who defi nes the key aspects of the country’s domestic and foreign policy.

The Kazakh constitution legally supports a strong presidential form of government, and, as a result, a sustainable and consistent institution of strong state power has been created in the country.

At the same time, one of the fundamental principles of the Con-stitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the principle of people’s sovereignty, which means that the only source of government in Kazakhstan is its people. From this constitutional provision it derives that state power in the country comes from the people and it belongs to them and may be exercised by them directly, i.e. through national referendums and free elections or may be delegated by the people to government bodies.

The principle of the people’s full power, enshrined in the Constitu-tion of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a universal principle which has a value that is common to all humankind and inherent to the majority of modern democratic constitutions.

The supreme direct expression of the people’s power, accord-ing to the constitution, is national referendums and free elections (Item 2 of Article 3 of the constitution). This means: Kazakh citizens have the right to take part in governing the state directly and through their representatives, elect and be elected to government and local government bodies; take part in national referendums; the adoption of democratic rules for forming representative bodies and democratic procedures for their activities; the combination of representational and direct democracy; increasing the role of political parties and public associations in the political system of society.


66 67

1.9. The National Referendum on Extending the Term of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The 1993 constitution did not envisage a procedure for resolving critical situations between the branches of power. This preconditioned a crisis of the representative branch of power in 1993-1994, which was followed by the delegation of legislative functions to the country’s president and the constitutional crisis in March 1995.

In the situation of the absence of a legislative branch, a referendum became the most rational solution to the constitutional crisis and an instrument in reforming the Kazakh political system.

On 25 March 1995, with the aim of preserving unity in society and preventing the polarisation of the political and social situation in the country, the Assembly of Kazakhstan’s People adopted a resolution on the need to hold a national referendum on extending the term of the Kazakh president until 1 December 2000.

Proceeding from the situation that had emerged and taking into ac-count the views of all social strata of the country’s population (which demanded that the president take measures to avoid a split in society), Nursultan Nazarbayev agreed to hold the referendum.

The referendum held on 29 April 1995, which, according to of-fi cial information, had a turnout of 91.3%, resulted in 95.4% of voters favouring the extension of the president’s term.

The referendum results enabled President Nazarbayev to continue radical reforms, and the president announced that developing democ-racy was the main objective.

Constitutional reforms, unresolved problems related to private property, education and reforms in the agricultural and legislation spheres had to fi nd their solutions in the new constitution.

1.10. The State Symbols of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The offi cial distinctive symbols of Kazakhstan and symbols of its sovereignty are the national fl ag, the national emblem and the national anthem.

The design of the national fl ag of the Republic of Kazakhstan was proposed by artist Shaken Niyazbekov. The national fl ag is a piece of rectangular cloth of sky-blue colour with a picture of a golden sun with a soaring golden eagle in the centre and a vertical strip with a national ornament.

The sky-blue colour of the fl ag symbolises sky. In heraldry blue and its shades correspond to human traits such as honesty, loyalty and hope. The sky-blue background of the national fl ag aims to stress the purity and goodness of intentions of the people of Kazakhstan in their aspirations to a new statehood and the adherence of the people of Kazakhstan to the good and noble idea of unity.

The golden sun, surrounded in sunrays, embodies peace and wealth.

The eagle embodies generosity and vision, the height of the in-tentions of the people of Kazakhstan, and symbolises the breadth of the soul of the steppe people, open to all peoples and nations who respect the proud, free-willed and independent spirit of multiethnic sovereign Kazakhstan.

The national emblem was designed by Zhandarbek Malibekov and Shot-Aman Ualikhanov. The main element of the national emblem is the shanyrak – the chief element of the yurt which is the basis of its dome. For Kazakhs the shanyrak is a symbol of the tribal nest, native home.

This means that the shanyrak on the national emblem symbolises Kazakhstan as a common home for all ethnic groups who reside there. On the edges of the emblem are the heads of winged horses-unicorns. The horned horse in many cultures is regarded as a holy animal. It came from ancient times and today, embellishing the country’s em-blem, it symbolises hidden talents and creative power of the young state. Winged horses, embracing the shanyrak on the emblem, are


68 69

elevating it to the sky, thus showing the confi dence of the people of Kazakhstan in a bright future.

The national anthem of Kazakhstan has a compelling history. Until 2006, it used the tune of the anthem of the Kazakh SSR and lyrics, written by a group of Kazakh poets about Kazakhstan obtaining its independence.

A competition for the tune and lyrics of a new national anthem of Kazakhstan was announced in early 1992, and about 750 applications were received. During discussions the public favoured preserving the tune of the previous anthem, which was held dear and close to the heart of every citizen of Kazakhstan (it was composed by composers Mukan Tulebayev, Yevgeny Brusilovsky and Latif Khamidi in 1944).

The winners of the competition were four authors who worked together. Three of them Muzafar Alimbayev, Kadyr Myrzaliyev and Tumanbai Moldagaliyev are well-known young-generation poets who were joined by the young talented poetess Zhadyra Daribayeva. The national anthem was translated from Kazakh into Russian by Bakhyt Kairbekov.

On 7 January 2006, the popular song Menin Kazakstanym (My Kazakhstan) was made Kazakhstan’s national anthem. It was writ-ten in 1956, and its lyrics were amended by President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The rules for playing the national anthem were also adopted. Now, at offi cial events people have to stand up and put their right hand on the left side of their chests when the national anthem is played.

The national anthem is another state symbol in which the tune and lyrics express the same sense as the national fl ag and the national emblem.

The lyrics of the national anthem

In the sky is a golden sun,On the steppe is a golden grain.The epic of courage,Is my country!Since ancient times,

Our glory has been known.Guarding their honour,Strong are my Kazakh people!

Refrain:My country, my people,I am your fl ower, nurtured by you,I am your song, fi lling you,You are my country, my Kazakhstan!

A path has been opened for new generationsBy my vast country.Unity suitsMy independent country.Meeting the new eraAs an old friendOur country is happyThis is my country!

Refrain:My country, my people,I am your fl ower, nurtured by you,I am your song, fi lling you,You are my country, my Kazakhstan!

References

1. Кан Г. История Казахстана. – Алматы: Алматыкiтап, 2007. – с. 55.

2. Кременецкая Ю. Монгольское нашествие на территории Казахстана и его последствия: Сборник статей. – Алматы: КазНПУ им. К. Сатпаева, 2001. – с. 6.

3. Хитрин Ю. Великий день нашей истории // Казахстанская правда. – 14 декабря 2002.


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4. Исмагамбетов Т. Развитие казахского истеблишмента в конце XIX – середине XX веков // Центральная Азия и Кавказ. 1997. – № 11.

5. Байпаков К.М., Кумеков Б.Е., Пищулина К.А. История Казахстана в средние века. – Алматы, 1996.

6. Бурханов К.Н., Султанов Б.К., Аяган Б.Г. Современная политическая история Казахстана (1985-2006 гг.). – Алматы: Институт истории и этнологии им. Ш. Валиханова, 2007.

7. Калашников И. Жестокий век. – Алма-Ата: Жазушы, 1985.

8. Кан Г.В. История Казахстана. – Алматы, 2007.9. Кляшторный С.Г., Султанов Т.И. Казахстан. Летопись

трех тысячелетий. – Алма-Ата: Рауан, 1992.10. Морозов А.А. Казахстан за годы независимости. – Алматы:

КИСИ при Президенте РК, 2005.11. История Казахстана с древнейших времен до наших дней:

очерки. – Алматы, 1993.12. http ://каzhistory.ru13. http://www.tarsu.kz14. http://www.ukg.kz

Chapter 2. DOMESTIC POLICY

2.1. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev

In keeping with the current Constitution of the Republic of Ka-zakhstan, the president is a symbol and guarantor of the unity of the people and government, the inviolability of the constitution and hu-man rights and liberties of the citizens (Article 40).

The effi ciency of the presidential form of government in Kazakh-stan is that the Kazakh president, within the political and constitutional fi eld, is not a passive observer. Constitutional provisions regarding the president of Kazakhstan show that he is an active and authoritative participant of state and political processes [1].

The fi rst president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, was born in the village of Shamalgan in Almaty Oblast’s Kaskelen District on 6 July 1940.

Kazakhstan today

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He is a doctor of economics and a full member of the National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan, the International Engineering Academy, the Academy of Social Sciences of Russia and an honorary member of the Belarusian Academy of Science. Mr Nazarbayev is an honorary professor of the al-Farabi Kazakh National University and an honorary professor of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.

President Nazarbayev is the author of more than ten books, such as The Steel Profi le of Kazakhstan, Without the Right and the Left, The Strategy of Resources-Saving and a Switch to Market, The Strategy of Establishment and Development of Kazakhstan as Sovereign State, and Market and Socioeconomic Development. Some of his books, for example On the Threshold of the 21 Century, The Eurasian Union: Ideas, Practice and Prospects. 1994-1997, In the Flow of History, The Epicentre of Peace, and The Critical Decade have become bestsellers which have been widely translated abroad.

1960 – the president begins his professional career at the Kara-ganda Metal Combine, where during the fi rst decade of his work he had claimed acknowledgement and respect of his colleagues as a responsible worker, good organiser and talented orator;

1967 – graduates from the Higher Technical Educational Estab-lishment under the Karaganda Metal Combine;

1969 – 1973 – performs functions at the Communist Party and the All-Union Young Leninist Communist League (VLKSM) in Temirtau in Karaganda Oblast;

1973 – 1977 – secretary of the Party Committee of the Karaganda Metal Combine;

1977 – 1979 – secretary, second secretary of the Karaganda Oblast Party Committee;

1979 – 1984 – secretary of the Central Committee of the Com-munist Party of Kazakhstan;

1984 – 1989 – chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR;

1989 – 1991 – fi rst secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan;

February – April 1990 – chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR [2];

April 1990 – December 1991 – experts regard this as the period of institutionalising the presidential form of government in Kazakhstan [1];

24 April 1990 – the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Kazakhstan creates the post of president of the Republic (after the creation of the post of president of the USSR on 14 March 1990) and Nursultan Nazarbayev is elected the fi rst president in Kazakhstan’s history. From this moment his personal history is inviolably linked to the history of the whole nation. It is worth noting that at the initial stage the presidential power was limited: the president was a fi gurehead without real power. Nevertheless, the creation of the post of president played a particular role in the subsequent transformation of the entire political system of Kazakhstan.

The further development of the institution of the presidential power in Kazakhstan was linked to the adoption of the Kazakh SSR Law On Improving the Structure of Government in the Kazakh SSR and Adopting Amendments and Addenda to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the Kazakh SSR on 20 November 1990 and amendments and addenda to it on 25 June 1991. In accordance with this document, the president was declared the head of state with the highest execu-tive powers. With the adoption of this law the government system of Kazakhstan, formally remaining parliamentary, in essence, switched to the semi-presidential model.

The fi nal legitimisation of the institution of presidency took place after the fi rst presidential election on 1 December 1991, in which Nursultan Nazarbayev received 98.7% of the vote. After the voluntary dissolution of the Supreme Council at the end of 1993 and delegation of legislative rights to the president before it, the presidential form of government became a political reality which was legally formulated in the 1995 constitution*.

The basic model of the presidential power that was set up then is still in force. It should be noted that it has demonstrated a fairly high level of effi ciency and largely helped the country to overcome

* The clearness of the choice in favour of the strong presidential power and its correspondence to the people’s expectations were confi rmed by a referendum on 30 August 1995 (89% of “yes” votes), which meant the adoption of the new constitution.

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the serious crisis of the 1990s [3, pp 45-50]. Nursultan Nazarbayev once said that “having chosen the model of a presidential republic, we have brought the country out of the post-Soviet economic and political chaos” [4, p 8]. However, objective needs for further de-velopment demanded the country’s government actively search for an effi cient model for the state and political system, including the fi nal choice of a presidential or parliamentary form of government, a solution to the problem of the division of branches of power and the decentralisation of power. On 16 May 2007, speaking at a joint session of parliament’s chambers, the president proposed his own vision of this model: “The need to build Kazakh statehood and a market economy from scratch and develop a liberal political system for the fi rst time in our history demanded the bold consolidation of society. That is why I assumed all responsibility for what is taking place in the country and this was a must. However, today, when all important parameters of the process of modernising the country have been defi ned and we realise that it is irreversible, there is sense in redistributing some duties and responsibilities between the president and parliament. I propose to choose a way of changing the constitution in which the country remains presidential but with the considerable expansion of parliament’s powers. This will transform our country’s model of government from presidential into presiden-tial-parliamentary.” [4. p 11]

Since 2007, when the country’s constitution was amended, the institution of presidency has preserved its role as an element stabilis-ing the system, concentrating the efforts of elite groups on solving important political problems, as was the case, for example in the mid-1990s (the economic crisis) or at the beginning of the 2000s (the elites crisis) [5, 10]. Analysts point to the fact that “in Kazakhstan the presidential form of government is one of the fundamental organisa-tional conditions for the stability of the entire political system of the country. The presidential power in Kazakhstan embodies not only the strength of government but also, not least, the basis on which the mechanisms of self-regulation of branches of power develop and their organic integration into the structure of public life and deep strata of social culture, inherent to Kazakh society” [1].

This was all prompted by the consensus nature of the political course, adopted by the Kazakh president, which has always helped mobilise and consolidate political and economic elites during reforms that were crucial for the country. Another advantage of the head of state’s policy was the ability to conduct large-scale reforms with minimum confl ict, which, in turn, demanded the consolidation of efforts in solving these. Kazakh society was consolidated around the strong and dynamic leader with a clear vision of prospects of further development. The unity and stability achieved under the leadership of President Nazarbayev was a deliberate political decision taken by the majority of the country’s population, repeatedly confi rmed in elections, including the presidential election in 2005* and the par-liamentary election in 2007**. As a result, in this case stability acts as an en-masse demand and the policy of stability, pursued by Mr Nazarbayev, meets the people’s expectations [5, p 11].

When considering the fi rst president’s role in Kazakhstan’s mod-ern history, it is necessary to note the special role personalities play in the political process in modern Kazakhstan and the post-Soviet space in general. It is no great exaggeration to say that the history of the establishment of independent Kazakhstan’s statehood was fully personifi ed in and revolved around one person. Successes achieved during the years of independence, including Kazakhstan’s current leadership in Central Asia, are largely linked to Mr Nazarbayev’s personality. It is no accident that Russian experts on Kazakhstan and Central Asia consider Kazakhstan’s phenomenon inseparably from the Nazarbayev factor, a politician on a global scale who has had successful experience in economic and social reforms: Kazakhstan’s indisputable success is not only and not that much about oil or the elements of the periodical table hidden in the depths of the steppe. In short, Kazakhstan under Mr Nazarbayev has to a greater extent managed to become a fully-fl edged state than Georgia under Eduard Shevardnadze, Ukraine under Leonid Kuchma or Kyrgyzstan under

* On 4 December 2005, Nursultan Nazarbayev was re-elected president of Kazakhstan with 91.15% of the vote.

** On 18 August 2007, the president’s Nur Otan party won a vast majority in the parliamentary and local elections.

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Askar Akayev. Experts claim that this is an obvious historical fact [6, pp 14-15]. Political analyst Yury Solozobov notes: “Nursultan Nazarbayev, whatever fervent Kazakh opposition members say about him, has met a much more important objective for his country. In Ka-zakhstan, a new national state has been built on a great territory with a small multiethnic population. The most important fact is that this successfully functioning statehood has been built not in the context of high oil prices, but, on the contrary, from the basis of the almost total collapse of the economy in the early 1990s… Kazakhstan, I am deeply convinced, is a shining example of the most successful post-Soviet statehood.” [6, pp 159, 161]

2.2. The Kazakhstan-2030 Strategy

The defi ning factor of Kazakhstan’s development was strategic planning. At the fi rst stage of our development we had to focus on institutional construction and the solution of immediate macroeco-nomic problems, whereas as early as 1998 we managed to look at longer-term prospects. President Nazarbayev noted at the time that “it is now important to thoroughly comprehend our situation and analyse our development from the point of view of international experience and compare the degree of implementation of our reforms and for-mation of new institutions with the best international experience. It is no less important to soberly analyse our strengths and weaknesses and, only after that, to draft our own strategy” [7]. This strategy was presented by the head of state in 1997 in his fi rst State-of-the-Nation Address Prosperity, Security and Improvement in the Wellbeing of All People of Kazakhstan until 2030, or the Kazakhstan-2030 Strategy. All of the president’s state-of-the-nation addresses that followed set the main aspects of the country’s domestic and foreign policy, tak-ing the strategy’s priorities into account. For example, in his address Through the Crisis to Renewal and Development, made on 6 March 2009, the president stressed: “We have adopted Kazakhstan’s develop-ment strategy for decades to come, and our experience in turning it into the country’s real successes have made us confi dent in our own strength and we have become convinced of the correctness of the path we have chosen.” [7] Russian political analysts, closely watching our successes, have concluded that “in the end, the country’s wellbeing lies in the implementation of the Kazakhstan-2030 Strategy” [6, p 117].

The Kazakhstan-2030 Strategy is based on seven long-term pri-orities:

1. Developing and strengthening the national security system

Strengthening national security is one of the necessary mechanisms that ensure the stable and sustainable formation of any state. After the adoption of the Kazakhstan-2030 Strategy the development of

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Kazakhstan’s national security system acquired strategic importance and purpose. Our country has now created a comprehensive and ef-fi cient security system which takes into account its social, economic and military-political aspects. Kazakhstan’s security system is based on laws and special programmes, including the 1998 Law On Na-tional Security, the Strategy for National Security in 2006-2010; the Military Doctrine; and the Blueprints of Military Reforms. The latter programmes resulted in Kazakhstan launching the process of creating a professional army, capable of defending the country from foreign aggression.

In issues of ensuring national security Kazakhstan sticks to a multi-vector policy with singling out strategic partners. This foreign political course has led to Kazakhstan’s present membership of vari-ous systems of collective security which make it possible to main-tain the balance between interests of global powers in its territory, ensuring the basics of the strength of our state’s national security. These systems of collective security are the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organisation and the Conference on Interaction and Confi dence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA)*.

Kazakhstan’s active involvement in these international organi-sations coincided with the beginning of the implementation of the Kazakhstan-2030 Strategy.

2. Ensuring domestic political stability and the consolidation of society

Ensuring domestic political stability is a key priority for Kazakh-stan’s development until 2030. Implementing this priority will only be possible when the following main components, defi ned in the strategy, exist:

* It was Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s idea to establish the CICA belongs to. Ka-zakhstan is an active member of the organisation, proven by its summits held in Kazakhstan. This organisation is expected to occupy an important place in creating a system of collective security in Asia. That Kazakhstan initiated and took part in its creation shows the maturity of our state and its ability to fulfi l a considerable role in the context of Asian and global security.

- equal opportunities for all citizens of the country;- the removal of interethnic contradictions and the quality of

rights for all ethnic groups;- the reduction of the gap between the rich and the needy;- the solution of social problems and rural problems;- the development of all forms of communications between

people;- the strengthening of mutual respect, tolerance and trusted rela-

tions between different denominations [7].

As a result, our formula for domestic political stability can be presented as the sum of two components – social stability and in-terethnic stability. And now we can proudly say that his formula is working successfully.

This is also stressed by Russian experts: “Kazakhstan is the most successful country in the CIS. It is the only country to effi ciently modernise the economy while preserving social and interethnic sta-bility.” [6, p 187]

In the 2008 state-of-the-nation address the head of state noted that “over the past 16 years of independence we have designed our own model of ensuring social stability, interethnic accord, building Kazakh identity and Kazakh patriotism. This is our Kazakh know-how, which we are proud of and have to carefully preserve” [8].

3. Economic growth based on an open market economy with high levels of foreign investment

The development of private initiative and business, active foreign trade and the attraction of investment in the country’s economy are important preconditions for ensuring sustainable economic growth in Kazakhstan. In terms of this indicator, for the past few years Ka-zakhstan has been on a par with rapidly developing countries, such as China, India and ASEAN countries.

Our country’s economic growth was based on the implementation of the fi rst, preparatory, stage of the Kazakhstan-2030 Strategy in 1998-2000. Kazakhstan then built the basis for the fulfi lment of all

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the provisions of this programme. The present stage aims at the post-crisis development of the economy with high rates of development of oil and gas fi elds as the basis of reviving the oil and gas sector and increasing budget revenue. The rapid development of the oil and gas sector brought Kazakhstan out of the economic crisis in the 1990s.

Since 2000 Kazakhstan has been fi rmly moving along a path of intensive economic development that coincided with the second stage of the Kazakhstan-2030 Strategy.

The second stage was intended to be carried out between 2001 and 2010. This phase organically continues the previous policy based on high economic growth rates, macroeconomic stability and the creation of conditions for a switch to sustainable economic growth model.

Generally, since the beginning of the strategy, Kazakhstan’s GDP has increased fi ve-fold, and its foreign exchange and gold reserves now exceed $40bn. We can say that Kazakhstan is now, despite the consequences of the global economic crisis, ready and able to make a new qualitative breakthrough in its economic development: “We have all the necessary resources and experience to withstand the global crisis… We will overcome all the diffi culties and make our Kazakhstan a strong, prosperous and respected state in the world.” [9]

4. The health, education and wellbeing of all of Kazakhstan’s people

The issue of the social wellbeing of Kazakhs has always been a priority for state policy. Kazakhstan has adopted a comprehensive approach to their solution, envisaging increasing not only the living standards of the population but also developing human capital and improving the quality of life.

In the healthcare sphere the priorities of the state policy are to improve the quality of medical services offered to the population and assist the healthy lifestyle of citizens. This means that emphasis is placed not on the treatment of diseases but their prevention.

These priorities are being implemented as part of the programme of reforming and developing the healthcare sphere in Kazakhstan in

2005-2010, which aims to build an effi cient system of medical services that meets the modern needs of the population.

The programme has already produced good results. For example, Kazakhstan has managed to considerably improve medical services for the population, medical and demographic indicators of births, deaths, natural population growth and stabilise the maternal and infant mortality, and decrease the occurrences of diseases caused by poor living conditions. The Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan On the Health of the People and the Healthcare System has been drafted and submitted for the Mazhilis’s consideration.

Since Kazakhstan aims to build a knowledge-based economy, the government is paying particular attention to the education sphere. Reforms have been conducted in secondary and higher education to ensure access to education for all the citizens of the country, especially young people, and international standards are being adopted.

Funding for the education sphere has constantly been increased, teachers’ salaries have also been increased and school infrastructure has been improved. By 2008 public spending on education had in-creased by 6.4 times between 2000 and 2008 and it will have grown by almost 10 times by 2011.

Kazakhstan was the fi rst country in the CIS to computerise its schools. A new mechanism of enrolling students through comprehen-sive university entrance tests has been adopted. A multilevel system of training specialists which meets international standard classifi cations of specialities has been introduced. A market of education services based on the mechanism of the multi-channel funding of universities has emerged.

Special focus has been placed on the social protection of the population. Government spending on social security and assistance totalled 566.5 billion tenge in 2008, up by 22.5% from 2007.

Growing funding for social programmes has made it possible to increase social allowances for all categories of recipients. For example, the minimum pension paid under the solidarity system is 12,700 tenge, the average pension is 18,400 tenge and the maximum pension is 26,700 tenge. The average size of pension has almost doubled in the past fi ve years.

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The central budget makes timely monthly social payments to 4.3 million people, or about a third of the country’s population. In ad-dition, local authorities allocated 1.1 billion tenge for target social support; 1.7 billion tenge for child allowances and 3.6 billion tenge for housing support.

5. The effi cient use and development of energy resources

It is no exaggeration to say that the main locomotive that has the pulled other sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy is the oil and gas sector. That is why the development of energy resources was singled out by the president as one of the strategy’s long-term priorities.

Moreover, the growing Kazakh economy is demanding more spending on energy, and so Kazakhstan needs to adopt energy-sav-ing technologies and develop alternative and traditional sources of energy. In order to achieve this aim the Law On Energy-Saving was adopted on 25 December 1997 which, along with the industrial and innovation development strategy, gave rise to the process of inten-sive development of energy-saving technologies and of alternative sources of energy.

The further development of our energy potential has necessitated the solution of a number of important problems, the principle of which is to ensure the outstripping development of deep refi ning and quick entry for products with high added value to the international market.

Aside from this, the key aspect of the work on energy potential is to diversify and ensure stable energy routes to global markets. Ka-zakhstan bears and realises its signifi cant responsibility to maintain an energy balance and security on the global scale.

6. The development of infrastructure, particularly transport and telecommunications

Kazakhstan’s favourable location between the developed countries of East and West and the lack of access to open sea requires the devel-

opment of transit transport corridors. The main objective in this sphere is to create a rational transport network integrated into the international transport system that ensures access to global markets.

To this end Kazakhstan has adopted the Blueprint to Develop International Transport Corridors and the Transport Strategy until 2015, which envisages running 80 investment projects worth about $30bn from different sources of funding.

The building of transport corridors with relevant infrastructure, mainly telecommunications, is playing a signifi cant role in the devel-opment of Kazakhstan’s transit transport potential. Fibre optic lines have been built along the North-South and East-West transport cor-ridors. Kazakhstan plans to build a national information superhighway which will become the shortest telecommunications bridge between Europe and China, Japan and Asia-Pacifi c.

In addition, as part of the strategy the country is carrying out comprehensive work to develop the telecoms sector. At the end of 2005, the KazSat telecommunications and broadcasting satellite was launched. The satellite has become a good basis for the development of broadcasting systems and fi xed satellite services in Kazakhstan.

The number of Internet users in Kazakhstan has exceeded 2 million people and is expected to increase to 3.5 million people in 2010. The wide use of the Internet in schools makes it possible to use innovative, above all interactive, methods of teaching.

7. The formation of professional government

One of the long-term priorities of government building in Kazakh-stan is, undoubtedly, to improve the effi ciency of the government system and build a professional government.

This aim demanded the reformation of the civil service and the principles of its work and the creation of a body of professional civil servants.

During the entire period that the Kazakhstan-2030 Strategy has been being implemented a lot has been achieved. For example, the Law On the Civil Service, adopted on 23 July 1999, laid the foun-dations to optimise and improve the quality of government. Other

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steps in this direction were the creation of the Agency for the Civil Service in September 1998, the adoption of the Rules for Re-train-ing and Improving Qualifi cations of Civil Servants (on 11 October 2004) and the adoption of a testing system for applicants for jobs in the civil service.

All these acts created a mechanism to increase transparency in the staffi ng of government agencies and increase the professional skills of civil servants.

The legislative basis of this process has been laid in the Laws On the Civil Service, On Fighting Corruption, On Administrative Procedures, as well as the Code of Honour of Civil Servants that was adopted.

The 2007 constitutional reform increased the local government capabilities: local legislative bodies were given powers of local self-government. International organisations and experts admit that Kazakhstan has brought its legislation and procedures in the civil service signifi cantly in line with modern international standards.

2.3. The 2007 Constitutional Reform

The need for political reforms fi rst emerged in the second half of the 1990s. The events of autumn 2001 showed that the need to further democratise the political system was increasing and was acquiring a more shaped and systematic nature.

In other words, it was clearly seen that the pace of political reforms was far behind that of economic reforms. The country and the government faced the problem of fi nding a formula for stabil-ity, which, in turn, demanded the creation of a mechanism for the coordination of the interests of major socio-political and social groups.

Kazakhstan had to make a choice.The fi rst scenario meant the preservation of the political situation

as it was, i.e. freezing the process of political modernisation, and using government structures to ensure stability.

The second scenario required that Kazakhstan undergo a stage of political liberalisation and gradually switch to the classic model of democracy with a balance between branches of power, a function-ing civil society, citizens’ involvement in political decision-making and other attributes. For the country’s sustainable development, the authorities, to their credit, opted for the second scenario.

It was for this reason that various platforms for dialogue were created in the country: fi rst, the permanent conference on drafting proposals on further democratisation and the development of civil society, and later the national commission for democratisation and the development of civil society.

A presidential decree, issued on 20 March 2006, set up a state commission to draft and specify a programme of democratic reforms. The state commission faced a complex task: to draft a strategy for political reforms that would make liberal democratic transformations in the country systematic and irreversible and fi nd a compromise on the vision of the country’s future development.

In addition, it was necessary to identify the main problems that hindered political modernisation and fi nd solutions to these. The commission completed its work on 19 March 2007.

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New constitutional amendments, based on the results of this commission’s work and recommended by the head of state, passed by parliament in spring 2007 opened wide opportunities to boost the entire political process in Kazakhstan. New ideas touched various aspects of political life.

On the one hand, this was in practical terms a fundamental reforma-tion of the existing political model, resulting in signifi cant expansion of the powers of the legislative branch, a new confi guration of the party sphere, the development of real civil society and the non-gov-ernmental sector, all of which would ensure the direct involvement of wide-ranging groups of the population in political processes.

On the other hand, these changes laid the foundation for better coordinated operation of the government system because all cen-tral bodies of power will now be mutually dependent and mutually supplemented. In addition, the most vivid characteristic of the new political system will be the strengthening of the mechanism of checks and balances in relations between the branches of power.

By involving parliament in the processes of choosing, agreeing and fi nally endorsing a candidate for prime minister, the president signifi cantly strengthened powers of lawmakers and gave them the right to get involved in the formation of the executive branch. As a result, the whole cycle of endorsing a candidate for prime minister will be at an equal distance from the main centres of power mechanisms because the right of the fi nal vote will be exercised by the political parties represented in the Mazhilis. This means that the responsibility for appointing a prime minister will be equally distributed between the president and the legislative branch.

In turn, the members of parliament represent various regional interests, the interests of different strata of Kazakh society and the main political and ideological forces of society. Generally, the wide spectre of political forces, as the architects of the constitutional re-form intended, which will be presented in parliament, is an important condition for the national dialogue that is needed for Kazakhstan’s sustainable development.

The new functions and powers of parliament include both cham-bers’ right to take part in the formation of the Constitutional Council,

the Audit Committee and the Central Election Commission. These functions will enable Kazakh society to get involved in the election process and the process of adopting the country’s budget, defi ne de-velopment priorities and will serve as an impetus to expand access to information, discussion and public argumentation of its vision on the development of the political, economic and social spheres of the country’s life.

Prior to these amendments the development of political institu-tions in Kazakhstan was largely according to a trajectory set by the executive branch, but now with parliamentary involved in appoint-ing the Constitutional Council, the Audit Committee and the Central Election Commission, politically and socially active groups of the population involved in political parties will have a direct impact on the functioning of power.

The lawmakers, party factions and parliamentary groups will become the main players of the election process as the new powers of political parties (which, in line with the new amendments, will be elected to the lower chamber of parliament by a proportional system, i.e. on party tickets, and the number of MPs was increased by 30 people, including nine to be appointed by the Assembly of Kazakhstan’s People) signifi cantly increase the public’s access to representation in branches of power in our country.

Another breakthrough aspect in the development of constitutional-ism was the abolition of the ban on public funding of political parties, NGOs and public associations.

What is the point of this step? The constitutional provision for funding the entire range of political forces will legalise their activities, increase the effi ciency of dialogue and cooperation with the govern-ment, ensure wider social representation in parliament and strengthen relations between government bodies and society on the most crucial issues of everyday life. Moreover, public funding will boost the population’s civil activity and improve civic-consciousness.

Particular attention should be placed on the state’s funding of political parties on the legislative basis. Public funding seems to have become the necessity of the time. On the one hand, this signifi cantly narrows the fi eld for hidden lobbying of interests of various groups

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within the country and practically abolishes the practice of funding from aid, because in the legal fi eld political players, as a rule, will aim to act within the country’s legislation.

On the other hand, there will be no grounds to accuse the state of directly supporting certain parties in during election campaigns because the state will offer support to all legally existing and promote their platforms when they achieve recognition by the electorate.

The Mazhilis’s increased control over the work of the government following the constitutional amendments will prompt the govern-ment to raise the quality of its current and future work and make the principle of competitiveness an obligatory condition for the executive branch. The Mazhilis will be capable of raising a vote of no confi dence in any member of government according to the principle of a simple majority, which will signifi cantly increase the degree of responsibility of the executive branch.

Moreover, the government will not be able to rely only on its administrative powers because of a new provision which enables parliament to judge the government’s work based on the report on the fulfi lment of the central budget. The failure to endorse the report will also mean a vote of no confi dence in the government.

In other words, the government’s activities will largely be coor-dinated with parliament, making them not just transparent but also grounded. This is precisely what is described as the mechanism of checks and balances in action.

Along with powers, the responsibility of the MPs also grows. The provision of the absence of the imperative mandate of deputies was excluded from the constitution which should strengthen intra-party discipline and order and help parties develop as participants of the political processes and boost party factions and groups of deputies. At the same time, the experience in some developed countries shows that party factions are the main centres of intra-party discussions and debates, increasing the effi ciency of the work of parties.

These changes could also be described as progressive because they have laid a new system of relations between MPs and their voters through the party political system. This means that a party member who becomes a deputy cannot discredit the work of their party in

parliament or contradict it or themselves and cannot manipulate the will of voters who elect them as representatives and defenders of their interests.

Cutting the presidential term from seven to fi ve years after 2012 and limiting the number of consecutive terms to two is the most important part of the constitutional amendments. Even though some researchers found that this amendment violated the rights of Kazakh voters and negated the very principle of democracy when the elec-tion of the head of state is dependent on time limits set by the terms of offi ce, generally this state of affairs is the most preferable and acceptable in the present reality in Kazakhstan.

Increasing the number of senators appointed by the president by eight (taking into account the necessity to present ethnic and cultural and other important interests of society in the Senate) will improve the positive perception of parliament’s upper chamber by society because in Kazakhstan the image of a politician depends on their recognisability, reputation and socio-political activity in the percep-tion of the conservative majority.

Powers assigned to the Senate, such as its consent to the appoint-ment of prosecutor-general, chairman of the National Security Com-mittee, chairman of the National Bank and its powers to adopt laws when the Mazhilis is dissolved, are a very strong argument in favour of boosting the activities of the upper chamber.

The Senate is in essence turning into a balancing component in the activities of the Mazhilis within the legislative branch in usual condi-tions and the main centre of power in force-majeure circumstances and situations, i.e. the backbone factor of stability and sustainability of the presidential-parliamentary form of government.

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2.4. The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The history of Kazakhstan’s parliamentarianism begins in March 1990, when the election to the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR of the 12th convocation was held. This was the fi rst democratic election to the country’s highest legislative body when the Soviet administra-tive-planning system was still strong. Over 2,000 candidates contested 360 seats in parliament.

The peculiarity of this election was that 90 people were elected from republican public organisations. Even though this election was held in the absence of fully-fl edged political parties, it made the transformation of the totalitarian system irreversible.

From 1990 the political system changed signifi cantly in Kazakh-stan. Public and political movements exerted pressure on political institutions, mainly on the power structures of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, blaming it for the economic crisis and failures in eco-nomic reforms. Moreover, discord emerged among the Communists and calls were made for reforming the party.

New parties and movements then emerged – Azat, Zheltoksan, Alash, Unity, the Social Democratic Party and others.

The changing political situation set its demands – after the declaration of independence the country badly needed to develop the new legal basics of its statehood. That is why the fi rst laws to be drafted were the Laws On the Establishment of the Post of President, On the Election of President of the Republic, the Declaration on State Sovereignty; the new name of the state was adopted and the citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan was established; new state symbols: the national emblem, the national fl ag and the national anthem were adopted; the legislative basis for the formation of the armed forces and the law-enforcement agencies of the state was created.

Taking the new conditions into account, the new constitution was drafted and adopted by the ninth session of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the 12th convocation on 28 Janu-ary 1993. This became the beginning of a switch to a qualitatively new stage of ensuring national independence and real guarantees

of civil rights and liberties and the practical implementation of the promising ideas of building a democratic society and lawful state.

However, the new possibilities opened up and the growing eco-nomic crisis diverted the people’s attention from politics. The further implementation of reforms and the deteriorating socioeconomic situ-ation showed the ineffi ciency of central bodies of power, above all, in the legislative branch represented by the obsolete Soviets, which failed to react quickly to the rapidly changing events and adopt ap-propriate measures.

The results of the work of certain bodies of the Supreme Soviet of the 12th convocation that were functioning on the permanent basis also confi rmed the idea of creating a professional parliament, which would work in one pattern with the government.

It was in these conditions that the country’s leaders chose to cre-ate an orderly state structure based on the principle of a division of branches of power functioning on a permanent basis with a clear distribution of rights, duties and responsibilities between all of its players. This resulted in the adoption of the Law On the Voluntary Dissolution of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Kazakhstan on 10 December 1993.

The next election to the Supreme Soviet of the 13th convocation was held on 7 March 1994, and it helped the development of a multi-party system in Kazakhstan. A total of 73.84% of voters took part in the election, and out of 910 candidates 692 met the registration requirements and contested 135 parliamentary seats in single-seat constituencies, with an average of fi ve candidates standing in each constituency.

The Union of People’s Unity of Kazakhstan, the People’s Congress Party, the Socialist Party and the Federation of Trade Unions set up their party factions and a further 14 groups of deputies were set up based on their members’ occupations. Parlia-mentary opposition very quickly emerged in the Supreme Soviet of the 13th convocation and it was led by the Progress group of deputies, which proposed a package of reforms titled the New Economic Policy.

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For the fi rst time in Kazakhstan’s history political parties and movements gained access to the real levers of power and the pos-sibility of infl uencing government policies.

The new Supreme Soviet, elected in March 1994, was more professional and started its work by hearing many urgent laws. However, the imperfection of the Code On Elections, the continuing debate about many provisions of the constitution, the sluggishness of the Supreme Soviet in adopting necessary market laws created a deadlock in the political and economic sphere. It was precisely this reason that Kazakhstan’s national currency, the tenge, collapsed at the beginning of 1994.

The events that took place in March 1995 had considerable infl u-ence on the political situation in the country.

On 6 March 1995 the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan issued a ruling on a lawsuit brought by the former parlia-mentary candidate, Tatyana Kvyatkovskaya, who cast doubts on the constitutionality of certain actions in the organising and holding of the election to the Supreme Soviet. By this ruling the Constitutional Court found the March 1994 parliamentary election and the powers of deputies illegitimate.

As a result, in line with the Constitutional Court’s ruling, the Supreme Soviet ceased to exist. The ruling stated: “not only did the methodology of the vote count, adopted by the Central Election Com-mission, lead to widespread violations of the constitutional principle of ‘one voter – one vote’, but it also distorted the election results, and, in essence, changed the election system established by the Code On Elections. By this the Central Election Commission violated Article 60 of the constitution, exceeding its powers.” [10]

Thus, the second composition of the Supreme Soviet was found il-legitimate and the unconstitutionality of parliament’s powers meant the unconstitutionality of the government’s powers. As a consequence, as well as the members of the Supreme Soviet, government members had to resign. The parliamentary crisis grew into a constitutional one.

In this situation the entire responsibility for the future develop-ment of Kazakhstan fell onto President Nursultan Nazarbayev. In that period his work was more intense than it had ever been. In the

absence of parliament the head of state signed 511 decrees, includ-ing 132 that had the force of law, to revive the economy through the creation of a new and suffi cient legislative basis. He went on to issue laws that were vital to continue the reforms – the Laws On Land, On Oil, On the National Bank, On the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Status of Its Deputies, On Excises, On Bankruptcy and so on [11].

Two years later in December 1995 the fi rst bicameral Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan was established: the election of members of the Senate, parliament’s upper chamber, was held on 5 December, and the election of members of the Mazhilis, the lower chamber, was held on 9 December.

In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakh-stan, adopted by a referendum on 30 August 1995, the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the supreme legislative body of the country.

The Law On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan set different procedures for the election of members of the Senate and members of the Mazhilis. Senators were elected by regional legislatures (two senators from each region) with a two-year cycle of election of half of the senators, while members of the Mazhilis were elected in a direct election in single-seat constituencies for four years. According to the Law On the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Status of Its Deputies, 15 deputies of the Senate are appointed by the country’s president with account of the need to ensure the representa-tion of national cultural and other signifi cant interests of society in the Senate and nine deputies of the Mazhilis are elected by the Assembly of Kazakhstan’s People.

According to the architects of the constitutional reform, the Senate was appointed to represent the interests of regions and limit excessive radicalism by the Mazhilis, while regions received the opportunity of comprehensive discussion and weighted decision of their main problems through the senators. This has, to some extent, integrated the lawmaking initiatives of each region of the country.

In addition, the election of half of the senators every two years makes the parliamentary system very fl exible, because the relatively

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frequent election changes the social composition of the upper chamber in line with social and political changes in Kazakh society.

At the same time, the other half of senators ensures the continuity and effi ciency of the upper chamber.

The term for senators is six years, while the term for members of the Mazhilis is fi ve years. Members of parliament take an oath before the people of Kazakhstan.

2.5. The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The government is the highest body of the executive branch. It tops the system of executive bodies, which includes ministries, agencies, committees and local executive bodies – regional, district and town administrations or akimats.

The president, with parliamentary approval, appoints and dismisses the prime minister; on the prime minister’s suggestion defi nes the structure of the government and appoints and dismisses members of government; forms, abolishes and reorganises central executive bodies; and accepts an oath by members of government.

The government drafts the main aspects of the state’s socioeco-nomic policies, its defence capability, security, public order; presents a central budget to parliament and reports on its implementation; submits draft laws to the Mazhilis and ensures the observation of laws; manages the state property; and drafts foreign policy.

The prime minister forms and heads the government and bears responsibility for its work; reports to the president about the main aspects of the government’s work; and signs resolutions.

Members of government independently take decisions within their powers. They are responsible before the prime minister for the work of bodies they run.

Each chamber of parliament has powers to discuss reports by government members on the issues of their activities. In case of a government member failing to observe laws, deputies can propose the president dismiss that government member.

The government within its powers adopts resolutions which have compulsory force throughout the country. The newly-formed govern-ment drafts a plan of action and presents a report on it to parliament. If parliament rejects the government’s programme, it should resubmit the programme within two months. If parliament rejects the programme again by two-thirds of the vote, this means a vote of no confi dence in the government.

The government has powers to make lawmaking initiatives. The government composes a plan of lawmaking work under which it submits draft laws to parliament’s Mazhilis. Ministries and state com-

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mittees take part in drafting laws and their heads bear responsibility for their quality.

The government fulfi ls orders by the president on submitting laws to the Mazhilis. The government also implements external functions. It takes decisions on the implementation of international agreements and carries out measures to develop foreign relations in the trade, fi nancial, education, science and other spheres.

The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan acts within the term of powers of the president and resigns before the election of a new president.

The work of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan is coordinated by the Offi ce of the Prime Minister, which is a govern-ment body which supervises the activities of ministries and agencies of Kazakhstan.

The main tasks of the Offi ce of the Prime Minister are: the in-formation and analytical, organisational and legal and paperwork provision of the activities of the prime minister and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan; the pursuit of a single state policy in the sphere of protecting state secrets and coordination of the activities of government bodies and organisations to protect state secrets and ensure information security. The Offi ce of the Prime Minister also coordinates the work of government bodies in the process of drafting and implementing acts by the government and prime minister and monitors the deadlines of implementing acts and orders issued to the government by the head of state, resolutions by the government and prime minister and instructions by the prime minister.

The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan includes 17 ministries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MFA) is the central body that performs foreign political activities and heads the single system of diplomatic service bodies of the Re-public of Kazakhstan.

The main tasks of the ministry are: drafting a blueprint for and the main aspects of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy and presenting the relevant proposals to the president and the government; implement-ing the country’s foreign policy and assisting its foreign economic

policy and strengthening Kazakhstan’s international reputation; and defending the rights and interests of Kazakhstan, its citizens and legal entities abroad.

The MFA is also responsible for advancing through diplomatic means and methods Kazakhstan’s efforts to ensure international peace, global and regional security; ensuring through diplomatic means and methods the protection of sovereignty, security, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders of the Republic of Kazakhstan, its political, trade and economic and other interests in relations with foreign countries and international organisations.

The ministry also drafts proposals for the president on Kazakh-stan’s foreign political and foreign economic strategy and implements the president’s international initiatives.

The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan leads the armed forces, solves tasks relating to the country’s defence and drafts a blueprint for building and developing the armed forces, other armed and military formations, conducts a single military and technical policy in the state, drafts a state programme for the development of weapons and military equipment and proposals on state defence order and spending on defence, and provides material and technical supplies to the armed forces and cooper-ates with other government agencies on issues surrounding the defence of the country.

The chief organ to manage the country’s armed forces during peacetime and war is the Committee of the Chiefs of Staffs of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It coordinates plans for the creation and development of the armed forces, other armed and military formations, their speedy combat and mobilisation preparations, organises and conducts operative-strategic plans for the use and coordination of the armed forces, other armed and military formations and drafts plans for speedy preparation of the country in the interests of defence.

Relevant legislative acts of Kazakhstan regulate the provision of military security of the state when there is a threat and during war, the rules for creating and operating wartime government agencies and military command.

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The Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a central body which manages and coordinates any inter-sectoral coordination of issues around the development and implementation of state policy in the transport and telecommunica-tions sphere.

The main tasks of the Ministry of Transport and Communications are: the formation of state policy in the transport and communications sphere and the reactive creation of an effi cient and technologically ad-vanced transport and telecommunications system to meet the demands of the economy and society for transport and telecoms services.

The ministry includes: the Committee for the Development of Transport Infrastructure, the Railways Committee, the Civil Aviation Committee and the Transport Control Committee.

The main functions of the Ministry of Transport and Communica-tions are: the formation of state policy in the transport and telecoms sphere; drafting government and sectoral programmes for the devel-opment of transport and telecoms networks; drafting legislative acts, proposals to improve the application of legislation and drafting and adopting legislative acts regarding transport and telecoms issues it is responsible for.

In addition, its functions include drafting and adopting technical and other standards in the transport and telecoms sphere on issues which are within the powers of the ministry; making predictions and offering timely and quality services to meet the transport and telecoms needs of the country and the economy.

The Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning of the Republic of Kazakhstan is involved in creating and developing a system of state planning to help the effi cient implementation of priorities of Kazakhstan’s socioeconomic development.

The main tasks of the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning are: the formulation of strategic goals for and aspects of the main priorities of Kazakhstan’s socioeconomic development; the formu-lation of state fi scal, customs and budget investment policies with account of priorities of the country’s socioeconomic development and monetary-credit policy and policy in the sphere of international economic and fi nancial relations. In addition, the ministry drafts

government policy in the sphere of managing state-owned assets in various sectors of the economy.

The Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Ka-zakhstan is a central executive body of Kazakhstan, and its main pur-pose is to formulate state policy in the spheres of culture, information, domestic political stability, interethnic accord and the development of languages, archives and paperwork, publishing and printing.

The ministry includes the Culture Committee, the Information and Archives Committee and the Languages Committee.

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a central executive body which manages the sphere of healthcare, medical and pharmaceutical education.

The main functions of the Ministry of Health are: developing state policy in the healthcare sphere, medical science and medical and pharmaceutical education; ensuring free medical services to the level guaranteed by the government (stipulated in legislation). In addition, the ministry is also responsible for supplying safe, effi cient and quality medicines to the population and medical establishments.

The ministry incorporates the Committee for Sanitary and Epide-miological Supervision, the Pharmacy Committee and the Committee for Monitoring the Quality of Medical Services.

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a central executive body that fulfi ls state policy in the spheres of agriculture, forestry, fi shery and hunting, environmental protection territories and the management of water resources and fl ora and fauna resources.

The ministry coordinates the work in the spheres of agricultural machine-building, veterinary, phyto-sanitary, pedigree animal hus-bandry, melioration, irrigation and drainage, and food production.

This ministry includes the Water Resources Committee and the Committee for Forestry, Fish and Hunting Industry.

The Ministry of Employment and Social Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan manages the sphere of labour and social relations and conducts any inter-sectoral coordination in it.

The main objectives of the ministry are: formulating state policy in the spheres of labour, health and safety at workplace, employment,

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social partnership, pension, social insurance and migration in line with its powers.

The ministry runs territorial bodies in regions and Astana and Almaty. It also includes the Migration Committee.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a central executive body that formulates state policy and coordinates management processes in the spheres of energy, mineral resources, oil and gas, petrochemistry and nuclear, energy-saving and the use of renewable and non-traditional sources of energy.

The main objective of this ministry is to ensure the sustainable development of Kazakhstan’s economy.

The ministry also drafts programmes for the development of the country’s fuel and energy sector and ensures the sector’s development and the country’s energy security and independence.

In addition, one of the ministry’s most important functions is to ensure the replenishment of the mineral resource base, the rational use of mineral resources and the comprehensive development of petrochemical productions.

The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Ka-zakhstan conducts management and inter-sectoral coordination in the spheres of education and science.

The main objectives of the ministry are: formulating a single state policy in the spheres of education, science, technology and aerospace activities and the state youth policy; creating the conditions necessary for people to receive education; improving scientifi c research and boosting the nation’s labour competitiveness; ensuring the protection of rights and legal interests of children.

The ministry includes the Committee for Supervision and Ex-amination in the Education and Science Sphere and the Aerospace Committee.

In line with legislation, the Ministry of Education and Science drafts blueprints, strategies, state and targeted programmes and plans to implement state policy in the spheres of education, science and technology and the state youth policy; to ensure rights and legal interests of children; formulate the policy to improve the quality of

education and draft the innovation policy in the spheres of education, science and aerospace and develop the space sector.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MIA) is a central executive body that manages the system of interior bodies of Kazakhstan and protects public order and ensures public security in Kazakhstan. The ministry implements state policies on the law-enforcement.

The objectives of the interior bodies are: protecting public order and ensuring public security, including in emergency situations and under martial law; preventing, investigating and uncovering crimes and administrative violations and searching for criminals; conducting preliminary investigation, questioning and administrative procedures within remits defi ned by legislation.

In addition, the ministry’s powers include: detecting and pre-venting homelessness and crimes by minors; ensuring traffi c safety; guarding government and other facilities and individuals and escort-ing detainees and convicts, preventing terrorist attacks and releasing hostages.

The ministry also monitors the observance of rules of living in Kazakhstan by foreign citizens and stateless persons.

The activities of interior bodies should be based on the principles of lawfulness, the unity of command, the unity of the system of interior bodies, transparency and coordination with other law-enforcement and government agencies, offi cials, organisations and citizens.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan performs the functions that draft state policy and legislative regula-tions in the sphere of industrial development, the development of the defence industry and the scientifi c, technical and innovative develop-ment of the country. This ministry also coordinates the development of the trade, entrepreneurship and protection of competition, construction and architecture, landscaping and housing and utilities spheres.

The most important objective of this ministry is to create favour-able conditions for encouraging private investment in the non-extrac-tive sector of the economy.

The ministry includes the Committee for Industry and Scientifi c and Technical Development, the Committee for the Regulation of

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Trade and Tourism Activities, the Committee for the Protection of Competition, the Committee for Construction and the Housing and Utilities Sphere, the Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrol-ogy and the Investment Committee.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan conducts management and inter-sectoral coordination on the drafting and implementation of state policy in the sphere of environmental protection and the use of natural resources.

The main objective of the ministry is to improve the environment and achieve favourable levels of the environmentally sustainable development of society.

The ministry incorporates the Committee for the Supervision of Environmental Protection and territorial environmental protection bodies in the regions, Astana and Almaty.

In line with legislation, the ministry formulates state policy on environmental protection and drafts proposals to formulate a single state policy in this sphere.

This ministry also develops and improves the system of state man-agement in the environmental protection sphere, state environmental expert examination, activities relating to the issuing of permits, li-cences and environmental conclusions, regulation and standardisation within its remits and a system of economic methods and mechanisms of encouragement of the rational use of natural resources and envi-ronmental protection.

The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a central executive body that manages the budget and fi nancial sphere.

The main objectives of the ministry are: formulating and imple-menting state policy on the budget, customs and tax control, internal fi nancial control and state purchases.

This ministry also conducts state regulation of the production and sale of tobacco products, ethyl alcohol and alcoholic products and certain types of petroleum products.

The ministry’s powers also include issues of bankruptcy, out-of-court procedures of liquidation of indebted companies, rehabilitation procedures relating to insolvent debtors, the management of state property, accountancy, fi nancial reporting and auditing.

The ministry includes the Treasury Committee, the Customs Con-trol Committee, the Tax Committee, the Financial Control and State Procurement Committee, the Committee for Work with Insolvent Debtors, and the State Property and Privatisation Committee.

The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a central executive body of Kazakhstan that manages the sphere of the legisla-tive provision of activities of government and public organisations in the country.

The main objectives of the ministry are: providing a legislative basis for the work of the state; ensuring the legality of the work government agencies, organisations, offi cials and citizens; ensur-ing the protection of the rights and lawful interests of citizens and organisations.

The ministry includes territorial bodies in the regions, Astana and Almaty and the Registration Service Committee, the Intellectual Property Rights Committee, the Penal and Penitentiary System Com-mittee, and the Committee for Legal Advice and Services.

In the order set by legislation, the Ministry of Justice develops national legislation, organises lawmaking work and conducts the legal examination of legislative acts.

Its powers also include providing a legal basis for the drafting and conclusion of Kazakhstan’s international agreements; offering legal advice and services to the population; and protecting intellectual property.

Relatively recently the ministry’s functions expanded into admin-istering criminal punishment and the temporary isolation of suspects in detention centres.

In addition, the ministry supervises the government registration of legal entities, property rights and operations with them, legisla-tive acts, acts of civil status, registration of citizens, registration of movable property as security and issuance of documents to citizens of Kazakhstan.

The Ministry of Emergencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan for-mulates state policy in the sphere of preventing emergency situations of a natural or manmade nature, handling the consequences of these and civil defence.

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This ministry is responsible for state control in the sphere of fi re and industrial safety, and health and safety at hazardous production facilities. The ministry also monitors safety in industry and the build-ing and expanding of state material reserves, ensuring the functioning and development of the state system for the prevention and handling of emergency situations, and the prevention and extinguishing of fi res.

The ministry incorporates territorial bodies in the regions, Astana and Almaty, the Committee for State Control and Supervision in the Sphere of Emergency Situations and the Committee for State Mate-rial Reserves.

In line with the tasks delegated to it, the ministry prevents and clears up natural and manmade emergency situations and takes civil defence measures. In addition, it drafts proposals to use material, technical, food, medical and other resources from state and mobilisa-tion reserves and means from government reserves.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Republic of Kazakhstan formulates state policy in the spheres of tourism and sport. The de-velopment of tourism has been acquiring particular importance for the country’s economy. The development of amateur and professional sport in Kazakhstan is also an important aspect of the government’s activities that aims to diversify the development of the economy and the social sphere in Kazakhstan.

The ministry includes the Tourism Committee and the Sport Committee.

2.6. Reforms in the Judicial System

After the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakh-stan on 28 January 1993, new social and political relations emerged in the country. Moreover, Kazakhstan declared that its aim was to build a lawful state. Achieving this required radical legal reforms which would better meet the socio-political, socioeconomic and international status of the new state.

The president’s Resolution On the State Programme of Legal Re-forms in the Republic of Kazakhstan of 12 February 1994 became a historical document that defi ned the priority aspects for reforms in the judicial and legal system: just and independent courts; highly-quali-fi ed, impartial judges appointed on a permanent basis; improvements in the living standards of judges – these are the foundations of impar-tial judiciary and it is precisely a decent life for a judge that stresses the importance and immeasurable responsibility of their work and provides social security for them. Therefore, improving their living conditions was made a priority.

This resolution clearly regulated the structure of the country’s judicial bodies, the powers of judges and personnel issues.

The structure and composition of judicial bodies were also defi ned at that point. It was decided that the Supreme Court would rule on all economic issues and issues relating to the carriage of justice and the provision of judges with everything they needed for this was del-egated to the head of the apparatus. The composition of regional and town courts has been the same since that time, while the powers and objectives of martial courts in Kazakhstan enabled them to become members of the plenum of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The institution of people’s assessors was abolished.

The president’s next step in reforming the judicial system was the 1995 Decree On Courts and the Status of Judges in the Republic of Kazakhstan, which had the force of constitutional law. The decree fi xed the defi ning status of the judiciary’s independence, making it one of the equal branches of government.

The main government bodies of Kazakhstan responsible for leg-islative and legal issues are the Supreme Court, the Constitutional

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Council, the Prosecutor-General’s Offi ce and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

“Judicial power shall be exercised on behalf of the Republic of Kazakhstan and shall be intended to protect the rights, freedoms, and legal interests of citizens and organisations and ensure the observance of the constitution, laws, other legislative acts and international agree-ments of the republic.” [12, Article 76]

The highest judicial body in the country is the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the members of which are appointed by the Senate following the president’s nominations which in turn are based on recommendations by the country’s Highest Judicial Council.

The Supreme Court has powers to supervise and overturn rulings of lower courts. In addition, it is the body that gives explanations on issues of judicial practice and the application of legislative acts.

The Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan issues rulings on all issues relating to the observance of constitutional norms and procedures adopted. The Constitutional Council considers the president’s protests and if they are not overcome by a majority of the vote decisions by the Constitutional Council are regarded as void.

The Constitutional Council rules on the legitimacy of presidential and parliamentary elections and examines laws to establish their conformity with the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Constitutional Council has seven members, three of whom, in-cluding the chairman, are appointed by the president. Four members represent the chambers of parliament: two members are appointed by the Speaker of the Senate and the other two by the Speaker of the Mazhilis. All former presidents receive lifetime membership of the Constitutional Council.

The chairman of the Constitutional Council is appointed by the president, and when votes are divided equally the chairman’s vote is critical.

The organisation and work of the Constitutional Council is regu-lated by a constitutional law.

The Constitutional Council’s rulings come into force from the day of their adoption and are obligatory throughout Kazakhstan. They are fi nal and cannot be appealed against.

The government body that monitors the observance of law is the Prosecutor-General’s Offi ce.

The Prosecutor-General’s Offi ce reports to the president. It exer-cises supreme control over the exact and uniform application of laws, presidential decrees and other legislative acts in the country and moni-tors the legality of search, questioning, investigation, administrative and penal procedures.

The Prosecutor-General’s Offi ce takes measures to establish and eliminate any violations of law, protest laws and other legislative acts contradicting the constitutions and laws, represent state interests in court and conduct criminal prosecution.

The state prosecution represents a single centralised system of bodies and establishments with prosecutors at a lower level being sub-ordinate to prosecutors at a higher level and the prosecutor-general.

The Prosecutor-General’s Offi ce carries out its duties indepen-dently of other government bodies and offi cials, political parties and other public associations. Involvement in the activities of the prosecutor’s offi ces is banned.

Acts issued by the Prosecutor-General’s Offi ce are obligatory for all bodies, organisations, offi cials and citizens.

With the aim of ensuring the supremacy of the constitution and laws and protecting human rights and liberties of citizens, while exercis-ing supreme control over the exact and uniform application of laws, presidential decrees and other legislative acts, on behalf of the state prosecutor’s offi ces: detect and take measures to eliminate violations of the constitution, legislative acts and acts by the president; exercise control over the legality of search, questioning, investigation, adminis-trative and penal procedures; and represent state interests in court.

In addition, the Prosecutor-General’s Offi ce appeals against laws and other legislative acts contradicting the constitution and laws of Kazakhstan; has the right to conduct criminal prosecution in the order and within the powers set by law.

Prosecutor’s offi ces compose state legal statistics to ensure the uniformity, objectivity and suffi ciency of statistical indicators, carry out special records, and monitor the application of laws in the sphere of legal statistics and special records.

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2.7. The Party System

Political parties play an important role in socio-political and public life, acting as a link between society and the state. The objective of parties is to actively take part in political life at all stages of the po-litical process: in elections, in forming legislative branches of power and adopting political and government decisions.

In a democratic state, competition between political parties plays an important role. In this regard, on the one hand, the development of the party system can be considered an indicator of democratisation in general, and, on the other hand, one can suggest that the estab-lishment of democratic institutions (above all, free elections) helps parties to develop.

The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan guarantees the rights of parties, movements and associations, except for those whose activities aim to change the constitutional system with force, violate the integrity of the country, undermine the security of the state and incite social, racial, interethnic, religious, class and tribal discord. The state is not allowed to become involved in the business of parties and public associations.

Generally, “the process of party construction, which from the very beginning accompanied political transformations in Kazakhstan, in the fi rst decade of the reforms, was chaotic in nature. This was mainly conditioned by the fact that political transformations in the country took place in parallel with the creation of the foundations of Kazakhstan’s statehood and the adoption of market mechanisms and the transformation of public consciousness” [13].

Due to understandable reasons – the dissolution of the previous, Soviet model of political system and ideology – the process of party construction in Kazakhstan developed under the conditions of the lack of a social base and the blurring of political platforms of most parties. This conditioned a complicated, state-by-stage nature of party construction in the country.

In July 1996 the country adopted the Law On Political Parties in the Republic of Kazakhstan. In accordance with this law, in order to prevent the possibility of a one party monopoly, the territorial

principle of forming parties was adopted and the creation of political parties in government agencies and the establishment and activities of militarised political parties were banned.

This law bans the creation and activities of political parties which aim to change the constitutional system with force, violate Kazakh-stan’s territorial integrity, undermine the state’s security and incite social, racial, interethnic, religious, class and tribal discord.

With the aim of preventing a bond between government and party bodies the law stipulates that civil servants are guided by requirements of legislation when performing their duties and should not be bound by the decisions of parties or their bodies.

On 9 February 2009 the Kazakh president signed the Consti-tutional Law On Adopting Amendments and Addenda to the Con-stitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The law aims to create a legal mechanism to form a parliament of at least two parties and improve the elec-tion process. The law stipulates that if as a result of an election only one party is elected to parliament, the next party with the second highest vote is allowed into parliament even if it does not clear the 7% barrier.

Thus, the law regarding political parties aims to strengthen the multiparty system in the country on democratic principles.

As for the role and signifi cance of parties in Kazakhstan’s socio-political life, we should note that mechanisms for the parties’ real involvement in government have not yet fi nally been devised. Kazakh society has not yet fully realised the role of parties as a mechanism of government by the people. The establishment of democratic institu-tions and the reformation of the party system in Kazakhstan have not yet been completed. However, we can already state that parties have all the preconditions to become a bridge between the people and the government, foster government thinking in the masses and express and represent the population’s interests.

The institution of strong and large political parties with wide re-gional networks is becoming an additional factor in the stabilisation of society and a mechanism through which the electorate receive the possibility of consciously infl uencing government policy.

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As a result, the prospects for parties which operate within le-gitimate boundaries in terms of their political stability and ability to infl uence are very promising and stable.

At the moment, there are ten political parties operating in Ka-zakhstan’s political fi eld, of which nine are offi cially registered. The Alga! party remains unregistered. The following parties are offi cially registered:

The Nur Otan People’s Democratic Party

The Nur Otan People’s Democratic Party is the most powerful political force. The chairman of Nur Otan is President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The Otan* Republican Political Party was set up in January 1999 and was registered with the Ministry of Justice on 12 February 1999. On 4 July 2006, at the ninth unscheduled congress of Otan in Astana, the Asar Republican Party merged with Otan.

The Otan party acquired its new name at its tenth unscheduled congress in Astana on 22 December 2006 when it united with the Civil and Agrarian parties. As a result of their merger, it was decided to rename the Otan Republican Political Party as the Nur Otan People’s Democratic Party.

Nur Otan is now the largest political force in Kazakhstan, with the offi cial number of members exceeding 700,000 people.

The party’s main goals are: to actively conduct economic and political reforms to further democratise society; to improve the living standards of citizens; to establish social justice and preserve stability in the country; to strengthen interethnic and inter-religious accord; to foster patriotism among citizens and responsibility for all-round and harmonious development of Kazakhstan.

In the Mazhilis of the parliament of the third convocation, Nur Otan held the majority. After the 18 August 2007 unscheduled election to the Mazhilis, Nur Otan with 88.4% of the vote was the only party that cleared the 7% hurdle and became the only party to sit in the Mazhilis.

* The previous name of the Nur Otan People’s Democratic Party

The National Social Democratic Party

The National Social Democratic Party was set up on 10 September 2006 and was registered on 25 January 2007. The number of mem-bers is 140,000. The chairman of the party is Zharmakhan Tuyakbai. The party has branches in all regions of Kazakhstan and in Astana and Almaty.

The National Social Democratic Party is a member of Socialist International, an infl uential international organisation. The party aims to build a democratic, lawful, social sate and an innovative economy and pursue a new humanist policy.

In the election to the Mazhilis in 2007, the party came second with 4.5% of the vote. This result was achieved because of a merger with the Nagyz Ak Zhol Democratic Party. However, after the defeat in the election, the leaders of Nagyz Ak Zhol – Bolat Abilov, Oraz Zhandosov and Tulegen Zhukeyev – announced their withdrawal from the National Social Democratic Party.

The Azat Democratic Party

The Azat Democratic Party of Kazakhstan was set up from the Nagyz Ak Zhol Democratic Party, which, in turn, was established on 29 April 2005 as a result of a split in the Ak Zhol Democratic Party, and was registered on 17 March 2006.

On 23 May 2007 Nagyz Ak Zhol and the National Social Demo-cratic Party decided to create the For a Fair Kazakhstan election bloc to take part in the election to the Mazhilis. However, after the adoption of the new election law which banned election blocs, Nagyz Ak Zhol merged with the National Social Democratic Party, but preserved its registration. The National Social Democratic Party received 4.54% of votes in the election, but failed to get into parliament.

On 9 October 2007 Nagyz Ak Zhol split from the National Social Democratic Party. On 29 February 2008 the party renamed itself as the Azat Democratic Party. The structure of the party also changed: Bolat Abilov was elected chairman instead of three co-chairmen of the party, Tulegen Zhukeyev became secretary-general

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and Marzhan Aspandiyarova and Petr Svoik became deputy chairs of the party.

Azat positions itself as a party of the middle class. The party aims to build a democratic, secular, lawful and social state and an open society, to consolidate citizens’ efforts to build an independent, prosperous, democratic and free Kazakhstan.

The party has lately been drifting towards the national-patriotic fi eld.

The Ak Zhol Democratic Party

The Ak Zhol Democratic Party of Kazakhstan was registered on 3 April 2002. Its membership exceeds 175,000 people.

In the 2004 election to the Mazhilis the party collected 12.04% of the vote, receiving one seat. In the latest parliamentary election, the party won 2.09% of vote and failed to clear the 7% hurdle. In local elections, it won one seat in a district legislative body.

The election defeat forced Ak Zhol to split into two independent parties. On 18 September 2007, the plenum of the Central Committee of the Adilet Democratic Party discussed the results of the election to the Mazhilis and the local elections of the Ak Zhol Democratic Party. The plenum unanimously decided to convene the fourth unscheduled congress of the Adilet party to discuss splitting from the Ak Zhol party. As a result, the Adilet party will most likely re-emerge as a political player.

It is worth noting that the leader of Ak Zhol, Alikhan Baimenov, who was seen as a moderate opposition member, after the election became somewhat radicalised, protesting against the election results jointly with the leaders of the National Social Democratic Party and the Communist People’s Party in public and in court. Nevertheless, it is too early to talk about the consolidation of constructive and radical opposition forces into a single party, but the possibility of this occurring in the future should not be ruled out. The party aims to build an independent, prosperous, democratic and free Kazakh-stan. Its fundamental values are democracy, independence, freedom and justice.

The Adilet Democratic Party

The Adilet Democratic Party was registered on 14 June 2004. Its chairman is Maksut Narikbayev. The party has 70,000 members and branches in all regions, Astana and Almaty. In the 2004 elec-tion to the Mazhilis, Adilet received 0.76% of votes. In the Mazhilis of the third convocation the party had one seat one in a single-seat constituency.

The parliamentary election on 18 August 2007 made this party realise that it would not be able to enter parliament with its limited cadre and material resources. That is why on 8 July 2005 the fi fth congress of Adilet decided to join the Ak Zhol party.

The party’s main objective is to build a lawful, democratic and social state in Kazakhstan, create an effi cient, advanced and developed economic system and build a civil society.

The Communist Party of Kazakshtan

The Communist Party of Kazakhstan is a successor of the Socialist Party of Kazakhstan, set up in the early 1990s from the branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the Kazakh SSR.

The Communist Party of Kazakhstan was registered on 27 August 1998 and underwent re-registration on 20 March 2003. Its leader is Serikbolsyn Abdildin. The party’s membership exceeds 54,000 people, and it has branches in all regions of the country. Party members are chiefl y WWII veterans, workers and pensioners.

The party boycotted the election to the Mazhilis of the fourth convocation.

The party’s main objectives are: to create conditions for building a society of freedom and social justice based on the principles of scientifi c socialism in Kazakhstan and build a communist political system.

The Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan

The Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan was formed by sev-eral members who split from the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in

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February 2004. On 21 June 2004 the party received state registration. Its leader is Vladislav Kosarev. The party has over 100,000 members, mainly workers, students, representatives of the intelligentsia, pen-sioners, and entrepreneurs. The party held no seat in the Mazhilis of the third convocation.

It received 1.29% of the vote in the election to the Mazhilis of the fourth convocation, but secured not a single parliamentary seat. In local elections it managed to win 10 seats in local legis-latures.

According to its political platform, the party’s activities are based on the Marxist-Leninist ideology, adapted to new realities of the development of society.

The Auyl Social Democratic Party

The Auyl Social Democratic Party was registered on 1 March 2002, and it was re-registered on 2 April 2003. The party is chaired by Gani Kaliyev. It has over 61,000 members and branches in all the country’s regions.

The party’s declared goals are to strengthen government regula-tion and support to the agricultural sector and protect the interests of farmers.

The party held no seat in the Mazhilis of the third convocation. It won 1.51% of votes in the parliamentary election on 18 August 2007, and claimed 31 seats in local legislatures.

The Party of Kazakhstan’s Patriots

The Party of Kazakhstan’s Patriots was registered on 4 August 2000 and re-registered on 21 March 2003. It has 172,000 members. The leader of the party is Gani Kasymov.

It had no seat in the Mazhilis of the third convocation, and managed to receive only 0.7% of the vote in the 18 August 2007 parliamentary election. It received one place in local legislatures.

In late August 2007 President Nazarbayev appointed Gani Kasy-mov senator, and this is expected to boost the party’s development.

The party’s declared aims are: to help the national revival of Kazakhstan’s peoples, to build a democratic, lawful state and a civil society with a market economy, to involve the socially active groups of society in government and public affairs, to ensure the country’s sustainable development, to improve the living standards of the population and to prioritise people’s health.

The Rukhaniyat party

The Rukhaniyat party was registered on 6 October 2003. It has 72,000 members and branches in regions, Astana and Almaty. Its leader is Altynshash Zhaganova.

The support base of the party is workers of the education, health-care, science and cultural spheres, entrepreneurs and students.

The party aims to develop the economy, solve social problems and develop a highly moral and spiritually rich society.

It was not represented in the Mazhilis of the third convocation. In the election to the Mazhilis of the fourth convocation it received 0.37% of the vote.

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2.8. Kazakhstan Is a Multiethnic State

Kazakhstan has become home to over 130 ethnic groups. Vari-ous reasons – historical, political, and social – helped make this the case.

A few centuries ago the Kazakh steppe started to see people from outside. Russian peasants who were in search of lands ended up there, as did Cossacks who were called to protect the frontiers of the Rus-sian Empire. In the 19th century many Uighurs and the Hui people fl ed China in search of peace and security and settled in modern-day Kazakhstan. A great wave of Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish and Bulgarian settlers with their families, junks and livestock moved to the Kazakh steppes during the Stolypin reforms.

In the 1930-1940s Koreans, Germans, Chechens, Ingush, Meskhetian Turks and many other ethnic groups were forcibly de-ported to Kazakhstan. After WWII, dozens of thousands of people from all over the former Soviet Union fl ooded Kazakhstan – either for the “great construction projects of communism” or to tame virgin lands [14].

Kazakhstan is a multiethnic country and the basis of its political stability is interethnic accord. Kazakhstan has created a legislative ba-sis which is founded on civil and political commonness of all citizens which ensures the equality of rights and liberties of citizens regardless of their ethnic or religious origin. This principle is the foundation of the government’s policy on ethnic minorities.

The legislative basis of Kazakhstan’s policy towards ethnic minori-ties is a set of legislative acts, starting with the constitution, which ban any activities that could disturb interethnic accord. Generally, the country’s policy towards ethnic minorities is based on the supremacy of law and the rational combination of collective rights of ethnic groups and the individual rights of people.

Kazakhstan has created a unique and effi cient mechanism to pur-sue a policy on ethnic minorities and hold an interethnic dialogue in form of the Assembly of Kazakhstan’s People, which was set up by a presidential decree of 1 March 1995 as an advisory body under the president and which later became an offi cial body.

As a result of its activities, the process of the cultural revival of ethnic groups is under way now and the assembly ensures an all-round dialogue between them. This experience is being studied by some of the neighbouring countries.

A balanced policy on languages is being pursued, and Kazakhstan is one of the few countries that have solved these problems without serious confl icts and shocks. A natural process of mastering the state language, Kazakh, by the country’s citizens, especially by young people, is under way. Kazakhstan’s language diversity enriches the culture of Kazakhstan and acts as an important factor, boosting the unity of multiethnic Kazakhstan.

Among the signifi cant auxiliary measures to revive and develop cultures of ethnic monitories are the houses of friendship that are funded from the budget. With state support, newspapers and maga-zines are published in 11 languages, 44 television studios broadcast in 12 languages and 18 radio studios broadcast in seven languages.

Under state purchase orders up to 30 book titles with a total num-ber of over 80,000 are published in minority languages every year in Kazakhstan. The Dostyk (Friendship) socio-political magazine is published with the editorial board involvement of all of the heads of the country’s national cultural associations that are members of the Council of the Assembly.

Festivals of folk arts and languages of Kazakhstan’s peoples are held regularly, and the Day of the Unity of Kazakhstan’s People, the Day of the Remembrance of Victims of Political Repressions and the Day of Spiritual Unity and Accord are marked. In addition, each ethnic group has their own traditional folk holidays that have been revived during the years of the country’s independence and that are marked with representatives of other ethnic minorities.

The country’s spiritual revival and inter-religious accord and toler-ance are being ensured. Tolerance in the religious sphere, historically inherited by the present generation of Kazakhstan, is a good basis for preserving civil and inter-religious peace in the future.

As a result, it has been proven by deeds that multiethnicity is not a fault but, on the contrary, an advantage to the country.

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2.9. The Non-Governmental Sector

During the years of its independence Kazakhstan has managed to conduct major political reforms that have made possible the creation of a new political system and the development of new civil society institutions: political parties and independent media. The non-gov-ernmental sector is the most dynamic of them.

Non-government organisations (NGOs) operate in all socially important spheres of life. These include issues of environmental protection, the social sphere, education, culture, healthcare, gender relations, human rights and so on. The number of issues NGOs deal with is approaching 6,000.

However, at the initial stage of the development the non-govern-mental sector was barely surviving and lived on foreign grants. At that time Kazakhstan did not have a holistic system of interaction and cooperation between the state and NGOs. Nor was there a legislative basis for the operations of NGOs.

Moreover, the economic state of the country hindered signifi cant state support to this sector. However, the situation has now drastically changed and as a result of real state support to NGOs the sector is now a fully-fl edged member of the political process.

Over the last several years, the number of offi cially registered NGOs has increased considerably. The characteristic features that accompany the development of the third sector in Kazakhstan are: its noticeable activity, involvement in public life and the growing understanding of the fact that NGOs can have an important positive impact on the development of society in general.

The creation of the Civil Alliance of Kazakhstan in 2005 has played a great role in strengthening the positions of NGOs in Kazakhstan.

Earlier, the full development of NGOs had been hindered by lack of a strategy for cooperation between non-governmental organisations. They were disunited and did not coordinate their work to solve social problems. In addition, the situation was complicated by unhealthy rivalry between them.

Generally, all this damaged the development of NGOs. The above-mentioned Civil Alliance of Kazakhstan was called on to consolidate

local civil society institutions to maintain effi cient cooperation with the government. Its activities signifi cantly strengthened the role of NGOs in society.

Its involvement in the lawmaking process is also strengthening the non-government sector. In March 2006, the Civil Alliance initiated the creation of the chamber of Public Experts at the Kazakh parliament’s Mazhilis. This boosted the professional level of legislative acts. In addition, this chamber exercises public control over parliamentary work.

A shining example of the sector’s growing role in the country’s life is the election of the Civil Alliance president and co-chairwoman of the Union of Women Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan, Aigul Solovyova, to parliament. The presence of civil society activists in power struc-tures offers additional opportunities to establish an equal dialogue between the authorities and civil society groups.

Another important step in boosting the non-governmental sector in Kazakhstan was a constitutional reform, as a result of which a ban on state funding of public associations was lifted. This will lead to wider involvement of NGOs in the process of reforms and closer cooperation with the state.

As a result, NGOs received a new impetus for their development and involvement in solving socially important problems.

One of the instruments that boosted the role and importance of NGOs in society is their participation in election processes. NGOs’ views on elections refl ect the level of socio-political maturity of NGOs themselves and the state’s readiness for democratic elections.

During the 2007 parliamentary election in Kazakhstan, public or-ganisations carried out advert campaigns to boost voters’ participation in the voting and monitored the course of the election. For example, in addition to observers from the OSCE, the CIS and other international organisations, about 8,000 activists from the national public Commit-tee for Monitoring Elections observed the election.

Annual civil forums which represent an effi cient platform for dialogue for discussing existing problems and fi nding solutions to them based on the principles of equal partnership and cooperation are one of the indicators of the growing signifi cance of the civil sec-

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tor in Kazakh society. The role of the non-governmental sector in democratising the country was legitimised at the Civil Forums held in 2003 and 2005, which also started the creation of a systematic mechanism for cooperation between civil society, government agen-cies and businesses.

Finally, the third Civil Forum in October 2007 defi ned the prior-ity aspects of cooperation between the state and NGOs and drafted mechanisms for this. Forum participants arrived at the understand-ing of the need to build an equal dialogue between society and the government of all levels.

“Today non-governmental organisations have great opportunities to draft breakthrough ideas and are capable of offering invaluable as-sistance to the state in solving many social problems. The country’s competitiveness should be based on civil initiative that aims to develop the economy, continue democratic transformations and improve the country’s life,” President Nursultan Nazarbayev told the third Civil Forum.

We should note that the president is an ideologist of the priority development of non-governmental organisations and the establish-ment of civil society in general and prioritises these tasks in his annual state-of-the-nation-addresses.

During the forum NGOs secured the support of the main political player in the country, the Nur Otan party. The party intends to lobby the interests of NGOs, advance social programmes and laws that encourage their development.

All in all, the state sees the non-governmental sector as a reliable partner in solving social, economic and legal problems because the main requirement of the current stage of development is to overcome the autonomy of components of the political system and establish equal cooperation.

2.10. The Media

Kazakhstan’s media market has matured after undergoing the necessary stages of development. There are a number of reasonably strong media outlets and media groups in the country that unite their efforts in order to survive in fi erce market competition conditions.

This process was not chaotic. It was conditioned by the purposeful government policy on the media, the main principles of which are: the creation of a single media space in the country; the democratic modernisation of state-owned and private media outlets; and the creation of conditions for ensuring political stability and interethnic accord, information security and the effi cient work of political insti-tutions in the country.

After obtaining independence Kazakhstan faced the problems of creating its media market. Following this, it is feasible to consider the main stages of the formation of the Kazakh media market.

Local experts single out specifi c stages of the development of the media market in Kazakhstan.

The fi rst stage, from 1991 to 1995, was characterised by state mo-nopoly of the media when there were practically no independent media outlets. This was a period of the beginning of the era of openness: the media started to criticise certain aspects of the political system.

At this point, the ideology of the fourth estate and the myth about the independent press were prevalent among Soviet and Kazakh jour-nalists. The fi rst politicised newspapers and private television chan-nels, as well as a great number of new publications of diverse editorial policies, emerged on the Kazakh media market at that time.

This stage started in 1991 when independent Kazakhstan adopted its fi rst legislative acts – the Law On the Press and Other Media Out-lets, which confi rmed Kazakhstan’s adherence to democracy.

Article 1 of the law pronounced freedom of press and freedom of speech. Censorship was banned by legislation for the fi rst time. Government offi cials were also banned from involvement in editorial issues and from hindering journalists’ professional activities.

The law also expanded journalists’ right to seek out and obtain information, and it granted political parties, public associations and in-

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dividuals the right to set up media outlets, which gave an impetus to the formation of democratic principles of the functioning of the media.

The novelty and democratic values of the fi rst media law became a powerful factor for the rapid development of the Kazakh press. How-ever, since this law was adopted at the very beginning of Kazakhstan’s independence, many provisions of it quickly became obsolete, falling behind the requirements of the time.

The media legislation helped the development of the media fi eld to an extent, but in terms of quality the media grew slowly in the market economy.

A switch to market relations drove the prices of paper, printing and postal services up and this hindered the development of the local media. In April 1992 the government drafted measures to support the media in this period, offering assistance with paper and other materials as part of the state orders and tax breaks. In addition, the government drafted a programme to privatise state-owned media outlets. In essence, this started the formation of the independent media in Kazakhstan.

This stage had specifi c features: the partial departure of the state from controlling the media; the emergence of the party press; and the high level of trust in the media by the population.

The second stage of the development of the media was between 1996 and1999. This period saw the government depart from uncondi-tional domination of the media market and the rapid development of the private media. At the same time, the privatisation of some media outlets reduced the market share of the state-owned media.

Many media observers describe this period as the golden age of the national media. This was also the fi rst wave of the privatisation of the media. New publications and television and radio stations started to emerge on the Kazakh media market.

New outlets started using the models and formats of modern Western journalism and tried to separate news from commentary and making newspapers on the principles of thematic columns. Electronic media outlets also adopted the format of live broadcasting.

This stage saw the dynamic qualitative and quantitative growth of the media market and an increase in the role of the Kazakh media in the country’s socio-political sphere.

This stage was characterised by: the beginning of the crystal-lisation of Kazakhstan’s media market; the large-scale privatisation of previously state-owned media outlets and printing enterprises; a switch from state funding and subsidies for media outlets to state purchase orders to conduct state media policy; and the emergence of media groups.

Simultaneously, there was a clear trend of the politicisation of the media and the strengthening of political and economic elite groups’ infl uence on major media outlets and the media acquired the status of a separate functional resource.

The third stage started in 1999 and ended in 2002 after the adop-tion of another Law On the Media. The law was passed in July 1999 and consisted of 26 articles, and it was concise in its content, but very strict about the press’s duties.

This law abolished the state monopoly to the media legislatively. In line with this law the state retained only two means of infl uencing the media:

- legislative (administrative) leverage, which meant that the state could intervene only if the media law were violated;

- economic (non-administrative) leverage, which was applied through the system of the state purchase orders (the state purchase orders were placed through tenders, in which private media outlets could also take part).

A number of amendments to the media law in 2001 played an important role in the development of the local press. Particular at-tention was paid to the gradual limitation of the retransmission of foreign television programmes by Kazakh stations. These amend-ments aimed to protect local television which encountered great problems competing with more developed and powerful foreign television channels.

At the same time, it required the local electronic media expand their volume of production and encouraged the qualitative growth of local television products.

One of the main features of this stage was a boost in the role of the media in the system of political and economic relations and, as a result, their gradual loss of independence in the media system.

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Having been convinced in the effi ciency of information technolo-gies, political and economic elite groups started investing in the media market, creating their own media groups that divided practically all national media outlets among themselves.

In general, this stage was characterised by: the clear division of media players into pro-governmental, opposition-minded and neutral; the signifi cant increase in the media’s infl uence during election cam-paigns; the media’s involvement in rivalry between power groups; the fi nal switch to practice, apart from the administrative and economic regulation of the activities of media outlets; the state’s increased role in controlling media activities; and the emergence of public organisa-tions that protect media freedom.

The fourth stage started in 2002 and is still under way. The land-mark of this stage is the creation of the Public Council on the Media under the Kazakh president in 2002. The council is an advisory body, and its main objectives are: the systematic comprehensive analysis of the activities of the media and the drafting of recommendations for the president on building and improving state media policy.

The council has the right to request and obtain information, docu-ments and material from government agencies and listen to reports by government offi cials and media organisations on the observance of the media legislation.

The main result of the council’s activities so far is the rejection of the new edition of the Law On the Media in 2004. Even though this draft law had undergone all stages of discussion and was ready for signing, the president, after learning arguments put forward by the Public Council and NGOs, decided to veto this law. President Nazarbayev was praised for this by the international community.

On 6 February 2009 after discussions throughout 2008 there was another important event: the president signed the Law On Adopting Amendments and Addenda to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On the Media.

These amendments were initiated by the head of state. Speaking at the opening of a parliamentary session, President Nazarbayev stressed the need of further liberalisation in the media sphere and the removal of excessive bureaucratic barriers.

The work on these amendments took into accounts opinions of many media and human rights organisations, as well as media ex-perts. The president signed the Law On Adopting Amendments and Addenda to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On the Media on 6 February 2009 [16].

At that time the idea of drafting the Code of Professional Ethics for Journalists was fl oated, and it was adopted at the fi rst Congress of Journalists of Kazakhstan. Organisations that protect the rights of media workers, for example the Solidarnost (Solidarity) foundation for protecting the rights of journalists, were set up.

In summer 2006, technical amendments were made to the Law On the Media to improve the media situation in the country: outlets were made to undergo the process of re-registration if their circulations, editors-in-chief and addresses changed; the personal responsibility of editors for the content of their outlets was increased and so on.

The main characteristics of this stage were: the adoption of the new rules of the game in relations between the media; the increased role of the media in political processes; and the devising of a mecha-nism to ensure a balance between freedom of speech and the media’s responsibility before society.

At present, the Kazakh media market is the most developed in Central Asia. According to the Kazakh Ministry of Culture and In-formation, as of December 2008 there were 2,810 media outlets, of which 21% were state-owned and 79% private.

As for electronic media, there are now 63 television companies, 40 radio companies, 142 cable television operators and fi ve satellite broadcasters. In addition, there are 11 news agencies operating in Kazakhstan at the moment. The country’s Internet community is the region’s largest with over 2 million people.

References

1. Ашимбаев М.С. Формирование института президентства в ходе политического транзита в Казахстане // http://www.kisi.kz

2. Президент Республики Казахстан // www.akorda.kz

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3. Современные демократические преобразования в Респуб-лике Казахстан / Под общ. ред. Б.К. Султанова. – Алматы: КИСИ при Президенте РК, 2008.

4. Выступление Президента Республики Казахстан Н.А. Назарбаева на совместном заседании Палат Парламента Республики Казахстан «Новый этап демократизации Казахстана – ускоренное развитие свободного демократического общества» (Астана, 16 мая 2007 г.) // Конституционная реформа – новый этап в развитии Казахстана: Материалы «круглого стола» (22 мая 2007 г.). – Алматы, КИСИ при Президенте РК, 2007.

5. Абишева М.A. Казахстанская модель политического ре-формирования // Казахстан в современном мире: реалии и перс-пективы. – Алматы: КИСИ при Президенте РК, 2008.

6. Путь к лидерству: социально-экономические и политиче-ские реформы в Казахстане. – М.: Бослен, 2007.

7. Назарбаев Н.А. Казахстан-2030: процветание, безопас-ность и улучшение благосостояния всех казахстанцев. Послание Президента народу Казахстана. – Алматы, 2001.

8. Послание Президента РК народу Казахстана «Рост бла-госостояния граждан Казахстана – главная цель государственной политики», 6 февраля 2008 г. // http://www.akorda.kz

9. Назарбаев Н.А. Через кризис к обновлению и развитию. Послание Президента РК народу Казахстана. 6 марта 2009 г. // www.akorda.kz

10. Решение Конституционного суда РК от 6 марта 1995 г. // Казахстанская правда. – 1995, 7 марта.

11. Султанов Б.К., Абишева М.А., Морозов А.А. Закон, приня-тый народом // Известия-Казахстан. – 2005, 30 августа.

12. Конституция Республики Казахстан от 30 августа 1995 г. (с изменениями от 7 октября 1998 г.).

13. Ашимбаев М.С. К вопросу о факторах и особенностях политического развития Казахстана // Саясат-Policy. – 2001. – № 3.

14. Дымов О.Г. Тепло казахстанской земли. – Алма-Ата: Арыс, 1990.

15. Шокаманов Ю.К., Мусабек Е. Этнодемографическая ха-рактеристика населения Республики Казахстан на современном этапе развития // Казахстанская модель межэтнического согласия: проблемы и перспективы: Сб. мат. научн.-практ. конф. – Алматы: КИСИ при Президенте РК, 2007.

16. МКИ РК: поправки в Закон РК «О СМИ» направлены на либерализацию в сфере СМИ // http: // www.internews.kz

CHAPTER 3. FOREIGN POLICY

3.1. Kazakhstan’s Multi-Vector Foreign Policy

Since obtaining independence Kazakhstan’s foreign policy has been based on a principle of multi-vector relations that was declared by Nursultan Nazarbayev as soon as he was elected the country’s president on 1 December 1991.

President Nazarbayev believes that the multi-vector policy means “the development of friendly and predictable relations with all states that play a signifi cant role in global politics and represent practical interest for our country. Kazakhstan, because of its geopolitical posi-tion and economic potential, cannot limit itself to narrow-regional problems. This would not be understandable to not only our multieth-nic population but the entire international community. Kazakhstan’s future is both in Asia and Europe, in East and West. By pursuing

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exactly this policy will we be able to avert any manifestations of threats to Kazakhstan’s security. We will be able to strengthen favour-able external conditions by economic and political transformations in our country.” [1]

This position has largely been defi ned by the country’s geopolitical position, its multiethnic and religiously diverse population and the level of economic development as a whole.

Taking into account the current international realities the main emphasis in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy strategy has been placed on ensuring an effi cient security system in Central Asia which is aimed at preventing unconventional threats and challenges (international terrorism, religious extremism, drug traffi cking and illegal migration) posed by Afghanistan and other countries bordering the region.

In order to solve this problem Kazakhstan found it expedient to focus on the following priority foreign policy aspects:

- involvement in interstate associations – the Conference on Interaction and Confi dence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO);

- strategic cooperation with Russia and China;- friendly relations with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan

and Uzbekistan;- constructive cooperation with the USA, European Union

countries and international organisations, such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation Organisation (the OSCE) and NATO.

- cooperation with the countries of the Islamic world; and- partner relations with Asia-Pacifi c countries.Taking into account the situation developing in the world, we

think that a quite promising international organisation is the CICA, whose main objective is to boost cooperation through multilateral approaches to ensuring peace, security and stability in Asia. From the very beginning the idea of convening the CICA was backed by a number of Asian countries that defi ne the political climate on the continent and by leading international organisations.

The legislative basis for the Asian security system has already been laid out, with specifi c mechanisms to ensure stability in the

region. As a result, the CICA is turning into a locomotive of mutual approaches in fi ghting challenges to security in Asia and making a signifi cant contribution to ensuring peace and security in the entire world.

The Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC) is also acquiring greater weight and reputation: it is aimed at economic integration that envisages the creation of a free trade zone and the formation of a customs union. At the summit of the heads of state of the EAEC member states in Dushanbe on 6 October 2007, the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed the documents to create the Customs Union. The creation of the legislative basis of the Customs Union is expected to be completed in 2010.

In order to overcome the consequences of the global economic crisis, the summit of the EAEC in Moscow on 4 February 2009 de-cided to set up an anti-crisis fund worth $10bn. The largest donors are Russia ($7.5bn) and Kazakhstan ($1bn). In order to encourage the development of hi-tech sectors the decision was taken to set up an international centre of high technology.

The escalation of tension and the confl ict situations which con-stantly emerge on the borders of CIS countries raises the issue of drafting joint measures to counter various phenomena that threaten their stability and development. An important step in this direction was the creation of the CSTO.

On 4 February 2009 the CSTO summit in Moscow decided to form the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF). These forces should become an effi cient and universal instrument to maintain security in the entire space of CSTO, including rebuffi ng military aggression, destroying terrorists, extremists, organised crime and drug traffi cking gangs and the consequences of emergencies, if need be. The backbone of the CRRF will be one division and one brigade of air-borne forces (ABF) of Russia and one brigade of ABF of Kazakhstan.

Cooperation within the SCO is also acquiring particular signifi -cance and it includes a wide range of mutual actions of an economic, military and political and humanitarian nature. At the same time, it is necessary to stress that the SCO is not a military political bloc and its activities are not aimed at other countries and regions. At the SCO

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summit in Dushanbe in August 2008 particular attention was placed on joint work on the Afghan issues. Under the auspices of the SCO a special conference will be held on Afghanistan to discuss the fi ght against terrorism, drug traffi cking and crossborder crime.

The SCO places a lot of attention on increasing economic coopera-tion, including in the energy, transport, agricultural, trade and invest-ment sectors, as well as the activities of an interbank association, the SCO Business Council and the creation of a transcontinental transport corridor between Europe and Asia.

Kazakhstan’s cooperation with regional and international integra-tion associations shows our government’s openness and readiness to build and develop international relations both in bilateral and multilateral formats and on the basis of mutual respect, partnership and prospects.

Developing bilateral economic, political, cultural and humanitarian relations with close neighbours plays a key role in ensuring stability and security in Central Asia and creating conditions for mutually benefi cial cooperation.

Kazakhstan and Russia, as a result of various economic, political, ethnic, language, demographic, religious and geographical reasons (the world’s longest land border, a signifi cant share of Russian speak-ers in Kazakhstan and ethnic Kazakhs in Russia, interest in politi-cal and trade and economic cooperation and so on), are extremely intertwined countries.

This is proven by bilateral trade and economic cooperation. Kazakhstan’s trade with Russia exceeds its trade with all the other Central Asian countries combined. In 2008, bilateral trade reached $20bn in 2008 (against $9.5bn in 2005), and it grows by 30% a year on average. There are over 1,600 enterprises that have the involve-ment of Russian capital in Kazakhstan [2].

Russian-Kazakh cooperation has been developed both in bilateral and multilateral formats – within the CIS, the EAC, the CSTO, the SCO and the Central Asian Cooperation Organisation (CACO). It should also be noted that relations between Kazakhstan and Russia are a foundation for the creation of Eurasian fi nancial, energy, transport and customs infrastructure.

The signifi cance the Kremlin attaches to relations with Kazakh-stan was evidenced by the fact that his fi rst foreign trip as president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev was to Kazakhstan (in May 2008). The special importance given to Kazakh-Russian relations is also proven by three other visits made to Kazakhstan by President Medvedev in 2008 – in July, September and December. In 2009, bilateral talks at the highest level were held in Moscow on 4 February as part of the summits of the CSTO and the EAEC.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev believes Kazakh-Rus-sian relations enjoy a high level of trust and strategic partnership. He thinks that there are no political or economic problems between the two countries that cannot be solved “through a constructive dialogue and account of mutual interests” [3].

This point of view is also shared by Russian President Medvedev who stressed at a meeting with President Nazarbayev on 4 February 2009 that Kazakhstan and Russia were developing a friendly and allied dialogue [4].

Cooperation with China remains a priority aspect of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy and its long-term aim is to preserve the peaceful in-ternational situation, needed for the successful implementation of internal modernisation in the country.

Sovereign Kazakhstan had to build its policy towards China from scratch. President Nazarbayev, analysing the situation in those years, said: “Both sides had been forming an image of an enemy and [their] military doctrines declared one another as potential foe… General policy and general propaganda had tuned us to a belief that China is enemy No 1… Kazakhstan, after obtaining independence, had to defi ne its relations with the People’s Republic of China from scratch. We had to get rid of the legacy we inherited from party ideologists.” [5, page 221].

The Chinese leadership also showed readiness to start a large-scale dialogue with Kazakhstan on all aspects of bilateral relations. The former president of China, Jiang Zemin, said that China would always be a reliable friend and good neighbour despite any changes taking place in the world [6, pp 35-36].

Kazakh-Chinese economic cooperation is currently developing well. In China’s foreign trade with CIS countries, Kazakhstan oc-

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cupies second place, behind Russia. In 2007, bilateral trade reached $9.1bn (against $3.7bn in 2005).

China shows interest in, above all else, the energy sector. The West Kazakhstan-West China oil pipeline with a design capacity of 20 mil-lion tonnes of oil a year is expected to be completed by 2011. Two gas pipelines – one from Uzbekistan and the other from Turkmenistan – are being built through Kazakhstan to China.

Developing relations (bilateral and multilateral) with Central Asian countries – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – is a strategic foreign policy priority for Kazakhstan. Astana proceeds from the fact that the regional countries are bound not only by eco-nomic interests but the common fates of the peoples, who are in a good sense doomed to live together in close friendship.

At a meeting of the heads of states of the CACO in Bishkek on 9 and 10 January 1997 Central Asia’s fi rst trilateral Treaty of Eternal Friendship was signed by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Article 3 of this treaty stipulates that “the parties will offer to one another all-round support, especially in the issue of preventing threats to independence and sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Kazakhstan provides sizeable economic and humanitarian aid to neighbouring countries because this helps their stability, and, as a result, security in the region as a whole. For example, Kazakhstan’s investment in the four other Central Asian countries exceeded $1bn in 2008, including $628.2m that was placed in the Kyrgyz economy and $200.8m in the Uzbek economy.

An important way of eliminating conventional and unconventional threats to Central Asian countries is regional integration. The Kazakh president’s initiative to set up a Union of Central Asian States is still a topical issue. The initial stage of this project envisages the creation of a favourable business climate in the entire territory of the region.

This may be achieved via the conclusion of intergovernmental agreements to remove protectionist barriers to imports, exports, investment and labour, on the one hand, and joint projects important to the entire region, on the other.

The next stage may involve the creation of regional consortia – food, water and energy and transport and telecommunications.

Kazakhstan favours expanding constructive interaction with the USA, taking into account this country’s leading role in the world. Of particular signifi cance in establishing constructive relations with the USA was the Kazakh leadership’s decision to voluntarily give up the status of nuclear power.

This fact largely predetermined the future nature of bilateral relations. The former US president, Bill Clinton said that the world had been saved from another threat of nuclear terrorism and nuclear proliferation and praised President Nursultan Nazarbayev for this [6, p 13].

This policy resulted in the memorandum, signed in Budapest on 5 December 1994, on the provision of security guarantees by the United Kingdom, Russia and the USA which aims to ensure the long-term security of the country.

The energy sector plays a special part in the development of eco-nomic cooperation. One of the fi rst foreign companies that started operations in Kazakhstan was Chevron, which commenced the de-velopment of the Tengiz oil fi eld in 1993. Chevron and Mobil were involved in the construction of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline, which was completed in 2001. Kazakhstan joined the trans-Caucasian Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline in June 2006.

The USA is one of the largest investors in the Kazakh economy. Direct US investment totals about $15bn. Kazakh-US trade stood at $2,046m in 2007 (2.5% of Kazakhstan’s total foreign trade).

There are 374 Kazakh-US joint ventures and 91 representatives of US companies registered in Kazakhstan.

Great hopes are pinned on the Kazakh-US initiative of public-private partnership adopted in February 2008, which will support not only US energy projects in Kazakhstan but will also attract US investment and innovations in the non-extractive sector of the Kazakh economy.

Maintaining relations with EU countries and expanding mutually benefi cial political and economic contacts is another of the main foreign policy priorities of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan, like Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, is acquiring in-creasing importance for the EU (for example, in the energy security

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sphere). With regard to this, the European Union and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership, adopted in 2007, stresses that new prospects are opening up for cooperation between the EU and Central Asia.

The EU is also interested in other issues – security (border man-agement, migration, the fi ght against organised crime, international terrorism, traffi cking in human, drugs and weapons); regional coopera-tion; human rights; environmental protection; transport infrastructure; education and culture.

Developing cooperation with EU countries is a very current priority for Kazakhstan. The main sphere of cooperation is energy. Kazakhstan is one of the EU’s main suppliers of hydrocarbons, accounting for about 20% of its total oil and gas consumption.

Trade between Kazakhstan and the EU reached $36.4bn in 2008, with the largest trading partners being Italy (12.6%), France (5.8%), the Netherlands (4.5%), Germany (2.9%), Britain (2.1%) and Spain (1%).

EU member states’ investment capabilities are of signifi cant interest to Kazakhstan. Since obtaining independence, Kazakhstan attracted about $40bn in foreign direct investment from EU countries, or almost 50% of the total. The main investors are the Netherlands, Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

The bulk of this investment was placed in the energy sector. Kazakhstan is now interested in bringing European investment to knowledge-intensive and innovative sectors of industry. The creation of liberal conditions for Kazakh investment in the EU is of similar importance.

Kazakhstan is cooperating with the EU in projects like the creation of the INOGATE project to ship oil and gas to Europe and the TRACE-CA transport corridor from Europe to Central Asia via Caucasus and the construction of the 8,445-km-long West Europe-West China road corridor is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.

A special aspect of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy is the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010. This envisages not only performing diplomatic functions, but also implementing serious economic and political reforms in the country.

With this aim President Nursultan Nazarbayev endorsed the Path to Europe Programme for 2009-2011 on 29 August 2008. This pro-gramme aims to lift Kazakhstan to the level of strategic partnership with leading European countries, with stress made on developing cooperation in the technological, energy, transport, trade and economic and humanitarian spheres.

During its chairmanship of the OSCE Kazakhstan intends to expand cooperation between this organisation and the Islamic world. For example, at the 11th summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Dakar on 13-14 March 2008, the former Kazakh foreign minister, Marat Tazhin, proposed that Muslim countries join the process of drafting the agenda of the OSCE’s activities in 2010.

In particular, he proposed to consider the possibility of cooperation between the two organisations on issues of migration and integration of Muslim communities in European countries, the rights of Muslim women and young people in Western societies, modern understanding of international law and environmental protection [7].

Another important aspect of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy is to develop a dialogue between civilisations and religions held by the Kazakh leadership over the past few years. Astana hosted three con-gresses of world and traditional religions in 2003, 2006 and 2009 and gathered spiritual leaders of the world’s major religions.

Kazakhstan initiated a forum of the foreign ministers of Muslim and Western countries titled “Common World: Progress via Diversity” in Astana in October 2008.

Kazakhstan attaches particular signifi cance to developing coop-eration with the infl uential military and political organisation NATO, consistently speaking for the realisation of the existing potential in aspects such as defence policy, scientifi c research, the development of defence technologies, political and defence measures aimed at the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

The current relations between Kazakhstan and NATO are charac-terised by positive, consistent development and are mutually benefi cial in nature, including the Partnership for Peace programme, drafted

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to build new relations in the security sphere between NATO and its partner.

Kazakhstan also pays particular attention to developing relations with Muslim countries. Moreover, our country builds relations with them not on an ideological or religious basis, but proceeding from its national interests and common norms of international law.

Kazakhstan has already established economic and cultural coop-eration with all leading Muslim countries. It is a member of the OIC (since 1995) and it is cooperating with the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organisation.

Muslim countries, in particular Arab ones, are active in placing investment in the Kazakh economy. However, Kazakhstan does not just receive Arab investment, but it is also involved in cultural exchange with the Arab world. For example, our country is funding work to restore the Sultan Beirbars mosque in Cairo – Sultan Beibars was a prominent ruler of Egypt in the 13th century; Kazakhstan is also building the Abu Nasr al-Farabi historical and cultural site in Damascus, where he is buried.

In its cooperation with Muslim countries, an important task for Kazakhstan is to position itself as a secular country, in which religion is separated from state and any attempts to manipulate religious is-sues in achieving political aims will be resolutely stopped. As for the revival of Islam in the country, it should happen as part of the general development of culture and spirituality in Kazakhstan.

Taking into account the growing economic weight of Asia-Pacifi c countries, Kazakhstan has shown signifi cant interest in expanding cooperation with Japan, India, South Korea, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

As a result, Kazakhstan, successfully pursuing its multi-vector foreign policy, has managed to occupy a well-deserved place in the system of international relations and claim a reputation as a reliable, principled and predictable partner.

3.2. Kazakhstan’s Nuclear-Free Status

On obtaining independence in 1991, Kazakhstan inherited a major arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, including 1,216 nuclear war-heads for intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear reserves for strategic bombers. Kazakhstan’s inherited nuclear arsenal exceeded those of the United Kingdom, China and France put together and it was enough to destroy everything alive on Earth completely.

Aside from the stockpiled nuclear weapons, Kazakhstan had the necessary infrastructure and resource basis for the produc-tion of the active components of nuclear weapons. In particular, Kazakhstan accounts for 21% of global proven uranium reserves. In addition, Kazakhstan had the world’s second largest nuclear testing potential.

With such nuclear capabilities, Kazakhstan attracted attention from global geopolitical centres immediately, especially when in the early 1990s, despite the complicated economic situation, the country could afford to preserve a small amount of nuclear weapons in its warehouses. Discussions on the need to preserve nuclear potential preoccupied Kazakh society in order to guarantee security and deter the ambitions of potential foes.

Now, it is hard to even imagine what negative effect our country’s decision to obtain the status of nuclear power would have had. We have to pay tribute to the wisdom of the Kazakh leaders who withstood pressure from local hawks and did not give in to the temptation to show their nuclear ambitions.

On 29 August 1991 President Nazarbayev signed a historical decree to shut down the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground. Later Kazakhstan joined the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty I, and the Kazakh parliament ratifi ed the Lisbon protocol in July 1992 and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in December 1993. Kazakhstan joined the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in September 1996.

Kazakhstan was the fi rst country in the CIS to withdraw all nuclear weapons from its territory, and the last nuclear warhead that remained underground at the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground on

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27 May 1995. Since then Kazakh land has been fully free of nuclear weapons.

Kazakhstan’s decision on voluntary give-up of the status of nuclear power based on the principles of humanism was an unprecedented and absolutely new step in building civilised interstate relations.

Following this, US Senator Richard Lugar speaking at a conference in Washington on 22 February 2003 stated that Kazakhstan’s wise and bold choice to give up nuclear weapons was in striking contrast to events in India, Pakistan, North Korea and Iran, which is why the world should particularly value the policy adopted by Kazakhstan. He noted that if the international community were to look for suc-cess stories in this sphere, it was suffi cient to turn to Kazakhstan’s example [8, p 400].

3.3. Kazakhstan – the Chairman of the OSCE in 2010

At the beginning 2009, Kazakhstan, along with Greece and Fin-land, joined the OSCE troika of chairmen.

However, Kazakh representatives started working actively in the OSCE structures as early as in 2008, fi rst joining the Offi ce of the Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, the country then becoming deputy chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, heading the OSCE contact group for the Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation and the personal representative of the OSCE chairman-in-offi ce on combating intolerance and discrimination against Muslims.

It is worth noting that both for Kazakhstan and the OSCE Ka-zakhstan’s chairmanship of the organisation in 2010 is a remarkable event. For Kazakhstan it is not just international recognition of its achievements in domestic and foreign policy, but also the realisation of its responsibility for their further development and readiness to share responsibility for security in the entire space of the OSCE.

OSCE member states had to face several precedents linked to Kazakhstan’s chairmanship: the fi rst time a CIS country undergo-ing political transformation has held this post; the country is largely located in Asia; and the country is predominantly Muslim.

That is why it was not easy to fi nd a consensus on Kazakhstan’s chairmanship. Kazakhstan fi rst put forward the idea in 2003 and set the initial aim of achieving it in 2009. This initiative was something unexpected by the OSCE member states.

The delay in passing decision on the chairmanship, announced in November 2009, uncovered institutional problems in the organisation and the discrepancy between the legislative basis and practical aspects of its activities. It turned out that the legislative basis of the chair-manship did not have clear criteria for assessing a hopeful country’s correspondence to the right to chair the organisation.

It became clear that the decision on Kazakhstan’s chairmanship was to a greater extent linked to the overcoming of Western partners’ bias towards CIS countries and to current NATO-Russia and EU-Rus-sia relations rather than to the organisation’s legislative basis.

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A compromise was the decision to suggest that Kazakhstan would chair the organisation in 2010 instead of the requested 2009. This delay was linked to the opportunity to conduct greater reforms in the political, judicial and social spheres and the need to prepare Kazakh offi cials for work in OSCE structures.

The then chairman Finland’s invitation to Kazakhstan to take part in the OSCE troika of chairs from 2008 to draft OSCE long-term pro-grammes was unprecedented. As a result, Kazakhstan, having entered OSCE structures two years ahead of its chairmanship, received the real possibility of not only acquiring work experience but also drawing the organisation’s attention to Central Asia’s topical problems.

Moreover, Kazakhstan joined the troika at a diffi cult time of its development. The global economic crisis damaged the entire system of international relations. The OSCE, despite being an infl uential organisation, still cannot play a primary role in solving modern confl icts.

The OSCE managed to establish a dialogue in the era of the bipolar world and after the demise of the USSR it retained its signifi cance, helping newly independent countries of the former Soviet Union establish themselves. The organisation now needs to fi nd new forms of cooperation and attach new understanding to the experience ac-cumulated because adequate responses to modern challenges are possibly only if it changes radically.

From the very beginning the OSCE’s activities evolved in three aspects – military and political, economic and humanitarian. The fi rst two spheres developed relatively steadily, while the third started causing heated debate at the end of the 20th century, because it turned into a kind of political school of democratic transformations in post-Soviet countries.

The work of the OSCE showed a misbalance between functional and geographical factors. Economic and military dimensions were practically duplicated and overlapped by the activities of the EU and NATO, while the humanitarian aspect with the Council of Europe. These organisations adopted specifi c decisions in these spheres, whereas the OSCE held more advisory meetings of member states and its documents remained declarations.

Geographically the OSCE, which has 56 members of North Ameri-can, European and former Soviet countries, worked mainly in the countries of the former Soviet bloc through its Offi ce for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

The OSCE’s capability was infl uenced by US domination, the expansion of the EU and NATO, colour revolutions in post Soviet countries, Russia’s growing role and the energy crisis. The year 2008 was the most complicated for the OSCE because the recog-nition of Kosovo’s independence, the war between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia and the declaration of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia took place outside a platform for dialogue.

The political reality is that in the global crisis with the principle of universal security within the OSCE not implemented, it is neces-sary to change the ideological approach to the entire security system. This idea is shared by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The creation of a new European security system in which CIS and EU countries could use a new architecture of security and which will be adequate to new challenges and threats is logically grounded and responsive to the modern stage of global development. The OSCE’s short-term task is to strengthen its role in the global system of inter-national relations.

What is the uniqueness and potential of the OSCE and what can Kazakhstan propose during its chairmanship?

Despite the current complications, the OSCE is an unusual or-ganisation that unites North American, European and former Soviet countries and all member states have equal rights, including the right to chair the organisation.

The principle of consensus adopted by the OSCE allows Ka-zakhstan and CIS countries to infl uence the course of discussion and decision-making on key security issues. At a winter session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Speaker of the Kazakh parliament’s Senate Kasymzhomart Tokayev stressed that in the modern world a system of security and cooperation should not be considered Euro-pean or Asian [9].

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That ensuring security is possible only to the detriment of one’s interests is not acceptable now and this became the main leitmotif of the assembly’s winter session in 2009. This view was also stressed by the Kazakh and Russian delegations and during discussions.

OSCE countries treat all initiatives proposed by Kazakhstan care-fully. The Finnish chairman of the OSCE in 2008, Alexander Stubb, praised Kazakh representatives’ work in the economic and environ-mental sphere and Kazakhstan’s efforts in reforming the political system. The country’s Path to Europe programme does not just aim to expand political and economic cooperation and attract investment and technologies, but also raises Kazakhstan’s relations with EU countries to the level of strategic partnership.

It considers the security of OSCE comprehensively and it is capable of creating a single Eurasian security system, one which is adequate to global challenges and threats, inviting NATO, the CSTO, the CICA, the SCO and the ASEAN to cooperate.

OSCE’s cooperation partners are: in Asia – South Korea, Thailand and Japan; and in the Mediterranean – Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.

The OSCE has the potential to prevent and solve interethnic and religious crises, which will help overcome a clash of civilisations. The Charter for European Security, adopted at the Istanbul summit in 1999, gave an impetus to close cooperation with partners and there is now the need to amend this charter and create a common Eurasian security system.

From 2003 the main priorities of chairmanship were to reform the OSCE, solve regional confl icts, fi ght terrorism and drug traffi cking, help democratic processes, counter human traffi cking and promote tolerance and freedom of religion.

At an OSCE meeting on cultural, religious and racial tolerance in 2006, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev set clear goals for Kazakhstan’s chairmanship:

- taking into account the situation in Central Asia, Kazakhstan is ready to act as a regional guarantor, ensuring genuine and long-term security;

- Kazakhstan, with its positive experience of interethnic and religious accord, aims to democratise its political system and as an active member of the OSCE intends to strengthen the organisation, taking into account the interests of all member states [10].

On 30 April 2007 in Vienna the former foreign minister, Marat Ta-zhin, presented Kazakhstan’s vision on the development of the OSCE [11]. In the situation of global changes and fast global processes the priority objective of increasing the effi ciency of the OSCE could be solved through the creation of a genuine platform for dialogue that will unite the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian spaces.

In 2007 Kazakhstan adopted political changes, amended its con-stitution to increase the role of political parties, held an election to parliament’s Mazhilis, continued reforms in the judicial and local self-government spheres and started building an effi cient model of cooperation between the government and civil society.

In 2008 amendments were made to the Kazakh Laws On Political Parties, On Elections and On the Media.

At an OSCE Parliamentary Assembly winter session, Kazakh Sen-ate Speaker Kasymzhomart Tokayev detailed Kazakhstan’s priorities during its OSCE chairmanship in 2010, describing them as clear and irreversible:

- Kazakhstan aims to increase Central Asia’s signifi cance in the OSCE. The aim is to deepen common values in this part of the world. Kazakhstan aims to make its contribution to ensuring security and stability in Eurasia;

- Kazakhstan has strong experience in heading regional organisa-tions, like the CIS, the SCO and the CICA. Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE opens up new possibilities for establishing constructive cooperation between various regional organisations;

- as OSCE chairman Kazakhstan intends to boost the role of the organisation as a unique platform for a dialogue between Europe and Asia [12].

Thus, during its chairmanship Kazakhstan will focus the organ-isation’s activities on maintaining stability in Central Asia and, as a consequence, strengthening stability in the entire space of the OSCE. The country also plans to take urgent measures to fulfi l socioeconomic

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programmes in Afghanistan; strengthen economic relations between Central Asian countries; develop transport and transit routes in Cen-tral Asia; and assist the rational use of water and energy resources in the region.

Kazakhstan is also ready to share its experience of interethnic and religious accord.

It is precisely these spheres, that are at the core of the OSCE’s activities, that need a new vision. Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE confi rms the main principle of the organisation – the equality of all its members and their interest in sustainable development.

Kazakhstan today


3.4. Kazakhstan and Russia

For numerous, economic, political, ethnic, language, demographic, religious and geographical reasons, Kazakhstan and Russia are ex-tremely intertwined states. Their common border, which is the world’s longest land border, plays an important role in this.

That over a million ethnic Kazakhs live in Russia and over 4 mil-lion ethnic Russian live in Kazakhstan is of particular signifi cance to the development of good-neighbourly relations. This is why Ka-zakhstan and Russian cannot help but be interested in political, trade and economic, cultural and humanitarian and military and technical cooperation.

The legislative basis for Kazakh-Russian relations is the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, signed by Ka-zakhstan and Russia on 25 May 1992.

The treaty establishes that Kazakhstan and Russia, starting from the base of the historically developed close relations between the two states, will build their friendly relations on the principles of mutual respect for state sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolabil-ity of the existing borders. The treaty’s provisions on the peaceful settlement of disputes and the non-application of force or the threat of force, including economic and other pressure, equality and non-interference in internal affairs, human rights and fundamental liberties, and the voluntary observance of obligations is particularly important [13, pp 300-311].

The logical element of the development of bilateral documents in the political, economic and cultural and humanitarian spheres became the Declaration on Eternal Friendship and Allied Relations, signed on 6 July 1998. This declaration is aimed at the 21st century context.

Kazakh-Russian relations were boosted by the election of Vladimir Putin as president of Russia. A new blueprint for Russia’s foreign policy, adopted at President Putin’s initiative on 28 June 2000, paid particular attention to the development of good-neighbourly relations and strategic partnerships with CIS countries.

The quick pace of Kazakh-Russian relations was continued by the current Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, who paid his fi rst

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foreign visit to Kazakhstan on 22-23 May 2008. During the visit the heads of the two countries signed a joint statement and intergovern-mental agreements on cooperation in the space sphere and on the GLONASS satellite navigation system.

President Medvedev paid his second visit to Kazakhstan on 5-6 July 2008 and took part in the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Kazakh capital, Astana.

On 22 September 2008, Dmitry Medvedev paid another visit to Kazakhstan to take part in the fi fth Forum of Heads of Border Regions of Kazakhstan and Russia entitled “The Development of Border Inter-regional Cooperation in the Sphere of High Technology”.

The presidents held talks on bilateral cooperation in the fuel and energy, transport and cultural and humanitarian spheres and discussed the problems with ensuring national security and countering modern threats and challenges at the forum.

President Medvedev’s fourth visit to Kazakhstan took place on 19-21 December 1998. An informal summit of the heads of state of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan was held in the settlement of Burabai. This meeting discussed breakthrough projects to boost the effi ciency of coopera-tion between the regional organisations of the EAEC and the CSTO that were endorsed at these organisations’ summit in Moscow on 4 February 2009.

In international relations, this level of intensity of high-level con-tact is quite extraordinary.

Describing the state of bilateral relations at the Russian Federal Assembly’s State Duma on 5 April 2005, Kazakh President Nursul-tan Nazarbayev said: “Despite the well-known formula of eternal friends and eternal interests, Kazakhstan and Russia are countries that are destined to be eternal friends through their histories.” [14, p 204]

This view is shared by Russian President Medvedev, who said at the presentation of credentials by the Kazakh ambassador to Russia on 27 February 2009, that “Russia highly values its friendship with our strategic ally, Kazakhstan, [and] from year to year our partnership is reaching a larger scale and is bolstered by major projects” [15].

The effectiveness of bilateral cooperation is shown by a growth in trade between Kazakhstan and Russia that is greater than Russia’s trade with all other countries in the region put together. In 2008, bilateral trade reached $20bn (against $4.6bn in 2001) and it grows by an average of 30% per year.

Kazakhstan accounts for 15% of Russia’s total trade with CIS countries, while Russia has 24.7% of Kazakhstan’s foreign trade. There are over 1,600 enterprises with the involvement of Russian capital in Kazakhstan [16].

Cooperation between the border regions of the two countries has good prospects. The sixth forum of interregional cooperation was held in Orenburg in 2009 and it has given a new impetus to interaction between the border regions of the two countries.

Kazakhstan and Russia have agreed to create a joint venture to process gas from Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak gas condensate fi eld at the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant. This agreement was ratifi ed by the Kazakh parliament Senate in January 2008 and by the Russian State Duma in July 2008.

Both countries are working on the expansion of the Caspian Pipe-line Consortium pipeline (which Kazakhstan owns a 19% stake in) and the Atyrau-Samara oil pipeline.

Kazakhstan has pledged to supply 17 million tonnes of oil for the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline, and, it is for this reason that Kazakhstan is interested in acquiring a stake in the project.

The establishment of three joint ventures for extracting and en-riching uranium and designing nuclear power reactors of small and average capacity is of particular importance.

As part of the joint projects, Kazakhstan is running its own space programme. Cooperation with Russia will enable Kazakhstan, which is home to the Baikonur space launching site, to enter the global mar-ket of satellite launching services and create its own technological basis for production.

The construction of the Caspian gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Russia via Kazakhstan and a nuclear power station in Aktau and the boosting of freight transits between western Europe and western China are now a priority.

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Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia on the develop-ment of roads linking western Europe and western China along the St Petersburg-Kazan-Orenburg-Aktobe-Almaty-Khorgos-China route is of strategic signifi cance.

Out of Russia’s 27 regions bordering CIS countries, 12 border Kazakhstan’s seven regions along the 7,591-km-long border. This ne-cessitates effi cient counteraction to real threats and challenges around Kazakhstan, which is a sort of outpost of Russia and the EU.

Continuing attempts by international terrorist organisations, for example the banned Hizb-ut Tahrir Islamic party, to create combat cells in Kazakhstan and Russia prompts active counteraction to ter-rorism and extremism, including as part of cooperation with Russian intelligence services.

Kazakh and Russian intelligence services are actively cooperating in fi ghting the drug traffi c from Afghanistan to Russia and Europe and creating a drug-free belt around Afghanistan. The scale of the drug threat is proven by the fact that the Kazakh law-enforcement agencies seized 28.9 tonnes of drugs (including 1,693 kg of heroin) in 2008 alone.

Illegal migration also presents a serious problem for Kazakhstan and Russia. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, migration pro-cesses sped up in Central Asia, like elsewhere in the former Soviet space, because of the sharp deterioration of the socioeconomic situ-ation in all the newly independent states and a rise in interethnic and inter-religious tension, as well as porous borders.

Since obtaining independence in 1991, the economic and political development of former Soviet countries has been different. As a result of regional migration, Russia and Kazakhstan are recipient countries, while Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are source countries.

Kazakhstan and Russia have now increased cooperation to develop Kazakhstan’s navy in the Caspian Sea. In particular, Russia agreed to hand over battleships and train crews, as well as build navy infra-structure on the Caspian [17, p 94].

The countries’ interest in military cooperation was shown by the fi rst Kazakh-Russian Interaction-2008 military exercises attended by the Kazakh and Russian ministers of defence in Almaty Oblast

on 3-11 July 2008. The second exercises were held in Russia’s Che-lyabinsk Oblast in September. As part of agreements signed by the two countries’ Ministries of Defence, joint war games will be held regularly between 2009 and 2011.

Among the advantages of Kazakh-Russian relations is undoubtedly the legal delineation of the 7,591-km-long state border between the two countries. Kazakhstan has, by the way, also solved territorial and border issues with all of its neighbours – China (1,740 km), Uzbekistan (2,350 km), Kyrgyzstan (1,050 km) and Turkmenistan (400 km).

One of the main priorities in bilateral relations is cooperation in tapping the natural resources in the Caspian Sea.

Kazakhstan was the fi rst Caspian-littoral country to manage to settle all confl icts with Russia, above all, on the issue of the status and division of the sea fl oor. The Kazakh-Russian statement, signed in January 1998, stipulated a provision that “a consensus should be achieved based on the fair division of the Caspian Sea fl oor while the common use of the water surface, including ensuring free naviga-tion and coordinated rules for fi shery and environmental protection, should be preserved”.

Talks on defi ning the legal status of the Caspian Sea are still un-der way. Kazakhstan’s position on this issue is clear and defi nitive. President Nazarbayev told a news conference in Baku on 24 May 2005 that there was the understanding between Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan regarding the median line of the sea and its delimita-tion. Kazakhstan is interested in turning the Caspian Sea into a sea of friendship and mutually benefi cial cooperation [18].

Russian-Kazakh relations are developing not just in the bilateral format, but also multilaterally within the CIS, the EAEC, the CSTO, the SCO and the CACO.

Kazakhstan and Russia are cooperating most closely within the Eurasian Economic Community (one of the founding members is Kazakhstan). The community aims at economic integration with the creation of a free trade zone and a customs union. In the socio-hu-manitarian sphere the country plans to conduct joint research on the priority aspects of science and technology and harmonise the national systems of education, science and culture.

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At the summit of the heads of EAEC member states in Dushanbe on 6 October 2007, the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed documents to set up a single customs zone and a Customs Union. The legislative basis of the Customs Union is expected to be fi nalised in 2010.

Particular attention has been given to Kazakh-Russian cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which was established in 1996. The member states of the organisation are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Bilateral relations within the SCO include a wide range of interac-tion in the economic, military and political and humanitarian spheres. Attention is mainly focused on solving problems of ensuring security, peace and stability in the SCO member states and increasing the organisation’s role in international efforts in nuclear non-proliferation, the fi ght against terrorism and crossborder crime.

The energy sphere is a promising aspect of Kazakh-Russian co-operation within the SCO.

Cultural and humanitarian ties are very intensive between Kazakhstan and Russia. Suffi ce it to say that the Year of Russia in Kazakhstan and the Year of Kazakhstan in Russia were held in 2004 and 2005 respectively. A monument to Kazakh great poet Abai was opened in Moscow in 2006. Branches of eight Russian universities, including the Lomonosov Moscow State University, operate in Kazakhstan.

As a result, despite the global fi nancial crisis, relations between Kazakhstan and Russia in all main aspects – the economic, political and cultural and humanitarian spheres – are developing well. The Plan of the Joint Actions of Kazakhstan and Russia for 2009-2010, signed by the two heads of state, has particular signifi cance for this process.

Another synchronisation of watches on the main issues of bilateral relations took place at a meeting of the Russian and Kazakh ministers of foreign affairs in Moscow on 14 March 2009. This meeting praised bilateral cooperation in all the spheres and expressed the hope for “close interaction between the brotherly peoples of Kazakhstan and Russia” both bilaterally and on the international stage.

The ministers stressed the need to expand cooperation in boosting economic security, countering international terrorism, drug traffi cking and organised crime and dealing with the consequences of natural disasters within the CIS, the CSTO and the EAEC.

Ahead of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010, it was stressed that “Russia will fully support” Kazakhstan in this important mission [19].

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3.5. Kazakhstan and China

Developing relations with China – both bilaterally and multilat-erally – occupies an important place in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy strategy.

Ancient historical ties, geographical closeness and common in-terests in the spheres of security and economic cooperation political meant that interaction between Kazakhstan and China was defi ned by the Kazakh leadership as priority.

After Kazakhstan declared its independence both countries showed interest in building stable and good-neighbourly relations at a new level. As early as on 3 January 1992 the countries established dip-lomatic relations. The subsequent offi cial visit by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to China in October 1993 started regular meet-ings between the two countries at the highest level.

One of the fi rst agreements that defi ned the principles of interaction between the two countries was the Joint Declaration on the Founda-tions of Friendly Relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the People’s Republic of China which was signed during President Nazarbayev’s meeting with President Jiang Zemin in Beijing in 1993. Based on this document both sides immediately started solving the problems inherited from Soviet-Chinese relations.

During the several years that followed one of delicate topics of bilateral relations regarding the delimitation of the state border had been discussed. As a result of signing several agreements (in Shanghai in 1996, Moscow in 1997 and Almaty in 1998) within the Shang-hai-Five organisation, border problems were mostly solved and the delimitation and demarcation of all sectors of the Kazakh-Chinese border have now been completed. Remarkably, Kazakhstan was one of the fi rst in Central Asia to solve this type of important issue in bilateral relations.

Mutual interest in the two countries’ adherence to the principle of mutually benefi cial cooperation, non-interference in one another’s internal affairs and the steady development of bilateral relations is proven by the fact that the positions of Kazakhstan and China on many bilateral and multilateral issues coincide. In particular, as a result

of insistent actions by Kazakh diplomats on nuclear issues and our country’s status as nuclear-free power, China offered assurances of the non-use of nuclear weapons to Kazakhstan in February 1995.

Beijing irreversibly regards the preservation of stability and order on the country’s borders and its domestic stability as a very important aspect of the development of cooperation with Kazakhstan [20, p 89]. At talks the countries also agreed to jointly use and protect water resources of the crossborder Ili and Irtysh rivers.

Following the adoption of a joint declaration by the country’s leaders during Chinese President Jiang Zemin’s visit to Kazakhstan in 1996, Kazakh-Chinese relations rose to a new level of strategic partnership. Jiang Zemin stressed that not only did friendship and mutually benefi cial cooperation between Kazakhstan and China cor-respond to the fundamental interests of the two countries’ peoples, but also benefi ted peace, stability and development in Asia and the whole world [20, p 126].

One of the key moments in cooperation between the two countries was the adoption of the Joint Declaration between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the People’s Republic of China on the Further Development of All-Round Cooperation in the 21st Century during President Nazarbayev’s offi cial visit to China in 1999. Another important step was the common ground between both countries’ positions on security problems which was refl ected in their activities within the SCO.

As political ties strengthens steadily, so does bilateral trade and economic cooperation. China has now become one of Kazakhstan’s most promising trade and economic partners. Economic relations are developing extremely rapidly between the two countries. For example, bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and China was $368m in 1992, whereas it reached $500m in 1997, $1bn in 1998 and about $13.8bn in 2007. China is Kazakhstan’s second largest trade partner behind Russia [21].

Bilaterally and multilaterally, Kazakhstan and China are conduct-ing many strategic projects in several spheres such as energy, telecom-munications, transport and agriculture. At the same time, Astana and Beijing are putting effort into major projects in the non-extractive

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sectors of the economy, gradually increasing the level of products with high value added and high technologies in bilateral trade.

An important aspect of bilateral economic trade is the energy sphere. China’s economy is growing with unprecedented paces and is encountering acute shortages of hydrocarbons. As a consequence, the intensifi cation of foreign energy ties with energy supplier-coun-tries is becoming increasingly important for Beijing. In this respect Kazakhstan, as one of the major exporters of mineral resources is of particular interest to China.

Cooperation in the oil and gas sector is developing rapidly between China and Kazakhstan. Chinese companies’ active involvement in the Kazakh oil and gas sector started with China National Petroleum Corporation’s (CNPC) purchase of a 60% stake in Kazakhstan’s Aktobemunaigas oil and gas company in 1997.

In 2003, under bilateral intergovernmental agreements in the oil and gas sector signed in 1997, enterprises in the two countries started the implementation of a major project to build an oil pipeline from Kazakhstan and China.

The fi rst phase of the Atyrau-Kenkiyak oil pipeline has already been completed, and the Atasu-Alashankou oil pipeline was completed and commissioned in 2005, and it shipped about 6 million of oil to China in 2008 [22]. The completion of the Kenkiyak-Kumkol and Kumkol-Atasu pipelines is expected to link the earlier built Atyrau-Kenkiyak and Atasu-Alashankou pipelines to unite all these Kazakh pipelines into a single system and integrate this with China’s oil pipeline networks.

This project was carried out by Kazakhstan’s KazMunaiGas national oil and gas company and the CNPC. The completion of the project at the end of 2009 has made this oil pipeline an important tool in diversifying routes to transport energy resources to global markets.

Over the course of Kazakh-Chinese economic cooperation, with the steady growth in trade and freight shipment, the importance of transport links has been growing constantly. Kazakhstan and China have huge, untapped opportunities to cooperate in the transit transport sphere.

As a result, the Kazakh government is taking active measures to expand the country’s transit potential. Kazakhstan is an active member of the UN ESCATO, SPEC and TRACECA. In order to boost transit of freight Kazakhstan has initiated the construction of the Western Europe-Western China transport corridor.

To this end, in early 2008 Kazakhstan and China signed an agree-ment on opening four cargo routes:

- Urumqi-the Khorgos border post-Karaganda (Kazakhstan);- Urumqi-the Jimunai border post-Karaganda;- Urumqi-the Baketu border post-Karaganda;- Urumqi-the Alashankou border post-Karaganda.It was also decided to open three passenger routes:- Urumqi-the Jimunai border post-Karaganda;- Urumqi-the Baketu border post-Karaganda;- Urumqi-the Alashankou border post-Karaganda.Generally, the current relations between Kazakhstan and China

can be described as consistent and dynamic. The heads of the two countries hold regular meetings and our countries’ positions on many international and regional problems are regarded as similar.

It is worth noting the new, fourth, generation of Chinese leaders, led by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao who came to power in autumn 2002, demonstrated consistency in Chinese policy towards Kazakhstan [23, p 221]. Hu Jintao reiterated that Chinese policy would adhere to the established course of the entire spectre of bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and China.

In turn, President Nazarbayev stressed in his 2004 state-of-the-na-tion address that Beijing was one of the chief political and economic partners of Astana and that the continuing strengthening of relations with China served as the clear and important course of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy and that the development of good-neighbourly and friendly relations between Beijing and Astana were Kazakhstan’s foreign policy priorities [24].

In August 2007 ahead of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and China, President Nazar-bayev invited President Hu Jintao to pay an offi cial visit to Astana. During the visit he met the country’s leaders and signed a joint statement.

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In addition to meetings between the heads of state, prime ministers and ministers hold meetings on a bilateral and multilateral basis. On 31 October 2008, important agreements were signed during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Kazakhstan, including an agreement on cooperation in the nuclear energy sphere between the Kazatomprom national nuclear company and China National Nuclear Corporation; in the gas extracting and transporting sphere between KazMunaiGas and CNPC; in the transport sphere between the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy national railway company and The Ministry of Railways of the People’s Republic of China.

Bilateral agreements, signed in the nuclear energy sphere, opened up new opportunities for Kazakhstan, making it possible to switch from exporting raw materials to taking part in the joint construction of nuclear power plants. Beijing, in turn, received direct access to raw materials to develop its nuclear power engineering.

Cooperation between Kazakhstan and China is not limited to the bilateral format: the countries also maintain relations within interna-tional organisations: the UN, the SCO and the CICA. China attaches a particular signifi cance and offers all-round support to the Kazakh president’s initiative – the CICA and takes an active part in all meet-ings of this organisation.

As a result, the backbone of cooperation between Kazakhstan and China is the development of multilateral and long-term coopera-tion. At present, along with successful political and socioeconomic relations, cultural ties are also developing fruitfully. In the security sphere, Kazakhstan and China are maintaining a wide consensus and interaction, both countries making signifi cant contributions to maintaining peace and stability.

3.6. Kazakhstan’s Cooperation with Central Asian Countries

Objectively speaking, Central Asian countries play one of the key positions in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy strategy. Even though in terms of trade they do not play the roles played by Russia, China or the USA, they could potentially occupy more signifi cant posi-tions.

This is conditioned by an obvious factor of geographical proxim-ity, which means interdependence in the transport and communica-tions and water and energy spheres, which results in the similarity of a whole range of foreign policy and foreign economic problems and tasks.

Integration projects that emerged in Central Asia between 1990 and 2000 had failed to realise for various reasons. In particular, one of the obvious reasons was linked to the frequently changing priorities within regional initiatives.

At the same time, Kazakhstan remained a supporter of and ac-tive player in various regional organisations. Speaking in favour of boosting Central Asian cooperation, in 2005 Astana made yet another proposal to its southern neighbours to deal with issues of regional integration and fl oated its idea of the creation of a Union of Central Asian States.

It was suggested that the Treaty of Eternal Friendship, which was signed by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan should lay the foundation of this initiative. Astana invited Central Asian countries to build close economic integration and move towards a common market and a common currency in the future.

On 1-2 September 2006 at an informal summit in Astana, the leaders of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan again discussed regional projects that had already been considered in multilateral forums. Kazakhstan expressed its desire to become a regional trade, economic and investment locomotive. Astana’s key package of proposals was to set up sectoral consortia such as water and energy, transport and food consortia, special border zones and joint investment structures.

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Drafting coordinated approaches to regional water and energy problems is a topical issue. Kazakhstan, along with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, is among the countries that face acute shortages of fresh water, the main reserves of which are in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. This factor is becoming increasingly considerable in the expansion of regional cooperation. Despite all Central Asian countries agreeing on the creation of an expert group to draft a formula for using water resources that is acceptable to everyone, regular meetings – both at the highest and the ministerial levels – have not led to the signing of a comprehensible agreement that would be accepted by everyone.

Generally, having received support for the idea of a possible in-terstate association from Bishkek and Dushanbe, Astana continued the negotiation process with Tashkent. In 2006 Uzbekistan boosted cooperation with CIS countries and joined the EAEC and the CSTO, which was particularly welcomed by Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Central Asian countries expected signifi cant political and economic results from involvement in the EAEC, in particular, from links with Uzbekistan, but Tashkent did not become a fully-fl edged member of this organisation and fi nally stopped its membership of this organisa-tion in November 2008.

Tashkent’s position impacts the effi ciency of major regional projects. Uzbekistan is known to have problems with all its neigh-bours. Relations with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are complicated by the situation on the borders, visa regime, migration issues, transit and transport issues, water and energy and other problems. All this causes tension in relations between regional countries and demands constant attention.

The key issues of Uzbekistan’s relations with its neighbours re-main the same. They became subjects of talks and were put on the agenda of summits, but there has not been any signifi cant movement. It is very likely that Uzbekistan will not be able to switch to a more intensive pattern of relations with its neighbours because of the cur-rent structure of its economy and also for political reasons. This was proven by Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s visit to Kazakhstan on 22-23 April 2008 when the Uzbek leader offi cially refused to back the Kazakh initiative of uniting into a Central Asian union.

Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan is developing relatively rapidly, although there are a number of bilateral economic problems between them. In particular, transit issues, water and energy problems and the regulation of labour migration are always topical for Kyrgyzstan. In turn, Kazakhstan always raises the problem of its property in Kyrgyzstan and debts accumulated by Kyrgyz companies. Generally, these problems can be solved and do not mar the relatively close relations between the countries.

In 2007-2009, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan took certain political and economic steps to boost ties. Astana, in implementing its initiative to create the Union of Central Asian States, proposed to start gradually moving towards this idea on a bilateral basis at the initial stages.

Kazakh business people and managers of national companies have started actively cooperating with Kyrgyz colleagues to expand mutually benefi cial trade and economic ties.

On 26 April 2007 during Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to Kyrgyzstan an agreement on the creation of the Interstate Council, headed by the heads of countries, was signed. The council is responsible for a whole range of bilateral relations – political, economic, cultural and security issues. Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev supported Astana’s integration initiatives which will help regional economic cooperation.

In addition, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs has been set up to successfully coordinate the activities of the Interstate Council.

An important indicator of the development of bilateral relations is Kazakh companies and the capital’s involvement in the construc-tion of the Kambarata hydropower stations and a number of other economic projects.

During the visit the countries also established the Kyrgyz-Kazakh Investment Fund with charter capital of $100m, which should boost bilateral trade and economic relations. President Bakiyev’s offi cial visit to Kazakhstan on 17-18 April 2008 strengthened these trends and made it possible to specify a number of the above-mentioned joint investment projects.

Kazakh-Tajik relations are also developing relatively successfully. Astana is interested in investing in building hydropower facilities in

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Tajikistan and in its agriculture and metallurgy. Kazakh investment companies and funds have received offi cial support from the Tajik government and are ready to invest funds in socioeconomic projects in Tajikistan on a mutually benefi cial basis.

The existing problems in the transit and migration spheres can be solved and this was stressed at a meeting of the two countries’ heads of government in Astana on 23 August 2007.

The most important aspect of the climate in the region is the issue of building and operating hydrotechnical facilities and dams in the upper reaches of major rivers. The upstream countries – Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – regard water as their national strategic resource and are trying to shift this issue onto the economic plane, whereas the downstream countries – Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – are convinced that this approach is artifi cial and express their con-cern over the stability of the water fl ow.

This problem has acquired particular acuteness in relations be-tween Tashkent and Dushanbe. Kazakhstan treats problems faced by Tajikistan with understanding and expresses is readiness to fulfi l projects to build hydropower stations but it also aims to seek out understanding on issues with Uzbekistan, which is, uncondi-tionally, important for the success of the implementation of these initiatives.

From the point of the fulfi lment of Kazakhstan’s policy to-wards Central Asia, President Nazarbayev’s visit to Tajikistan on 12-13 September 2007 was very important. Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon reservedly supported the Kazakh initiative to set up the Union of Central Asian States, but he particularly welcomed Asta-na’s fi nancial and economic efforts to boost bilateral and regional cooperation.

In a similar way as it took place in Kyrgyzstan, the visit resulted in the establishment of the Tajik-Kazakh Investment Fund with charter capital of $100m.

The Tajik leadership has demonstrated interest in expanding regional cooperation. In particular, during his visit to Kazakhstan on 12-13 May 2008, President Rakhmon positively reacted to the Kazakh initiative on regional association and signed a memorandum

on setting up the Interstate Coordination Council of Tajikistan and Kazakhstan and the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries.

As a result, Astana invited its Central Asian partners to consistently move towards close regional cooperation on a pragmatic basis taking into account the specifi cs of each country. In this context this strategy enjoys support from Bishkek and Dushanbe, while offi cial Tashkent demonstratively rejected the Kazakh initiative.

That Ashgabat has become active also has had an impact on cooperation between Central Asian countries. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov launched a more intensive dialogue with his neighbours.

The new Turkmen leader’s foreign policy debut traditionally started with an offi cial visit to Russia and later to regional neighbours. In this context, relations between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan became active between 2007 and 2009 – the Kazakh and Turkmen leaders held an unprecedented number of meetings as part of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

The intensifi cation of relations with Kazakhstan has both economic and political grounds. Obviously, the Turkmen president pays particu-lar attention to the development model and experience of Kazakhstan. Kazakh-Turkmen relations have been boosted as a result of mutual economic interests and their interest in expanding the geography of transport routes.

Intergovernmental consultations prepared work to implement agreements achieved at a meeting of the Turkmen, Russian and Ka-zakh presidents in Turkmenbashi on 12 May 2007.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s offi cial visit to Ashgabat on 11-12 September 2007 made it possible to detail the Caspian gas pipeline project, the North-South transport corridor and, as part of this corridor, the construction of a railway line with the involvement of Russia and Iran.

An important accord was the possibility of investing Kazakh capi-tal in the Turkmen economy, including in the energy sphere. Clearly, both countries have shown interest in harmonising their energy poli-cies, above all in relation to exporting gas to foreign markets. With a

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pragmatic approach there is room to expand cooperation to include neighbouring Uzbekistan.

All this shows that relations between Central Asian countries have now changed signifi cantly. Regional ties which had remained stag-nant for a long time became active. Relations between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have always been relatively intensive both bilaterally and multilaterally, whereas cooperation with Uzbekistan is complicated with a range of political and economic problems. Mean-while, Turkmenistan has been avoiding multilateral relations, taking part in few targeted international projects quite pragmatically.

The regional countries’ relations with leading external players and relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan remain key aspects of the climate in the region. The solution of border, passport and visa control and trade and economic problems is still an issue for Central Asian countries.

The mutually acceptable distribution of water resources is a long-running problem and transit and transport and migration problems also always top the agenda of bilateral and multilateral meetings.

Kazakhstan has announced its desire to develop closer cooperation and intends to strengthen positive trends both politically (the establish-ment of interstate countries, bilateral and multilateral dialogue) and economically (investment in energy, transport and so on).

These efforts are not prompted by the ambitions of the leader, but the state of bilateral and multilateral relations between the regional countries.

This strategy is based on the objective necessity to ensure stability and security in the region and create favourable foreign economic and foreign political medium.

3.7. Kazakhstan and the USA

The United States of America is one of the global actors that can exert signifi cant infl uence on the development of political and economic processes. This fact explains why one of Kazakhstan’s priority foreign policy directions is the development of relations with the USA.

Kazakhstan is actively developing cooperation with the USA in practically all spheres at the moment.

America was one of the fi rst countries to offi cially recognise our country’s independence (on 25 October 1991) and establish diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan. Another important event in the develop-ment of bilateral relations was that Kazakhstan voluntarily gave up of nuclear weapons. This step has confi rmed Kazakhstan’s adherence to peaceful development and signifi cantly increased the level of mutual trust between the two countries.

Since Kazakhstan’s independence, President Nursultan Na-zarbayev has paid six offi cial visits to the USA, which have resulted in a number of bilateral agreements which laid the foundation for the development of the further fruitful cooperation between the two countries.

In particular, in May 1992, during President Nazarbayev’s visit to the USA, the Agreement on Trade Relations, the Treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of Kazakhstan Concern-ing the Reciprocal Encouragement and Protection of Investment and the joint declaration on the adoption of a treaty on the avoidance of double taxation were signed [25, p 79].

In February 1994, Kazakhstan and the USA signed the Charter on Democratic Partnership during another visit by the Kazakh president to the USA.

The 11 September 2001 events triggered a new stage in Kazakh-US relations. Kazakhstan condemned the terrorist attacks in Wash-ington and New York and backed the US anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan [26].

Kazakhstan’s support for the US counterterrorist operations in Afghanistan and Iraq was appreciated by the Americans. In December

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2001, at a meeting in Washington President Nazarbayev and US Presi-dent George Bush adopted a joint statement on Kazakh-US relations which reiterated mutual adherence to strengthening the long-term strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the USA.

At this meeting the Kazakh leader proposed the implementation of the Houston initiative which envisaged exchanging experience and establishing cooperation between the two countries in the sphere of entrepreneurship.

As a result, on 3 October 2002 the Houston initiative was launched and this was announced by the then Kazakh minister of foreign affairs, Kasymzhomart Tokayev, and the then US ambassador to Kazakhstan, Larry Napper. Mr Tokayev said that the Houston initiative was a partnership between Kazakhstan and the USA that would bring the two countries’ private sectors closer and improve the competitiveness of Kazakhstan’s businesses, jointly producing and selling goods on global markets [27].

At the fi rst stage of the implementation of this initiative, the Eu-ropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) allocated $300m to Kazakh fi nancial institutions as technical assistance.

The second phase of the Houston initiative provided funds for social programmes in Kazakhstan.

On 30 January 2004, Mr Tokayev met the former coordinator for US assistance to Europe and Eurasia, Carlos Pasqual and noted the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation in the implementation of the fi rst phase of the Houston initiative which aimed to bring the two countries’ business circles together, conduct various joint projects and to develop the middle class in Kazakhstan.

The implementation of the Houston initiative represents the main aspect of Kazakh-US economic cooperation because it expands government support to the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Kazakhstan, which, in turn, increases the socioeconomic indicators of the country and improves the general level of the well-being of the population.

One of the most important events to have infl uenced the develop-ment of Kazakh-US relations was a visit by the former US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, to Astana in October 2005.

At meetings with Kazakh offi cials, she supported the country’s efforts in economic development and said that America considered Kazakhstan as a driver of economic growth in Central Asia.

In May 2006, during an offi cial visit to Astana by the former US vice-president, Dick Cheney a memorandum on mutual understanding between the two governments was signed as part of the Kazakh-US economic development programme. The programme’s budget now totals $40m over four years and includes the following components: fi nance and investment, the development of human capital, boosting entrepreneurship and competitiveness, improving the investment climate and global integration.

The programme will be jointly funded by the US and Kazakh governments in future. The US contribution is expected to stand at $24.5m and that of Kazakhstan at $15.5m.

In September 2006 President Nursultan Nazarbayev paid his sixth offi cial visit to Washington where he met US high-raking offi cials. In particular, President Nazarbayev met President George Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, the former secretary of commerce, Carlos Gutierrez, the former secretary of energy, Samuel Bodman, and the director of the CIA, Michael Hayden.

This visit resulted in the adoption of a joint Kazakh-US statement in which Washington showed its support for Kazakhstan’s strategy to join the world’s 50 most competitive countries, its leadership in regional integration processes and its desire to joint the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The visit was very effective for Kazakhstan, as the level of trust between the USA and Kazakhstan has since increased.

In March 2007, the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs dis-cussed the prospects for the development of Kazakh-US cooperation with the then Kazakh ambassador to the USA, Kanat Saudabayev. The meeting paid particular attention to one of President Nazarbayev’s state-of-the-nation addresses and noted the signifi cance of the further development of the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and America.

In particular, the chairman of the committee’s Subcommittee for Asia, the Pacifi c and the Global Environment, Eni Faleomavaega,

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noted that Kazakhstan had become a reliable partner in fi ghting ter-rorism and stressed its role in satisfying global energy needs as a country with huge energy resources. He said he was optimistic about bilateral cooperation [28].

In October 2008, the former US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, paid her second visit to Astana and held meetings with President Nazarbayev, Prime Minister Karim Masimov, and the former minister of foreign affairs, Marat Tazhin.

During these meetings she discussed the state and prospects for bilateral relations and a wide range of international and regional issues. The parties focused on the normalisation of the situation in Afghanistan, the stabilisation of the situation in Iraq and the solution of the Caucasian confl ict.

Generally, Kazakh-US relations are now developing rapidly. There is a steady growth trend in bilateral trade: it stood at $1.9bn in the fi rst ten months of 2008 (exports totalled $471.2m and imports $1,445m) against $1.3bn in the same period of 2006 and $681.1m in the fi rst ten months of 2004. This shows that bilateral trade has increased by over three times [29].

The United States is Kazakhstan’s major investor. The share of US direct investment in the Kazakh economy accounts for about 23.5% of total foreign direct investment. US investment in Kazakhstan has exceeded $15bn over the years of independence. About 400 US companies are operating in Kazakhstan [28]. These fi gures, undoubt-edly, show the importance of the US factor in Kazakhstan’s future economic development.

The USA is now backing the diversifi cation of routes to export energy resources from Kazakhstan. For example, America supported the construction of the Western Kazakhstan-Western China oil pipe-line and the connection of Kazakhstan to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline.

An agreement on Kazakhstan’s joining the BTC took place at a meeting between Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Azer-baijani President Ilkham Aliyev on 16 June 2006. After the signing President Nazarbayev stressed that this project had opened a third route to transport oil from Kazakhstan, in addition to the Russian

and Chinese routes, and that increasing the country’s oil output had become a very urgent matter.

Cooperation in this sphere meets the interests of both Kazakh-stan and the USA. Kazakhstan’s involvement in alternative regional projects relating to the export of energy resources to global markets opens up the possibility of entering new promising markets that have been prompted by heightened interest in Kazakh hydrocarbons from other major regional players such as India, Japan and other Asia-Pacifi c powers.

Kazakhstan and the USA now have very strong cooperation based on a fi rm legislative and contractual basis and interact in the sphere of ensuring security.

In 2003, the two countries signed a fi ve-year plan of military cooperation. This document covers spheres of bilateral cooperation such as countering international terrorism, developing peacekeeping forces, strengthening Kazakhstan’s air defence forces, developing military infrastructure in the Caspian Sea and the Navy, establishing a military institute of foreign languages and so on.

Between 30 January and 1 February 2008 scheduled bilateral consultations were held in Astana between the defence structures of Kazakhstan and the USA led by Kazakh Deputy Minister of Defence Lt-Gen Bolat Sembinov and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence Mitchell Shivers. As a result, in February 2008, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the Kazakh Ministry of Defence and the US Department of Defence regarding a fi ve-year plan of cooperation for 2008-2012.

The signing of the second fi ve-year plan of military cooperation is a sign of the expansion of military and political cooperation between the two countries aimed at the implementation of the national plans for the transformation of Kazakhstan’s armed forces, the improve-ment of the country’s peacekeeping potential and the development of the national system of military education and training, as well as the supplies of modern samples of military and technical equipment and vehicles.

In light of Kazakhstan’s increasing role as regional economic leader, the USA is increasingly interested in expanding cooperation

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* Kazakhstan and the EU established diplomatic relations on 2 February 1993. In December 1993 Kazakhstan opened its representation to the EU in Brussels. In November 1994 the European Commission opened its representation in Almaty and earlier, in April 1992, the Kazakh government and the European Commission signed a memorandum on funding, which became the foundation for the TACIS technical assistance programme for the CIS in Kazakhstan in solving the economic, political and social problems of the transitional period. As part of the technical assistance, the TEM-PUS programme was launched in Kazakhstan in 1994 to provide assistance in the education and scientifi c research spheres. A number of Kazakh higher educational and scientifi c establishments took an active part in this programme. In December 1994 the Kazakh government signed the Final Act of the European Energy Charter, which aims to encourage industrial cooperation between the EU and other countries through offering legal guarantees in the spheres of investment, transit and trade. The treaty also covers energy effi ciency and nuclear security issues.

Kazakhstan today


with Kazakhstan in practically all spheres of relations. Key aspects of bilateral cooperation are joint projects in the spheres of energy, economic partnership and ensuring regional stability and fi ghting international terrorism.

At the same time, Kazakhstan, which remains the most politically and socioeconomically stable country in the region, is an important geostrategic partner in Central Asia for the USA.

In January 2009, at a meeting with US Ambassador to Kazakhstan Richard Hoagland, Speaker of the Kazakh parliament’s Mazhilis Ural Mukhamedzhanov expressed the hope to preserve the continuity of the US foreign policy towards Central Asian countries after the election of Barack Obama as America’s president [30].

3.8. Kazakhstan and the EU

Cooperation with the European Union is one the major aspects of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. Prospects for and the need to develop these relations for Kazakhstan are determined by the EU’s interna-tional role in the modern world. In addition, the EU is an important trade and economic partner for Kazakhstan and a major investor in its economy. Western European countries’ rich experience in legislative and scientifi c and technical development is also of particular interest to Kazakhstan.

The chronology of Kazakhstan’s relations with the EU involves singling out several stages of bilateral cooperation. The initial phase (1992-1995) was characterised as the period of the establishment of offi cial political contacts and the formation of the contractual and legislative and institutional basis for interstate relations between the sides. The signifi cant milestones of bilateral interaction in that time were the signing of agreements and the exchange of plenipotentiary delegations between Kazakhstan and the EU*.

The logical result of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the EU in this period was the signing of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in Brussels on 23 January 1995 during a scheduled meet-ing of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. This agreement was signed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the General Secretary of the EU Council, Alain Juppé [31].

It is worth noting that the Partnership and Cooperation Agree-ment became the primary bilateral document, aimed at developing political, economic and cultural links between Kazakhstan and the

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* Kazakhstan and the EU are also cooperating under other programmes: Copernicus; the Central Asia Drug Action Programme (CADAP) and the Border Management Programme for Central Asia (BOMCA)

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EU. The agreement created the foundation for a constructive politi-cal dialogue and an open trade and investment regime between the parties and envisaged cooperation in 27 directions: from transport to education and from energy to fi ghting crime.

The years that followed (1996-2000) were marked by the expan-sion and revitalisation of relations based on earlier achieved accords. The main stress in this period was put on cooperation in the oil and gas and energy spheres and the transport and telecommunications sector and mutual trade and investment were strengthened.

At the same time, initiatives to create bilateral cooperation struc-tures were developed in practice. In particular, on 29 April 1996, the Kazakh government set up a joint Kazakhstan-European Union cooperation committee. It should be noted that this committee has become an important political link in developing and maintaining a constructive partnership between Kazakhstan and the EU in the years that followed. Other joint institutional bodies, for example, the Cooperation Council and the Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, were also set up at a high level.

In May 1997, an EU delegation on issues of justice and internal affairs paid a visit to Kazakhstan. With the aim of bringing closer, modifying and harmonising EU and Kazakh legislation, EU politi-cians proposed the creation of an advisory centre for strategic and legal issues in Kazakhstan.

The same year the basic agreement on the European Energy Char-ter, signed three years earlier, came into force.

For Kazakhstan this document was of extraordinary signifi cance: it guaranteed the inadmissibility of discrimination in the energy market and assisted Kazakhstan’s integration into the global energy commu-nity with the observation of national trade and economic interests.

On 17-18 June 1998, a European Commission delegation visited Astana to discuss the political and organisational aspects of the implementation of the TACIS programme in Kazakhstan. In addition to the adoption of national indicative programmes and assistance programmes, the EU drafted interstate and regional programmes for partner countries such as INOGATE (assistance to Caspian-littoral countries in attracting investment in new pipelines), TRACECA

(investment projects and assistance in developing a transport cor-ridor between Europe and Central Asia), Eurocustoms (cooperation in the customs sphere) and the Eurostat (cooperation in the statistics sphere) [32]*.

A landmark event in this period was the enforcement of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the European Union (1 July 1999), which completed the offi cial political formation of relations [33].

New aspects of mutually benefi cial cooperation became: the devel-opment of partner relations with European Space Agency enterprises for the creation and launch of a joint satellite and other projects in the hi-tech sphere. The fi rst step in this direction was the successful launch of the Cluster 2 satellite using a Russian booster from the Baikonur space launching site in March 2000.

That cooperation in this sphere should be expanded is necessitated by Kazakhstan’s possible involvement in the Galileo satellite naviga-tion system and the European framework programme for boosting competitiveness and developing innovations.

An inter-parliamentary dialogue between members of the Kazakh parliament and the European parliament is developing successfully. On 23 May 2000 a group of members of the European parliament, led by the then fi rst deputy chairman of the Central Asia and Mongolia Delegation, Ioannis Koukiadis, visited Kazakhstan and discussed is-sues of cooperation between the parties with the heads of the Kazakh parliament and government and took part in the fi rst sitting of the Ka-zakhstan- European Union Parliamentary Cooperation Committee.

This committee has so far held eight sittings and its activities help productive exchange of information and views on a wide range of issues of cooperation in the political, economic and social spheres between parliamentarians.

Particular attention is being paid to programmes of EU technical assistance in the environmental protection and healthcare spheres. For example, Kazakhstan received fi nancial and technical assistance to

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solve problems in the Aral Sea region and clear up the consequences of nuclear tests in the Semipalatinsk testing ground.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s offi cial visits to EU bodies in Brussels in June 2000 and November 2002 gave a signifi cant impetus to the development and creation of favourable conditions for strengthening bilateral cooperation between Kazakhstan and the EU. During these visits, the Kazakh leader met the then president of the European Commission Romano Prodi, and the former secretary-gen-eral of the Council of the European Union and senior representative for the common foreign and security policy, Javier Solana [34].

The visits resulted in the signing of an agreement on amending the Kazakh-EU agreement on trade in textile products and the rati-fi cation of an agreement between the Kazakh government and the European Atomic Energy Community on cooperation in the sphere of controlled fusion.

Since 2002, relations between Kazakhstan and the EU have en-tered a new level of cooperation. This period is regarded as the period of the active implementation of the fundamental provisions of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, accompanied by the EU’s increasing interest in cooperation with Central Asian countries. The latest global events have signifi ed interaction in new spheres. Joint efforts are being put into drafting new projects to assist Kazakhstan in solving the problems facing the country’s domestic development.

In February 2002 the then head of the department for relations with Central Asia and the Caucasus of the European Commission’s Directorate General for External Relations, Cornelius Wittebrood, held talks with the Kazakh government in Astana. He stressed that the EU considered Kazakhstan as an important economic partner and was ready to develop mutually benefi cial cooperation.

During the talks accords were reached on the avoidance of double taxation, foreign labour exports and the inviolability of earlier signed contracts. In addition, issues of environmental protection and re-gional cooperation, strengthening border and customs services and Kazakhstan’s membership of the WTO were discussed.

Cooperation in the investment sphere occupies a particular place in Kazakh-EU relations. The EU member states accounted for 40%

of the total foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan in 2002. Euro-pean investment was attracted mainly through the transfer of major industrial enterprises to foreign fi rms’ management and the creation of joint and subsidiary enterprises.

According to statistics, there were 1,355 enterprises with the in-volvement of capital from EU countries in Kazakhstan as of January 2003, and leading countries were Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and France. European capital was mainly invested in the country’s extractive sector [35].

Cooperation is dynamically developing in the oil and gas and energy spheres. When considering the structure of Kazakh exports of mineral resources, it should be stressed that the EU accounts for the bulk of them. EU countries’ energy policies are based on using the existing oil pipelines that ship hydrocarbons to European oil refi neries and becom-ing actively involved in extraction in the Caspian Sea shelf.

Shell (the Netherlands), TotalFinaElf and Schlumberger (France), ENI and Agip (Italy), British Petroleum and Lasmo (UK), Repsol (Spain), Wintershall (Germany) and Statoil (Norway) are involved in oil and gas extraction in the Caspian and Central Asian region.

In addition, Kazakh-EU cooperation in the oil sector is under way as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Odessa-Brody-Plock oil pipeline projects.

During an offi cial visit to Kazakhstan on 15-16 March 2004 the EU’s then External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten noted that coopera-tion in the energy sphere was a strategic aspect of the EU’s policy in Central Asia. As a result, in November 2004 the Baku initiative resulted in a dialogue was launched between the EU and Black and Caspian-lit-toral countries to expand partnership in the energy sphere*.

* On 30 November 2006 as part of the Baku initiative EU, Black and Caspian-littoral countries and their neighbours held the second ministerial energy conference in Astana and adopted a pack-age of important documents: a roadmap on specifi c projects; a conceptual note; and conclusions. Kazakhstan’s former Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Baktykozha Izmukhambetov and the EU’s former Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs led their respective delegations. This initiative covers the following aspects of cooperation: harmonising energy markets based on the principles of the EU internal energy market taking into account peculiarities of partner countries; including energy security through exports/imports of energy resources, diversifying supplies, transit and demand for energy; supporting the sustainable development of the energy sphere, including boosting energy effi ciency of renewable sources of energy and managing demand; attracting investment in energy projects of common and regional interest.

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Since 2006 Kazakh-EU energy cooperation has strengthened signifi cantly. In order to revitalise energy projects the EU’s former Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs paid an offi cial visit to Kazakhstan in May 2006. In December 2006 Kazakhstan and the EU signed a memorandum on cooperation in the energy sphere. This document envisages two roadmaps on cooperation in strengthening energy security and industry, the implementation of which includes the regular exchange of information on energy issues, mutually benefi cial shipment of energy resources and the development of environmentally friendly technologies.

A promising aspect in strengthening the Kazakh-EU energy dia-logue is development cooperation in the nuclear energy sphere and the uranium industry. This cooperation resulted in the signing of a Kazakh-EU agreement on using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes on 5 December 2006. This document envisages improving cooperation in nuclear security and nuclear fusion through ensuring the sustainable structure of the development of trade in nuclear materials between the two sides.

Another important sphere for cooperation that developed qualita-tively during this period is cooperation in the sphere of trade in textile products. In April 2004 Kazakhstan’s then permanent representative in the European Communities, Konstantin Zhigalov and the then permanent representative of Ireland that chaired the EU, Anne An-derson, signed a Kazakh-EU intergovernmental agreement on trade in textile products, under which Kazakhstan received the opportunity to export over 150 textile items to the EU. Kazakh textile exports to EU countries (Belgium, the UK, Germany, Denmark and Italy) stood at $8.4m in 2004, while imports from the EU (the UK, Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands) were $29.6m [35].

Generally, the structure of trade between Kazakhstan and the EU has not undergone signifi cant changes, and metals, hydrocarbons and minerals account for the bulk of Kazakh exports. Kazakhstan’s imports include electrotechnical equipment, ground, air and water transport means and their spare parts, chemical and metal products.

Taking into the account that the EU acquired ten new members on 1 May 2004 and another two – Bulgaria and Romania – on 1 January

2007, Kazakhstan and the EU signed a protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Protocol, which adapted the agreement to the ex-panded EU.

Let us note that following the expansion (the EU-25) in May 2004 Kazakhstan’s trade with the EU countries jumped signifi cantly to $15.3bn in 2005, comprising exports of $11bn and imports $4.3bn.

In 2006 trade continued to grow and reached $22.7bn, with ex-ports of $16.53bn and imports of $6.26bn. EU countries accounted for 36.3% of Kazakhstan’s total foreign trade.

In 2007 trade increased to $27.5bn (exports of $19.5bn and imports $8bn) and in 2008 reached $34.1bn (exports of $26.9bn and imports $7.1bn) [35].

In the fi rst quarter 2009, trade between Kazakhstan and the EU totalled $4.7bn, including exports of $3.3bn and imports $1.4bn.

During the years of cooperation EU countries have invested over $73.4bn in the Kazakh economy. The main investors are the Nether-lands, Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom [35].

Since 2006 Kazakhstan and the EU have been intensifying the political component of cooperation. In October 2006 the former minister of foreign affairs of Kazakhstan, Kasymzhomart Tokayev, paid his fi rst offi cial visit to EU bodies in Brussels. He met the former secretary-general of the Council of the European Union and senior representative for the common foreign and security policy, Javier Solana, and the former European Commissioner for External Rela-tions and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who announced the proposal to increase the level of cooperation with Kazakhstan by involving the country in European Neighbourhood Policy and holding regular consultations in the format of the EU Troika-Kazakhstan at the ministerial level.

This topic developed further during Benita Ferrero-Waldner’s visit to Kazakhstan on 18-20 October 2006. She met Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the former minister of foreign affairs, Kasym-zhomart Tokayev, and the former speaker of the Kazakh parliament’s upper chamber, the Senate, Nurtai Abykayev.

During these meetings the parties discussed a wide range of issues surrounding interaction between Kazakhstan and the EU, includ-

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ing the issues of diversifi cation of energy supplies to EU countries; the region’s energy security; interaction within the Galileo space navigation programme; and the expansion of political and trade and economic cooperation.

President Nazarbayev’s visit to Brussels on 4-6 December 2006 be-came a signifi cant step in cooperation between Kazakhstan and the EU. The president visited the European Commission’s headquarters and met the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso [36].

The talks resulted in the signing of a memorandum on mutual understanding in the energy sphere.

President Nazarbayev also met the former secretary-general of the Council of the European Union and senior representative for the common foreign and security policy, Javier Solana, and they exchanged views on a broad spectre of issues of Kazakh-EU politi-cal cooperation.

Being aware that the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, signed by Kazakhstan and the EU, was expected to expire in 2009, the parties agreed to raise their bilateral relations to the level of stra-tegic partnership.

An important point in political cooperation is the involvement of Kazakh and EU leaders in meetings in the format of the EU Troika-Central Asian countries. During a meeting in Astana in March 2007 they discussed a draft EU Strategy for Central Asia in 2007-2013, which was adopted at the EU summit on 22 June 2007 under the title The European Union and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partner-ship. In the meeting the EU stressed its desire to increase the level of its presence in the Central Asian region through assisting in the political and economic development of Central Asian countries.

As a result, in the past 18 years mutual cooperation between Ka-zakhstan and the EU has reached positive results almost in all spheres of interaction. Kazakhstan positively assesses the prospects for future cooperation and hopes for expanding a dialogue with the EU.

In turn, the EU also positively assessed President Nazarbayev’s initiative to draft the special Path to Europe programme in the context of Kazakh-European relations, including the preparations ahead of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010.

3.9. Kazakhstan and Middle Eastern Countries

Middle Eastern countries now have a powerful political, business and intellectual potential. In the global system of energy balance, regional countries occupy a special place, which has allowed them to create major fi nancial and economic centres that have a considerable impact on the geopolitical alignment of forces in the modern world.

Since acquiring independence Kazakhstan has been trying to establish friendly relations with Middle Eastern countries, with the intention of close interaction. Kazakhstan sees them as promising economic, political and cultural partners because all the necessary conditions have developed for mutual understanding and cooperation between Kazakhstan and the countries in the region.

Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations with Middle Eastern countries between 1992 and 1999. One of the fi rst countries to estab-lish offi cial relations with Kazakhstan in March 1992 was the Republic of Turkey. Offi cial visits that followed by Turkish President Turgut Ozal to Kazakhstan in 1993 and President Nursultan Nazarbayev to Turkey in 1994 expanded economic ties and political cooperation.

A package of important interstate agreements, signed by Astana and Ankara, has helped the consistent development of both diplomatic relations between the two countries and trade and economic relations, including as part of meetings of Turkic states.

Dynamically developing bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Turkey have found refl ection in joint activities to implement the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project. This oil pipeline ships Caspian oil to global markets, which is why Astana and Ankara attach particular signifi cance to it.

A new impetus to interaction between Kazakhstan and Turkey was given by their leaders’ declaration of the development of strategic partnership between Astana and Ankara. This initiative was announced during President Nazarbayev’s visit to Turkey in May 2003 and was confi rmed during his meeting with Turkey’s former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer at the NATO summit in Istanbul in June 2004 [37].

As a result, the constant nature of relations between the two states is a shining example of successful cooperation in which the issue of

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strengthening bilateral mutually benefi cial contacts receives increased attention and Kazakhstan and Turkey intend to continue cooperation in international and regional organisations in the future.

The geopolitical location and economic potential of the Islamic Republic of Iran make it a major partner for Kazakhstan, and of-fi cial relations were established in January 1992. The foundation of long-term cooperation between the two countries was laid during President Nazarbayev’s visit to Tehran in November 1992 and Iran’s former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s visit to Kazakhstan in October 1993.

Later priority aspects of bilateral cooperation were defi ned dur-ing President Nazarbayev’s visit to Iran in May 1996, October 1999 and October 2007 and during the then Iranian President Mohammad Khatami’s participation in the Economic Cooperation Organisation summit in Almaty in May 1998 and his visit to Kazakhstan in April 2002 [37].

The establishment of partner relations between Astana and Tehran is characterised by the similarity of the two countries’ positions on many international and regional issues. Kazakhstan and Iran now are putting joint efforts into the creation of the North-South transport corridor to reduce distance and optimise routes to supply goods from Europe to Asia.

The planned construction of a railway link and roads along the Caspian Sea to join Iran’s transport networks will intensify economic processes not only between Kazakhstan and Iran, but also throughout the entire region [38, p 183].

Astana and Tehran also intend to use the potential of sea routes in the Caspian Sea and ship freight between major ports in Kazakhstan and Iran.

Kazakhstan is currently actively cooperating with Iran as part of a project to ship oil on tankers from the port of Aktau to the Iranian port of Neka, where it would be swapped for Iranian oil in the Gulf for sale to Asia-Pacifi c countries.

The two Caspian-littoral states attach particular attention to defi ning the legal state of the Caspian Sea. An interstate dialogue in this direction is being held as part of summits of heads of Caspian-littoral states.

The two countries are also developing cooperation at regional levels. Iran’s involvement in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation since July 2005 (as an observer) helps expand the range of issues for discussion and consultation and exchange views on topical problems of international politics.

Enjoying its strong reputation in developing countries in Asia, the Arab Republic of Egypt tries to act as a mediator in solving complex re-gional problems. The similarity of Kazakhstan’s and Egypt’s positions on a broad scope of issues of regional security, including interethnic confl icts and interstate contradictions, and the formation of a regional system of collective security conditions the desire of Kazakhstan and Egypt to establish close mutually benefi cial relations.

The countries established diplomatic relations in March 1992. Important political events in the history of Kazakh-Egyptian rela-tions include President Nazarbayev’s visit to Egypt in February 1993 and March 2007 and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s visit to Kazakhstan in November 2006.

Cooperation between Astana and Cairo on strengthening secu-rity measures in the region is refl ected in the countries’ interaction to implement the Kazakh initiative of convening the CICA and the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, as well as joint work within international organisations like the OIC and the League of Arab States.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia occupies a key position in the political and economic life of the Middle East, and it is the world’s largest exporter of energy resources as well as the home to Islamic holy shrines.

Kazakh-Saudi relations were established on 30 April 1994 and President Nazarbayev paid his fi rst offi cial visit to the country in the autumn of that year. Strengthening friendly relations between the countries, at Saudi King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz’s invitation President Nazarbayev paid his second visit to the kingdom in March 2004.

In turn, high-ranking Saudi offi cials visited Kazakhstan, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and Aviation and In-spector General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Sultan

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Bin Abdul Aziz, Justice Minister Abdullah Al-Asheikh and Supreme Judicial Council Chairman Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humeid.

Bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia in the trade and economic sphere have great potential. Moreover, Saudi Arabia has impressive investment opportunities and shows interest in fulfi lling major infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan. In addition, the countries’ leaders aim to create the best conditions for establishing active business contacts in the sphere of trade and fi nance.

Relations in the Middle East are characterised by the complicated relations between Israel and the Arab world. It is important to note that Israel is interested in cooperation with Kazakhstan as this will enable it to establish and expand relations with other Muslim countries.

Relations, established between Kazakhstan and Israel in April 1992, are developing both in the trade and economic and cultural and humanitarian spheres. Taking into account the continuing Arab-Israeli confl ict, Kazakhstan has spoken in favour of conducting a policy of balance of interests in the region.

Kazakhstan’s position on the Middle Eastern settlement is based on support for UN resolutions adopted on this issue.

Calling for the maximum use of negotiation potential to solve the existing Israeli-Palestinian problems, Kazakhstan has established political contacts with Israel and in parallel with the Palestinian National Authority. President Nazarbayev paid an offi cial visit to Palestine twice – in 1995 and 2000. In turn, the former head of the Palestinian National Authority Yasser Arafat visited Kazakhstan in 1991 and 1999.

During talks the Kazakh and Palestinian leaders discussed issues of bilateral cooperation. The states are now aiming to create the necessary conditions for a regular exchange of views on topical in-ternational problems, including the situation in the Middle East. This circumstance proves Kazakhstan’s balanced policy on the problem of the Middle Eastern settlement.

Kazakhstan is dynamically and fruitfully developing relations with the United Arab Emirates. After the establishment of diplomatic relations in September 1992, Kazakhstan started to build the basis for bilateral cooperation.

As a result of a number of offi cial and working visits by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to UAE in 1998, 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2006 and UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visits to Kazakhstan in 2002 and 2008, a package of important inter-state agreements was signed.

In particular, the states signed the Plan of Joint Action: Kazakh-stan – UAE, which envisages large-scale bilateral cooperation in the economic sphere, primarily, in industry, petrochemistry, transport and telecommunications and construction.

It is worth stressing that for Kazakhstan the UAE is a promising partner in the Arab world. Signifi cant investment potential allows the UAE to fund the construction of various facilities and projects in Kazakhstan, including the Aktau City project in the Caspian Sea region and the Abu Dhabi Plaza project in Astana. Proceeding from this Kazakhstan favours boosting interstate cooperation and increasing contracts between the two countries’ entrepreneurs.

Relations between Kazakhstan and the State of Qatar also help strengthen Kazakhstan’s investment cooperation with Gulf countries. After signing a joint statement in July 1993, the two countries of-fi cially established diplomatic relations.

During Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to Qatar in 1998 and 2007 and Emir of Qatar Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani’s reciprocal visit to Astana in 1999 the two leaders discussed strengthen-ing bilateral agreements and opportunities to develop economic and cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

Doha attaches great signifi cance to developing relations with As-tana and encourages Qatar’s private sector to cooperate with Kazakh partners. Kazakhstan and Qatar are now trying to give a new impetus to interstate relations, expanding cooperation in the oil and gas, educa-tion, healthcare, agricultural, tourism and sport spheres.

In its relations with the Middle Eastern countries Kazakhstan aims to develop a constant dialogue and regular consultations on a broad spectre of global and regional issues. It should also be noted that boosting cooperation with Muslim countries meets Kazakhstan’s long-term interests and is one of the country’s foreign policy priorities.

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Muslim countries regard Kazakhstan as a reliable partner and leader in the Central Asian region, considering it as an inseparable part of the Muslim community [39].

This is precisely why Arab countries welcome Kazakhstan’s involvement in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Islamic Development Bank and offer all-round support to Kazakh-stan’s foreign policy initiatives to convene the CICA, the Congress of World and Traditional Religions and the Muslim World-the West dialogue.

In addition, Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010 and of the OIC in 2011 invites positive reaction from Middle Eastern countries.

For its part, Kazakhstan is trying to fully open up the potential of trade and economic cooperation with Middle Eastern countries by creating a favourable investment climate for funding the non-extrac-tive sector of its economy.

The implementation of major investment projects in the energy, infrastructure, tourism, food, banking, metal and other sectors will make it possible to elevate Kazakhstan’s relations with Middle Eastern countries to a new level.

3.10. Kazakhstan and South Asian Countries

The South Asian region with its benefi cial geostrategic position, political weight and human resources represents great interest to Kazakhstan.

The geographical proximity of the Indian subcontinent to Central Asian countries and the rich history of relations between the peoples of the two regions that have managed to establish close links in trade and cultural exchange necessitate stable and mutually benefi cial interstate relations.

We should note that the signifi cant factors that infl uence the nature of relations in South Asian countries are the differences in the national interests of each of them. Proceeding from this point, Kazakhstan is trying to conduct a balanced foreign policy towards South Asian countries.

Moreover, Kazakhstan pays heightened attention to issues of ensur-ing security and stability in South Asia because political contradictions between regional leaders – India and Pakistan – need all-round discus-sion and solution. Appropriately reacting to challenges coming from the region, Kazakhstan is taking active measures to develop political and economic cooperation with South Asian states [40, p 136].

In pursuit of its foreign policy India is trying to normalise relations both with its regional neighbours and distant states. In foreign rela-tions Delhi is guided by the principles of multi-polar world system, focusing on problems of global stability and security. At the same time, India aims to expand regional and global cooperation, including with Central Asian countries.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ka-zakhstan and India during President Nazarbayev’s visit to Delhi in February 1992, the countries showed interest in boosting friendly relations. Kazakhstan and India pointed to the similarity of their positions on key aspects of regional and global politics and the absence of fundamental contradictions on the main problems of international relations.

The declaration on the principles of relations between Kazakhstan and India, signed during the visit, laid the foundation for bilateral

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cooperation in the political, trade and economic, fi nancial and other spheres.

The following Indian visits to Kazakhstan were of signifi cant importance for the negotiation process between Astana and Delhi: the former Prime Minister Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao’s visit in May 1993 and the former Vice-President Kocheril Raman Narayanan’s visit in September 1996, during which agreements on technical cooperation, cultural exchange and the creation of the Ka-zakh-Indian intergovernmental commission for trade and economic, scientifi c and technical, industrial and cultural cooperation were signed [41].

Within the intergovernmental commission there are joint working groups on information technologies, oil and gas, military and tech-nical cooperation, the fi ght against international terrorism, textiles working group and the subcommittee for scientifi c and technical cooperation.

The countries’ intentions to boost economic cooperation were confi rmed during President Nazarbayev’s second visit to India in December 1996.

The signing of the Convention between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the Avoidance of Double Taxation, the Agreement on Encourage-ment and Mutual Protection of Investments and the memorandums on mutual understanding, on holding days of Kazakh culture in India and of Indian in Kazakhstan helped increased the potential of bilateral cooperation.

The Kashmir problem remains an important aspect of Kazakh-Indian talks. The Kazakh side has spoken in favour of a peaceful solution to India-Pakistan contradictions based on taking account of the opinions of all parties concerned and international law [42, p 28].

From the very beginning interaction between Kazakhstan and India aimed to strengthen regional security and expand economic contacts, which is why one of the key issues of the interstate political dialogue remains to be efforts to advance Kazakhstan’s initiative to convene the CICA.

The Indian government, one of the most active supporters of the development of the CICA, played a positive role during drafting the declaration of principles for cooperation between CICA member states in 1999.

India took active part in the CICA summits in 2002 and 2006, as well as helping sign the Almaty act in 2002 and endorse the CICA Catalogue of Confi dence-Building Measures in 2004. This shows Delhi’s desire to achieve the maximum effect in drafting new ap-proaches to regional security issues.

The existence of such an unusual platform for dialogue such as the CICA makes it possible for confl icting parties to sit at the negotiations table and discuss problems. In particular, during the intensifi cation of the confl ict between India and Pakistan in 2002 Kazakhstan and Russia, making use of the advantages of this forum, attempted to normalise relations between Delhi and Islamabad.

A telling example of the strengthening of relations between Astana and Delhi was President Nazarbayev’s third visit to India in Febru-ary 2002, which resulted in the signing of the Kazakh-Indian Joint Declaration. In July 2002, the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee paid an offi cial visit to Kazakhstan.

A new boost to the development of Kazakh-Indian relations was given by India’s Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari in April 2008 and President Nazarbayev’s fourth visit to Delhi in January 2009, as a result of which bilateral relations have reached the strategic level of partnership.

At present Kazakhstan and India are combining their efforts to develop political and economic ties both at interstate and regional levels. This is precisely why Kazakhstan and India activated their activities in other regional structures.

Aiming to be involved in processes taking place in Central Asia and wanting to boost relations with Russia and China, India, with Kazakhstan’s support, received observer status in the SCO during the summit in Astana in July 2005. India’s desire to take part in SCO initiatives such as the Regional Antiterrorist Structure (RATS), the SCO Energy Club and the SCO-Afghanistan contact group will help

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expand cooperation between member states of the organisation in the priority aspects of its activities.

Thus, Kazakhstan and India count on a long-term economic and political partnership that will make it possible to establish transport and telecommunications links, ensure bilateral cooperation in the energy and information technology spheres, as well as allowing them to tap the potential of mutually benefi cial cooperation between the two Asian countries.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan exerts considerable infl uence on the processes that are taking place in South Asia.

Kazakhstan and Pakistan established diplomatic relations in February 1992 during President Nazarbayev’s state visit to Pakistan. During the visit the following basic documents of bilateral relations between the two countries were signed: the declaration on the prin-ciples of relations between Kazakhstan and Pakistan, the agreements on the establishment of diplomatic and consular relations, on trade and economic cooperation, on cooperation in the spheres of culture, sport and tourism and the protocol on the creation of a joint intergov-ernmental commission.

In August 1995, Pakistan’s then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto visited Kazakhstan and its President Farooq Leghari paid an offi cial visit to Kazakhstan in October 1996. After these visits the parties de-fi ned some promising aspects of bilateral relations, strengthening their legislative basis by a number of important documents, in particular, by the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation, accords on joint actions to fi ght the illegal turnover of drugs and psychotropic substances, terrorism and other crimes.

In the late 1990s political activity slowed down in relations be-tween Kazakhstan and Pakistan. However, with the arrival of new leadership in Pakistan the situation changed to the better and the decline in diplomatic cooperation was overcome.

In November 2000 Pervez Musharraf, the then head of the execu-tive branch of power in Pakistan, visited Kazakhstan on an offi cial visit, during which Astana and Islamabad confi rmed intentions to develop bilateral relations further without discriminating the interests of other countries. This circumstance shows Kazakhstan’s balanced

approach to India-Pakistan contradictions and its desire to establish a permanent and comprehensive dialogue between them in order to bring about a peaceful solution to the Kashmiri problem.

The further expansion of cooperation, including in the banking sphere, was helped by President Nazarbayev’s visit to Pakistan in December 2003, which resulted in the signing of a bilateral agreement on cooperation between the two capitals.

Offi cials from Pakistan are taking an active part in promoting the idea of the CICA from the very beginning of its establishment. It is worth noting that the former president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, who attended the CICA summit in Almaty in 2006, raised issues regarding the expansion of cooperation in the trade sphere and on transport and energy projects.

In addition, Pakistan was granted observer status in the SCO and this helps the country’s involvement in the process of solving issues of regional security. Pakistan aims to become a full member of this organisation, helping it intensify its interstate economic cooperation, especially with Central Asian countries.

As a result, Kazakhstan’s cooperation with South Asian countries, which are characterised by special geopolitical location and wide eco-nomic opportunities, enables Astana to tap the potential of interstate cooperation and favourable prospects for Kazakhstan’s access to the global transport and communications networks that stem from it.

Since the very beginning of its independence Kazakhstan has been aiming to develop and boost political dialogue with South Asian countries, placing particular emphasis on the economic potential of this cooperation.

Because of this, not only will Kazakhstan’s future cooperation with South Asian states have a positive impact on the socioeconomic development of these countries, but will also help ensure regional stability and security.

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3.11. Kazakhstan and Asia-Pacifi c Countries

The Asia-Pacifi c vector of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy is one of the most promising directions of cooperation for the future. Expanding both bilateral and multilateral relations with Asia-Pacifi c countries will help Kazakhstan’s multi-vector foreign policy.

This region now occupies an increasingly important place in modern Kazakhstan’s foreign policy because Asia-Pacifi c countries have high economic and industrial growth rates.

At the same time, high economic development rates increase the living standards of the population and general consumer demand, which makes the region a promising market. The regional countries’ rapidly developing economies constantly need to increase energy imports.

On the global stage, the leading Asia-Pacifi c countries are claiming increasingly better reputations and are turning into new centres of the global economy and politics, capable of exerting substantial infl uence on the development of regional and global processes.

Kazakhstan and Japan. Asia-Pacifi c’s leading and most economi-cally developed country is Japan.

The dialogue between Kazakhstan and Japan started in May 1992 with the visit by the then Japanese minister of foreign affairs, Michio Watanabe. The foundation for bilateral relations was laid by President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to Japan in April 1994. The Joint State-ment was signed during the visit, and notes of the recognition of treaties and agreements signed by the USSR and Japan were exchanged.

The then Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaru Hashimoto’s 1997 Silk Road Diplomacy strategy helped expand Japan’s cooperation with Kazakhstan, as well as other Central Asian countries.

In December 1999 President Nazarbayev paid his second visit to Japan and signed the Joint Declaration on Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation. In December 2002, Kazakhstan’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasymzhomart Tokayev visited Japan to meet government offi cials.

In 2004 Japan’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawa-guchi announced a new initiative towards Central Asian countries – the Central Asia plus Japan dialogue.

This forum helped expand Japan’s cooperation with Central Asian countries at a multilateral level. The dialogue’s main priorities were the boosting of cooperation with regional countries in the spheres of economy, security and culture. In August 2004, the fi rst meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of the countries involved was held in Astana.

An historical event that had a serious impact on Kazakh-Japanese relations was the fi rst visit to Kazakhstan by Japan’s then Prime Min-ister Junichiro Koizumi in August 2006.

During his visit a joint declaration on the further development of friendship, partnership and cooperation between the two countries was signed. At meetings with Kazakh offi cials the former Japanese prime minister showed interest in cooperating in the nuclear energy sphere.

In April 2007 a delegation the heads of Japan’s major corpora-tions, power engineering and trade companies and fi nancial institu-tions, led by Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akira Amari, visited Kazakhstan. As a result of the visit, the sides signed a joint statement on strengthening strategic partnership in the sphere of the peaceful use of nuclear energy and over 20 cooperation agreements in the nuclear sphere.

In June 2008 the Kazakh president paid another offi cial visit to Japan. The visit’s main objective was to raise economic cooperation between the two countries to a new level. During the visit President Nazarbayev met Emperor Akihito, government members and busi-ness people.

Currently, economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Japan is fl ourishing. The main items of Kazakh exports to Japan are still titanium and chemical products, while Japan supplies equipment, devices and cars to Kazakhstan.

Japanese companies are involved in major international oil projects in Kazakhstan and conduct geological exploration to fi nd deposits of rare metals. Japanese companies run energy-saving projects in Kazakhstan using new technologies.

Japan also conducts projects in Kazakhstan as part of its Offi cial Development Assistance (ODA) Programme. The funding from this

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programme in Kazakhstan has exceeded $1bn since it was launched [43].

Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea. Kazakhstan’s diplomatic relations with South Korea were established on 28 January 1992.

The chief role in establishing interaction between the countries was played by high level meetings. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited South Korea on an offi cial visit twice – in 1995 and 2003.

During his offi cial visit to Seoul on 15-18 May 1995, President Nazarbayev signed one of the main documents for bilateral relations – a declaration on the main principles of interaction and cooperation between Kazakhstan and South Korea.

The declaration said that both countries admitted that guarantees of the rights of ethnic minorities was the main element of stability in the international community and that they would respect and protect the rights and interests of citizens who had roots in Kazakhstan and Korea to ensure their cultural traditions and religion in line with the norms of international law [44, pp 332-333].

The Joint Declaration, signed during the Kazakh president’s sec-ond visit to South Korea in November 2003, stressed the countries’ readiness to put efforts to support peace and stability in Asia and fi ght international terrorism, organised crime and drugs.

Astana and Seoul agreed to expand cooperation through active systematic exchange in the spheres of education, culture, tourism, sport and local self-government [45].

During the fi rst state visit by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to Kazakhstan on 19 and 20 September 2004, the countries signed the Joint Statement. This statement pointed to the need to expand bilateral relations in the spirit of friendship and cooperation and raise practical interaction in the spheres of trade, energy, mineral resources, science and technology to a higher level [46].

Present relations with South Korea, taking account of its economic and political potential, as well as its presence in the Kazakh economy, bear the nature of a strategic partnership for Kazakhstan.

The contractual and legislative basis for cooperation between Kazakhstan and South Korea consists of over 60 documents, includ-

ing agreements on cultural and scientifi c and technical cooperation, cooperation in the spheres of education, information technologies and telecommunications, energy and mineral resources and other spheres.

South Korea is one of the leading investors in the Kazakh economy. Its total investment in Kazakhstan has reached about $3bn (as of 30 September 2008, according to the National Bank of Kazakhstan).

The main spheres of investment are construction, trade, fi nance, information technologies, the production of buses, equipment for the oil and gas and chemical sectors and white goods. Over 300 enter-prises with the involvement of South Korean capital are operating in Kazakhstan, including 48 joint ventures and 62 representative offi ces.

Taking into account the tremendous interest that South Korean companies have in Kazakhstan, one can suggest that active coopera-tion between the two countries in the hi-tech sphere will ensure the necessary resources for our country’s economic modernisation. How-ever, Kazakhstan now needs investment for a number of key sectors that are not as attractive – agriculture, machine-building and so on.

Apart from frequent political and economic contacts between Kazakhstan and South Korea, one can talk about serious prospects for cooperation in the humanitarian and cultural spheres, in which a particular role is played by Kazakhstan’s Korean diaspora, which numbers over 100,000 people. Kazakhstan’s wise minority policy is one of the main assurances of the consistent development of Kazakh-South Korean relations.

In the foreign policy sphere bilateral ties between Astana and Seoul are important in the context of establishing and furthering Kazakhstan’s cooperation with Asia-Pacifi c countries. One of the main promising aspects is interaction with South Korea in the context of regional integration and cooperation in ASEAN.

In essence, participation in ASEAN is one of the main ways of involving Kazakhstan in Asia-Pacifi c integration structures, but this is largely hindered by Kazakhstan’s geographical remoteness. No less important is South Korea’s participation, as an infl uential global player, in the activities of the CICA.

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Positions adopted by Kazakhstan and South Korea on key global problems, including in the sphere of strengthening the regime of the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destructions, fi ghting terrorism and solving regional confl icts, are generally similar.

Kazakhstan and Indonesia. A major Asia-Pacifi c country and the world’s largest island state is Indonesia. It has a population of 240 million people, 90% of whom are Muslim, making Indonesia the world’s largest Muslim country.

Indonesia’s foreign policy directions are traditionally aimed at fi rmly protecting national interests, constructive involvement in solving global problems and ensuring peace, stability and security globally and regionally.

Indonesia advocates drafting new parameters of the global order based on multi-polarity, strengthening the UN’s central role and the supremacy of international law. Jakarta’s main foreign policy objective is to create favourable conditions for strengthening the country’s territo-rial integrity and speeding up economic development [47, pp 8-17].

The similarity of Indonesia’s and Kazakhstan’s positions on foreign policy issues is a favourable basis for the development of mutually benefi cial bilateral relations.

In 1995, during the former Indonesian President Mohammed Suharto’s offi cial visit to Kazakhstan, documents that laid the foun-dation for bilateral relations were signed. In particular, the countries signed the Joint Declaration and the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation [48, p 270].

President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s reciprocal visit to Indonesia resulted in the signing of the agreement on settlements between the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Central Bank of Indonesia and the agreement on cooperation between the two countries’ commerce and trade chambers.

Kazakhstan’s trade with Indonesia is relatively small, but it shows an upward trend. In 2006 bilateral trade totalled $24.3m and $34.2m in 2007, whereas in the fi rst half of 2008 this fi gure reached $25.7 – more than in the whole of 2006.

Kazakhstan and Indonesia are closely cooperating within the UN, the CICA and the OIC.

Kazakhstan and Malaysia. Out of all the Asia-Pacifi c countries, Malaysia is of particular interest to Kazakhstan, especially its experi-ence in economic development.

Industry contributes 46% to the Malaysian economy, while ser-vices account for 41%. Malaysia has achieved extraordinary successes in the production of electrical and electronics equipment. The country is the world’s largest producer of electronic chips and household air conditioners. Malaysia has achieved astonishing results in the spheres of car production, oil and gas processing and textiles.

Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Malaysia were established on 16 March 1992, and the countries established their diplomatic missions in 1996.

The Kazakh president paid his fi rst offi cial visit to Malaysia in May 1996. This visit resulted in basic intergovernmental agreements on trade and economic cooperation, on encouragement and protection of investment and economic and scientifi c and technical cooperation.

In return, Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mohathir Mohammad fi rst visited Kazakhstan in July 1996. As a result, agreements on air links and on cooperation between the countries’ central banks, as well as the Joint Declaration, were signed.

In September 2003 Malaysia’s former supreme ruler, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, visited Kazakhstan, while President Nazarbayev went on a state visit to Malaysia in June 2006.

This visit elevated bilateral relations to a new level: as a result the countries signed a number of agreements which were important in practical terms for the development of bilateral cooperation: the intergovernmental agreement on the avoidance of double taxa-tion and the prevention of tax evasion and a package of business agreements in the sphere of information technologies, fi nance and construction.

Kazakhstan and Malaysia are successfully cooperating in the sphere of space technologies and conquering space. In October 2007, a Malaysian delegation, led by Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Jamaluddin Jarjis, visited Kazakhstan in connection with a Malaysian astronaut’s fl ight to the International Space Station from the Baikonur cosmodrome.

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Kazakhstan and Malaysia are actively cooperating within interna-tional forums. In October 2008 in Astana the seventh Asia Cooperation Dialogue ministerial meeting was attended by Malaysian’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Rahim Bakri.

In 2007, Kazakh-Malaysian trade totalled $67.13m, while in Janu-ary-September 2008 this was $48.5m [49].

The two countries are currently closely cooperating in the sphere of education and enhancing qualifi cations. Every year, Kazakh specialists (lawyers, doctors, diplomats and economists) undergo training courses in Malaysian educational establishments as part of the Malaysian programme for technical assistance for developing countries.

In the modern world Kazakhstan’s interests cannot be limited to neighbouring regions. The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is broadly building relations with Asia-Pacifi c countries, where a new global centre of politics and economy is emerging.

The region already accounts for two-thirds of the global economic output. The economic successes of Asia-Pacifi c and its economic growth rates are impressive. As a consequence, Kazakhstan shows interest in exchanging experience with leading Asian countries in economic and industrial development.

Asia-Pacifi c’s progress in the hi-tech sphere generates interest in Kazakhstan, while the commonness of positions on international po-litical issues is a favourable basis for developing mutually benefi cial cooperation between Kazakhstan and Asia-Pacifi c countries.

3.12. Kazakhstan and the UN

The UN’s main goal is to promote peaceful and sustainable de-velopment globally. After obtaining independence Kazakhstan also defi ned peaceful development and expanding neighbourly relations as the key principle of its foreign policy.

The similarity of the goals and tasks of Kazakhstan, as a young state that started making the fi rst steps on the international stage, en-abled it to become a full member of the UN on 2 March 1992. This landmark event in the history of the country’s diplomacy and foreign policy took place at the 46th session of the UN General Assembly as a result of the adoption of Resolution 46/224.

In autumn 1992 at the 47th session of the UN General Assembly the Kazakh delegation took part in the UN forum as a full member for the fi rst time. At this session President Nazarbayev delivered a speech to defi ne the key principles and aspects of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy and the country’s plans to enter the international arena as an independent and sovereign player.

This speech could be rightfully described as a historical event in Kazakh foreign policy. In it the head of state stressed the country’s readiness to share the responsibility for achieving development goals, strengthening the regime of the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, observing human rights and drafting effi cient measures to counter modern challenges and threats to stability and security with other members of the international community [50].

During this speech the president proposed one of Kazakhstan’s fi rst initiatives to the international community – one that concerned the creation of a special forum – the Conference for Interaction and Confi dence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

As a result, Kazakhstan started intensive activities in the interna-tional area as a player that was capable of infl uencing the formation of a fundamentally new system of collective security in Asia, based on a dialogue and mutual understanding in solving topical interna-tional problems.

Kazakhstan’s position and its government’s specifi c steps on nuclear disarmament invited respect in the international community.

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In particular, at the 49th session of the UN General Assembly in their speeches heads of state welcomed Kazakhstan’s move to join the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The continuation of Kazakhstan’s initiatives on nuclear disarmament was its signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in October 1996. This boosted Kazakhstan’s reputation as a young state that adhered to the principles of stability and peaceful development.

As part of its activities in the UN, Kazakhstan pays particular at-tention to cooperation in ensuring regional security and organising peacekeeping operations. In December 1995, along with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the creation of a joint peacekeeping battalion in Central Asia under the aegis of the UN. In 1996 Kazakhstan joined the UN system of reserve agreements for possible involvement in peacekeeping operations.

Kazakhstan’s close involvement in peacekeeping activities was proven by the creation of the Kazakh peacekeeping battalion (Kazbat) in 2003, subunits of which took part in mine clearing in Iraq between 2003 and 2008.

In 2003 Kazakhstan and the UN also signed a memorandum of understanding regarding contributions to UN preparatory measures and expressed readiness to provide troops, armoured and transport means of Kazbat for peacekeeping operation and showed interest in closer involvement in the UN system of purchases for peacekeeping operations.

As a result, Kazakhstan deserved the UN’s recognition as a state that adopted a balanced and constructive approach to solving topical international problems.

Kazakhstan attaches special signifi cance to international coopera-tion in the development of transport networks in Central Asia and alternative routes to access global markets. In 1999 at the 53rd session of the UN General Assembly Kazakhstan initiated the adoption of a resolution on transit issues in Central Asia which was co-authored by 19 other members of the UN.

In August 2003 Kazakhstan proposed to hold the fi rst UN minis-terial conference to discuss problems of landlocked countries. This

conference resulted in the adopted a UN General Assembly resolution on the Almaty programme of action on cooperation between develop-ing landlocked and transit countries.

The Almaty conference became the fi rst UN event to discuss problems of landlocked countries.

An important event in relations between Kazakhstan and the UN was the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s visit to Astana in October 2002. During the visit Mr Annan praised Kazakhstan as a regional leader in preventing confl icts. He also noted that Kazakhstan had achieved signifi cant results in switching from administrative-com-mand to market economy and managed to preserve stability in the country, adopting a bold position on nuclear disarmament [51].

In relations with the UN Kazakhstan also focuses on countering non-traditional threats that bear a crossborder nature. Taking into account international experience, we should note that there is no country (regardless of its political, economic and political might) that is capable of independently countering the serious modern challenges of terrorism, religious extremism, the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destructions, weapons smuggling, drugs and so on.

This is primarily linked to the fact that these problems have inter-national, crossborder nature and need appropriate collective solutions. In connection with this, in January 2005 Kazakhstan hosted a UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee special meeting to consolidate efforts to fi ght terrorism threats.

Kazakhstan’s election to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on 2 November 2006 became an important event in coop-eration between Kazakhstan and the UN and this was the recognition of the country’s constructive role in the activities of the UN. During a plenary session of the UN General Assembly Kazakhstan’s candidacy was supported by 187 countries out of 192 and, along with 53 other countries, it became the fi rst Central Asian country to be elected to ECOSOC.

Thus, from 2007 Kazakhstan represented Asia’s interests in this structure.

In May 2006 the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacifi c (ESCAP) held its 63rd session in Almaty. Over 500

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delegates, including heads of governments and ministers of member states of ESCAP, representatives of UN specialised agencies, inter-national and nongovernmental organisations, discussed issues of reforming ESCAP, regulating globalisation processes and eliminating poverty and exchanged views on future cooperation in the spheres of transport, trade, energy, information technologies and environmental protection.

This meeting resulted in the adoption of the Almaty declaration devoted to the 60th anniversary of the commission and nine resolu-tions aimed at expanding cooperation in the region.

Assessing the results of this meeting, Kazakhstan’s former Min-ister of Foreign Affairs Marat Tazhin noted that the delegates’ active involvement in discussing the Almaty declaration proved the existence of collective political will and determination of countries to develop regional cooperation to improve the lives of the millions of people in region living in poverty [52].

Kazakhstan’s standing in the UN is based on the country’s interests in the entire set of issues discussed by the UN. Particular attention is drawn to cooperation with the UN in the spheres of economy, envi-ronment protection, social development, the progressive development of international law, the observation of human rights and fi ghting organised crime and drug traffi cking.

Thus, during the years of close cooperation with the UN Kazakh-stan has acquired signifi cant potential in working with the UNDP, UNICEF, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the WHO and other organisations as part of attracting the UN’s expertise and technical and fi nancial assistance to Kazakhstan [53, pp 281-282 and 288-302].

Kazakhstan’s foreign policy position is based on the promotion of a multi-polar world as the best form of ensuring international stability and the balance of forces. This position is refl ected in Kazakhstan’s strategic course to pursue a multi-vector foreign policy.

This is why Astana now speaks in favour of the UN’s role as a key instrument of collective regulation of international relation and

formation of a multi-polar system based on the UN Charter and in-ternational law.

Regarding the issues surrounding the reformation of the UN Ka-zakhstan advocates the adaptation of the organisation’s institutions to modern geopolitical and economic realities and rational transfor-mations taking into account the opinions of all states in solving the main international problems.

Kazakhstan’s participation in the work of international organisa-tions is one of the foreign policy priorities of the country. That is why Kazakhstan’s integration to the UN system became an important step on the path of implementing the young state’s foreign policy objectives.

In particular, Kazakhstan’s membership of the UN helped strengthen its sovereignty and independence and offered favourable external conditions for further transformations and modernisation in the socio-political, economic, humanitarian and other spheres of public life.

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3.13. Kazakhstan and the CIS

Kazakhstan attaches priority signifi cance in its foreign policy to cooperation within the Commonwealth of Independent States and the development of integration ties with its participants.

Since the signing of the declaration on the establishment of the CIS (in Almaty on 21 December 1991), Kazakhstan has been actively speaking in favour of strengthening the organisation, developing intense relations within it, supporting and expanding trade and eco-nomic and cultural and humanitarian ties preserved between member states.

Kazakhstan’s approach to multilateral cooperation within the CIS is based on the concept of multi-speed integration which means the formation of a small group of countries that are linked by closer cooperation. At the same time, Kazakhstan invariably adhered to the idea that activities of subregional associations within the CIS should be open in nature and their aims and actions should comply with the general direction of the development of the CIS.

The commonwealth is characterised by member states’ selec-tive participation in particular spheres of multilateral interaction. The CIS bodies’ decisions only have power for those countries that were involved in their adoption. The well-developed network of CIS charter bodies includes the Council of Heads of States, the Council of Heads of Government, the Interparliamentary Assembly, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Council of Ministers of Defence, the Council of Commanders of Border Troops and others. The permanent executive, administrative and coordination body is the Executive Committee.

In line with a programme for the development of the CIS, which was approved by the Council of Heads of States in June 2000, eco-nomic cooperation was given priority [54].

In 1994, CIS countries adopted measures to switch to a multilat-eral free trade regime based on the corresponding agreement on the creation of a free trade zone.

However, CIS countries failed to draft and agree on a multilateral basis to a list of exemptions from the free trade regime provided in the

agreement, which is why the 1999 protocol on amending the agree-ment on the creation of the free trade zone stipulated that exemptions from the free trade zone that were of a temporary nature might be applied on the basis of bilateral documents.

We should note that as a result of the existing differences in eco-nomic potential, the level of economic reforms and internal and ex-ternal conditions for economic development the movement towards a full-scale free trade zone is not even possible for the CIS countries.

As a consequence, in addition to coordinated actions, each country is characterised by the gradual formation of a free trade zone which is intrinsic only to itself.

This means that the process of economic integration between the CIS countries has a complicated and contradictory nature. Factors that directly infl uence it are the different levels of each state’s economic development and contradictions in particular political and economic interests of the member states.

In recent years the issues of countering new security challenges and threats and cooperation in the law-enforcement sphere have be-come increasingly relevant. Given the actual development of events, cooperation in this sphere is now of the highest demand.

An extended contractual and legislative basis was created for interaction in this sphere. For example, a programme for fi ghting international terrorism and other manifestations of extremism is be-ing fulfi lled. An accord was achieved on the implementation of an international programme of joint measures for fi ghting crimes within the CIS.

New organisational structures and mechanisms of interaction were created. This primarily includes the CIS Antiterrorist Centre, which has been in operation since 2001 at Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow, using special subunits and a joint data base of security bodies, intelligence services and other relevant bodies from the CIS countries.

Joint efforts are growing in the sphere of fi ghting drugs. The CIS adopted a blueprint for cooperation in countering the illegal turnover of drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors (in 2002). As part of this blueprint member states carry out joint anti-drug programmes.

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The desire to interact in this sphere is obvious and very strong because the CIS countries are vulnerable to this threat and are actu-ally on the frontline of drug aggression.

Cooperation is becoming active in the humanities sphere too. One of the main objectives in this sphere is the further development of the historically established common educational, scientifi c and cultural space as an important factor of encouraging integration processes in other spheres.

At the same time, there are also shortcomings in the CIS and they considerably complicate its activities and hinder its development. Since its establishment the organisation has adopted over 1,600 docu-ments, most of which have remained on paper.

The CIS countries and bodies are currently searching for new ways to improve its activities. At the summit in Astana in September 2004 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed to reform the CIS in the context of the escalation of international terrorism. The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs was ordered to draft propos-als to improve and reform the CIS bodies and submit them for the following sitting of the Council of Heads of State.

This work resulted in the Council of Heads of State adopting a decision on this issue at the summit in Kazan in August 2005. With the aim of drafting additional proposal of a conceptual nature relat-ing to the further improvement of mutually benefi cial cooperation within the CIS, a high level group on improving the effi ciency of the CIS was set up.

At the summit of heads of CIS member states in Moscow in July 2006, the organisation’s chairman, President Nazarbayev, noted the commonwealth’s positive role in easing the consequences of the break-up of the USSR and preventing events from developing into an unpredictable scenario.

However, the Kazakh president noted that the CIS had failed to become an effi cient integration mechanism. Moreover, disintegration trends strengthened in the former Soviet space. As a result, the Kazakh leader stressed the need to choose pragmatic and the most important aspects and forms of mutually benefi cial cooperation that meet the interests of all peoples inhabiting in the CIS countries.

Under the Kazakh programme for the reformation of the CIS the member states should focus their efforts on those aspects that can bring about interstate consensus and that objectively are not within the powers of other regional associations or are not used to the full.

In particular, Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed fi ve important direc-tions for the reformation of the commonwealth: a) improve migra-tion policy; b) strengthen contacts in the transport sphere; c) boost cooperation in the sphere of education and science; d) join efforts to counter modern challenges and threats; and e) solve humanitarian problems.

In as early as 2007 President Nazarbayev’s ideas were imple-mented. The Kazakh formula of “One year – One topic” was adopted for the work of the CIS. In 2007, the topic was migration policy. As part of this, the Kazakh leader proposed the creation of an interstate council for data on demand and supply in the CIS labour market.

The summit of heads of CIS states in Moscow in February 2008 focused on problems of humanitarian cooperation – educational, scientifi c, informational, cultural and youth affairs, as well as sport and tourism.

However, the chief priority of the organisation’s future develop-ment is still to expand economic cooperation between member states. In Chisinau, in mid-November 2008 the CIS summit endorsed a plan of key measures to fulfi l a strategy for the CIS’s economic develop-ment until 2020 [55].

As part of the process of multi-speed integration, at the informal summit held in Kazakhstan (at Burabai) in December 2008, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia achieved accords on the legislative basis for the creation of a Customs Union of these three countries [56].

In the sphere of cooperation in the foreign policy sphere, all the CIS member states supported Kazakhstan’s initiative to chair the OSCE in 2010. A positive decision on Astana’s application was treated as a common achievement: Kazakhstan was considered as a single candidate from CIS countries. It is fi rst time a CIS coun-try will occupy the post of the OSCE chair, and it is particularly noteworthy that it is a country which is geographically located in the Asian region.

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Speaking at the Moscow summit of the CIS in February 2008, the Kazakh president expressed gratitude to his counterparts “for a fi rm and consistent position in the issue of supporting Kazakhstan’s candidacy for the post of the OSCE chair”.

Thus, the continued future boosting of the activities of the various institutions and structures of the CIS generally meets the interests of Kazakhstan.

3.14. Kazakhstan and the SCO

Paying priority importance to the issues of maintaining stability and security in the Eurasian space, Kazakhstan focuses on strength-ening and developing interaction within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

From the early ages of its existence the SCO aimed at strengthening mutual trust and good neighbourly relations between member states and assisting their effi cient cooperation in the political and trade and economic spheres.

A central place in the Shanghai process was occupied by security issues even when the fi ve participants (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz-stan, Russia and Tajikistan) fi rst met in Shanghai in 1996 to agree to strengthen confi dence in the military sphere and mutual reduction in armed forces along borders.

Between 1996 and 1997 the Shanghai Five signed a number of agreements to solve border problems along the former Soviet-Chinese border that had persisted for many years in the past. The Shanghai and Moscow (which followed the following year) summits became prototypes of a structure which within the following six years has been transformed into a fully-fl edged organisation of all-round co-operation.

The joint work to implement these agreements served as the foun-dation for what has become know as the Shanghai spirit, the quintes-sence of which is mutual benefi t, equality, respect for the interests and opinions of one another, mutual consultations and the achievement of mutual understanding through consensus and voluntary implementa-tion of accords achieved.

At the same time, it is worth noting that the new structure logically fi lled those spaces in the processes of maintaining security which had existed in the Central Asian region. The involvement of global players, like Russia and China, became a strong factor in favour of the policy pursued.

The transformation of the Shanghai Five into the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation took place at the summit in Shanghai in June 2001, which was attended for the fi rst time by Uzbekistan. As a result

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of this meeting the heads of the six states signed the declaration on the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Shanghai treaty on fi ghting terrorism, separatism and extremism.

Not only did the fi nal document defi ne those phenomena that pose a threat to all member states, but also indicated specifi c directions and forms of fi ghting them.

Simultaneously, the declaration on the establishment of the SCO considerably expanded a range of tasks it is supposed to deal with. Its objects were to strengthen mutual trust, friendship and good neigh-bourly relations between member states; to encourage effi cient coop-eration between them in the political, trade and economic, scientifi c and technical, cultural, educational, energy, transport, environmental protection and other spheres; to put joint efforts to maintain peace, security and stability in the region, build a new democratic, just and rational political and economic global order [57].

In order to organise the practical activities of the SCO, new main working bodies were set up: the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government (prime ministers), the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, conferences of heads of ministries and/or departments, the Council of National Coordinators; the Secretariat; and the Regional Antiterrorist Structure (RATS). The secretaries of member states’ Security Councils and prosecutor-generals also hold regular meetings.

As a result, in contrast to the Shanghai Five, the SCO has a wider range of tasks and a more clearly defi ned structure. The new organisation’s interests were expanded into political, economic and cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

Kazakhstan consistently insisted on the need to strengthen the SCO institutions further, develop the organisation’s potential in the security sphere and expand its partner relations.

These aspects were refl ected in the decisions adopted at the SCO summit in Astana in July 2005. The summit resulted in the Astana Declaration and important antiterrorist documents: a blueprint for cooperation between SCO member states in the fi ght against terrorism, separatism and extremism and a charter on member states’ permanent representatives in the RATS.

It was also decided to grant observer status to Pakistan, Iran and India [58].

The SCO became the start of the formation of a fundamentally new system of subregional cooperation through close interaction between six states with the possible membership of other countries (if they agreed to follow the principles and obligations laid in the foundation of the SCO).

The SCO is not a military bloc or closed alliance, aimed against someone else, but an open organisation that is ready for wide inter-national cooperation, including the possibility of its expansion. The heads of states defi ned the main tasks of the SCO at the current stage as supporting peace, stability and security in the region and develop-ing trade and economic cooperation.

For Kazakhstan, which is interested in maintaining stability and security in Central Asia, all these points present vital interest. Nothing less than stability and security is an indispensable condition for the country’s movement along the path of further economic and political transformations.

Since international terrorism has become active, fi ghting the so-called three evils – terrorism, extremism and separatism – has become a priority for Kazakhstan, like other Central Asian countries. Unlike many other international organisations, from the very start the SCO managed to defi ne these phenomena and adopt specifi c aspects and forms of fi ghting them.

The practical structure of the organisation that implements these activities is RATS, which has its headquarters in Tashkent. These aspects are a good basis for the realisation of the SCO’s antiterrorist potential in the interests of all of its participants.

Kazakhstan precedes from the fact that cooperation between SCO member states in the trade and economic sphere has long-term pros-pects. In particular, as an energy exporter Kazakhstan is interested in alternative routes to supply energy resources to global markets – an important element of the SCO’s economic policy.

As part of the fi ght against new threats and challenges the issue of ensuring energy security is becoming increasingly signifi cant for Kazakhstan, as an energy power. Therefore, as an organisation that

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pays great attention to new threats and challengers, the SCO may help solve topical problems in this sphere.

In this context Kazakhstan suggested the idea of setting up the SCO Energy Club as a fi rst step towards an Asian energy strategy, which may become one of the organisation’s main aspects.

Water issues are also acquiring increasing signifi cance in the Central Asian region. During the SCO summit in Bishkek in 2007 the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev offered to draft common approaches to the use of crossborder rivers and reservoirs [59]. Water problems may become relevant for joint member states’ efforts in the future.

One of the acute problems for Kazakhstan is migration which can only be solved by the combined efforts of a number of countries and international organisations. It is important to regulate this issue within the SCO by establishing a special coordination body.

Given the situation in Afghanistan the SCO’s activities in this sphere – both in terms of military security and fi ghting terrorism and drug traffi cking and socioeconomic and political reconstruction in the country – are becoming particularly signifi cant. The SCO-Af-ghanistan contact group, set up in 2006, is an important coordination body for this.

The organisation may activate its efforts on Afghanistan by increasing the level of states’ representations in this contact group and holding a SCO regional conference on Afghan problems with representatives of Afghanistan.

At a meeting in Moscow on 14 January 2009, deputy ministers of foreign affairs from member states agreed that a special working group would continue preparations for this conference [60].

The SCO’s global reputation is on the rise, which is why the inter-national community’s interest in it is increasing. India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan enjoy observer status in the organisation. EU experts are talking about the possibility of granting the organisation the status of a dialogue partner to the EU.

The CSTO, ASEAN, the EAEC and other regional integration structures have also shown interest in close partnership with SCO. Japan, Belarus, Sri Lanka, South Korea and other countries have also shown interest in a dialogue with the SCO.

Kazakhstan advocates the expansion of the existing interaction with observer countries and partners of the SCO in various spheres, including politics, the economy and the cultural and humanitarian sphere.

Kazakh diplomat Bolat Nurgaliyev has headed the SCO Secretariat since January 2007. The involvement of Kazakhstan’s representatives in the work of various structures of the SCO is a factor that improves the country’s political image and reputation in the international arena.

As a result, Kazakhstan, as one of the initiators of the Shanghai process, from the very beginning insisted that the SCO was an im-portant element in ensuring stability and security in Central Asia. The organisation was prompted by objective reasons related to problems in this sphere.

Eight years on from when the Shanghai Five was transformed into a fully-fl edged international organisation we can say that it is in demand as a factor to form a just and effi cient architecture of global security. Therefore, strengthening the existing and building new ef-fective SCO structures meets the interests of stability and security in Central Asia, creating the conditions necessary for the region’s sustainable development.

Interaction within the SCO is of practical interest for Kazakhstan in terms of encouraging regional integration, fi ghting traditional and new threats and challenges, pursuing economic policy, ensuring energy security and solving the situation in Afghanistan. Further boosts to the SCO’s activities will help pursue Kazakhstan’s foreign policy.

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3.15. Kazakhstan and the EAEC

The economic globalisation is one of the present day’s leading development trends.

Today, many countries are suffering from the global fi nancial crisis. Quite obviously, none of them are able to resolve this serious problem on their own.

It is now important that countries implement a coordinated eco-nomic policy, for fi nancial institutions to cooperate and to implement joint projects. Therefore, regional integration is becoming increasingly signifi cant as an economic development tool.

Thus, in overcoming the consequences of the global economic crisis and improving the national economy and its competitiveness, Kazakhstan is seeking to fully use new opportunities to participate in the growing global division of labour and various forms of interna-tional cooperation, including the creation of a new common market of goods and services with other countries [61].

The Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC), which was set up on 10 October 2000, is the most advanced integration body in the CIS. The presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Ta-jikistan signed its founding agreement as an important step to develop real integration between the fi ve countries and mutual comprehensive cooperation between them to form a Single Economic Space (SES) in the future [62, p 142].

On 28 August 2006, Uzbekistan joined this pact but later, in Oc-tober 2008, the country withdrew from the organisation.

Trade between the member countries grew from $29bn in 2001 to $104bn in 2007. In 2008, it exceeded $130bn, which proved the community’s effectiveness in general.

At present, a Customs Union is being established within the EAEC by Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. It is assumed that the rest of the EAEC members, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, will join the union when their economies are ready.

The Customs Union Commission (a supranational body forming the key directions of the countries’ customs policies) held its fi rst session on 4 February 2009. The session considered conceptual co-

operation conditions for the involved countries’ customs services in the single customs area, discussed specifi c matters related to indirect taxation and decided to speed up the formation of the Single Cus-toms Tariff (SCT). It is expected that the SCT will be fully formed in 2009.

It should be noted that the members of the customs alliance have already agreed on the single customs tariff for 4,000 goods. The union will become an important factor for developing mutual trade among the EAEC countries and for establishing the Single Economic Space in the future.

The community constantly focuses on resolving problems of pov-erty, migration, energy and water usage, and using the community’s transit potential.

The adoption of a blueprint for forming the community’s single transport space is also important for boosting integration between EAEC member states. The implementation of this document will help member states coordinate customs and tariff policy in the transport sphere, develop new corridors and modernise infra-structure.

It is no secret that a number of serious problems, such as poorly developed transport systems, obsolete infrastructure and the lack of modern logistics centres, are preventing community members from boosting cooperation between them.

As a result, it is becoming important for EAEC countries to conduct a coordinated policy to improve interaction between their transport systems, increase freight and passenger traffi c (taking into account market demand) and develop their transit potential.

In this regard, the Western Europe-Western China transport route is a promising project. This corridor is important because it will open transit routes not only to Russia, China and Europe but also to South Asian countries via Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The construction of the second line of the Volga-Don canal is also very signifi cant. This project will give the community’s members better access to the Black and Mediterranean Seas and further to the open ocean. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has repeatedly stressed the urgency of enabling these routes [63].

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The agenda also includes issues relating to cooperation in the energy sphere. In this context, the member states have achieved a reasonable amount. Joint construction of hydropower stations is under way in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Customs procedures for interstate power supplies have been simplifi ed. Energy departments are imple-menting a blueprint which will shape a common energy resources market but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Some of the community’s regions still suffer from energy short-ages, so it is becoming more important than ever before for the EAEC to jointly construct additional power generating facilities, improve the power grid and adopt up-to-date energy technologies.

Cooperation between EAEC countries in the water sector also remains a current issue as mechanisms for mutual water and fuel supplies are ineffi cient. To this end, Kazakhstan has repeatedly pro-posed the creation of an International Water and Energy Consortium that would improve cooperation between these countries in the water sector. However, this project is still under consideration.

Uzbekistan’s withdrawal from the EAEC has aggravated this problem. This country is also interested in the effi cient use of water and energy resources. However, despite the current situation, it is reasonable for Uzbekistan to take a constructive part in quadrilateral water talks. This will allow the countries to reach a compromise on the problem.

It should also be stressed that the EAEC countries are paying sig-nifi cant attention to cooperation in the social sector. The community has adopted a number of programmes to ensure decent living condi-tions for the 206 million people inhabiting the member countries.

In particular, the Ten Simple Steps towards Ordinary People pro-gramme [64, pp 15-16], which was proposed by Kazakhstan, is being implemented. Its basic goals are to develop the community’s social aspects and create conditions for the member countries’ citizens to move freely across the countries and choose places of permanent or temporary residence, to be employed, to receive education and sub-scribe to newspapers and magazines in any EAEC country.

“Ordinary” people, who remember the USSR, may fi nd many provisions of this statement strange. But one should bear in mind that

we became citizens of different sovereign countries in 1991. And it took quite diffi cult decisions and a number of interstate agreements to make each of these “simple steps”. Today, the EAEC is continuing to implement these projects, which will make it possible to receive real returns from cooperation.

Migration is now becoming increasingly important. The global fi nancial crisis, a slowdown in industry and a freeze in the construc-tion sector have had a negative impact on the labour market and the state of migrants in EAEC countries. Therefore, this problem needs a comprehensive solution by migration departments, employers, insur-ance and other relevant organisations.

The EAEC governments need to take urgent measures in this area and develop coordinated approaches to stabilise the situation in their domestic labour markets and create additional jobs. The deteriora-tion in the state of the migrant labour market always poses a threat to stability in the region. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has repeatedly stressed the need for the community members to adopt a coordinated policy in this sphere.

Signifi cant attention is also being paid to the expansion of ties in the healthcare sector. It is necessary to boost cooperation between research institutes and medical centres across the EAEC. The coun-tries need to create joint health resorts and medical clusters, which will signifi cantly help develop human resources in the member countries.

Joint innovative projects are also one of the most key areas of integration within the EAEC. The EAEC Interstate Council de-cided at a session on 4 February 2009 to create a centre for new technologies, which would help boost the competitive advantages of the member states, and modernise and diversify their national economies.

It is expected that joint scientifi c and technical programmes will be implemented at this centre. In 2008, the community members drafted the Innovative Biotechnologies intergovernmental programme. The programme will help the countries use the latest high-effi ciency technologies to produce competitive bio products for medicine, ag-riculture and environmental protection.

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On Kazakhstan’s initiative, the Eurasian Economic Club of Sci-entists was established to unite scientifi c forces and contribute to the community’s development.

The creation of a Union of Central Asian States, which was fi rst proposed by Kazakhstan in February 2005, will also promote inte-gration within the EAEC. Central Asian countries have signifi cant potential for further integration in the real sector of economy and to expand cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian spheres. The union’s establishment would be an important move towards this and, subsequently, ensure stability and security in the region [65, p. 47]

We believe the idea of the Union of the Central Asian States does not contradict other integration associations in the post-Soviet area, for example, the Eurasian Economic Community. On the contrary, if the idea is successful, the union could become the EAEC’s southern bloc and give a powerful impetus to integration processes within the community and the Single Economic Space in the future.

Thus, Kazakhstan is conducting an active foreign policy. The realisation of our country’s initiatives will become a key factor for strengthening stability and security in the region, developing good neighbourly relations and mutually benefi cial cooperation, which is very relevant considering the present global situation.

The EAEC countries’ coordinated economic policy, the formation of the Customs Union and the successful implementation of joint scientifi c and technical programmes will help the sustainable devel-opment of the community’s member states. At present, the EAEC is an effective regional bloc and a driving force of integration in the post-Soviet space.

3.16. Kazakhstan and the CICA

The Central Asian countries’ integration into the global community made it necessary to elaborate on new measures to promote the Asian subcontinent’s sustainable development. Asian countries, a number of which have quite complicated relations with each other, bear the weight of historical problems caused mainly by their colonial past and modern ethnic, religious, economic and political disagreements.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed the convening of a Conference on Interaction and Confi dence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) at the UN on 5 October 1992 and 20 Asian countries supported the idea and joined the process. Eight more countries and three international organisations became observers.

Initially the conference was designed as an Asian equivalent of the OSCE, however, some CICA members have not only contradictory but also confl icting relations with each other. In promoting the CICA, the Kazakh authorities have always referred to the fact that Kazakhstan, as a young state, does not have disagreements with any Asian country and, therefore, our country initiated this regional proposal and suggested that its meeting point and headquarters be located in Kazakhstan.

Undoubtedly, the CICA, designed to pursue a long-term and laborious task, must closely cooperate with other Asian regional organisations. In this context, the organisation is a pre-emptive step to create a comprehensive security system in Asia.

Asia is an extremely mosaic continent with a big variety of politi-cal, economic, ethnic, cultural and civilisation differences. To fulfi l this task, it is necessary to fi nd a common platform from which to build a functional security system for the whole region.

At present, the world is following the path of regional cooperation. The examples of effi cient economic cooperation in North America (NAFTA), Europe (EU) and Southeast Asia (ASEAN) prove integra-tion bodies’ powerful positive infl uence on the creation of regional security systems.

Asia is currently very fragmented geopolitically but the idea of the CICA is designed for the future. It is necessary to start by creating effective mechanisms for the conference’s functioning.

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Countries like China, Japan, India, Iran and Turkey and regional alliances, such as the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the League of Arab States, ASEAN and others, play a special role in ensuring security in Asia. Mutual interests and economic effi ciency could become a fundamental basis for creating the Asian security system.

During the second half of the 20th century, a number of countries, including the former USSR, proposed the creation of a common security system in Asia. But the idea failed due to a number of reasons.

Some of those initiatives were excessively comprehensive, which caused them to remain mainly declarative, and some did not have the “cross-cutting” issues capable of involving all participants.

Some initiatives failed because of quite severe conditions for their implementation, for which confl icting sides, primarily, and other coun-tries with various political and economic systems were not ready.

Others failed because of rivalry between global powers, further aggravated by global ideological confrontation.

At present, there is no real global ideological confrontation; the bipolar system of international relations has broken down. Therefore, part of the aforementioned problems will not have a negative impact on the implementation of the CICA.

The Declaration on Principles Guiding Relations between CICA Member States, signed by the ministers of foreign affairs on 14 Sep-tember 1999, does not have an imperative approach, which may have made a number of provisions simply declarative. At the same time, considering the composition of the conference, it was unlikely that there would be a different result.

Thus, the organisation’s basic goals were to expand the areas of common interests among the countries with various foreign policies and resolve problems affecting all Asian countries.

During working meetings, Kazakh offi cials proposed a number of new provisions, which Astana believed would boost the bloc. One of the problems encountered in drafting joint documents was the par-ticipants’ diverse visions of resolving issues or the lack of common interests among some countries.

To resolve this task, the organisation started drafting a catalogue of confi dence-building measures. The catalogue was meant to give participants a chance to choose and concentrate on a wide range of urgent issues and problems. Participating states are entitled to choose what is more important for them to solve at present. These include issues related to confi dence-building measures in the military and political, economic, environmental and humanitarian areas, as well as the fi ght against new challenges and threats.

Ten years of Kazakhstan’s efforts to implement the idea resulted in the conference’s fi rst summit of heads of state and government in Almaty on 4 June 2002. The Kazakh leadership’s foreign visits, special working group’s regular work, special envoys’ missions and meetings of diplomats and experts have all been directed towards boosting the CICA process since its establishment in 1992.

The summit participants signed the Almaty Act and issued the Declaration on Eliminating Terrorism and Promoting Dialogue among Civilisations.

Astana believes that it will be useful and important for the confer-ence to use the resources of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said that “much has already been done as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and this organisation can become an effective tool to ensure security and confi dence across the vast Asian continent” [66].

At the fi rst summit, Kazakhstan suggested that the CICA observers, including Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, become fully-fl edged members. This would promote the organisation’s suc-cessful work as a continental body.

The Almaty Act defi nes the CICA as a forum for a dialogue, consultations, decision-making and implementing measures based on a consensus on problems regarding security in Asia. In addition, participants announced that they “regard the CICA as a unique Asian forum incorporating countries of diverse cultures and traditions, which makes it one of the most important mechanisms for the promotion of dialogue among civilisations and cultures. The CICA member states intend comprehensively and actively to develop this dialogue,

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taking into account the fact that Eurasia was not only the cradle of some major world civilisations, but also served as a bridge between them” [67].

The catalogue of confi dence-building measures was adopted by the foreign ministers of the participating countries on 22 October 2004. It is no less important that the CICA’s ideology is based on the principle of cooperative security. The ideas of collective security with a strict policy of bloc allegiance, which was characteristic of the two world wars and during the Cold War, is no longer topical and refl ect the past epoch, the organisation’s ideologues believe.

In other words, cooperative security implies that participating countries should not defend themselves from third parties but main-tain peace and stability and resolve existing confl icts and prevent possible ones.

In particular, the declaration of principles says that “member countries stress that any bilateral or multilateral military agreements must not be directed against any third party and must not undermine other states’ security interests” [68, p 20].

In December 2005, Almaty hosted a session of the special work-ing group, which considered the catalogue of confi dence-building measures in three dimensions and new challenges and threats. In ad-dition, a crucial issue was to create the conference’s secretariat and its technical and fi nancial coverage.

With its excessively diverse political, economical and cultural nature, the Asian continent has always been and remains a bundle of contradictions. However, the CICA is overcoming the inertia of traditional approaches, destroying stereotypes and the scepticism of observers and experts.

Naturally, it is too early to speak about a panacea for confl icts and contradictions in Asia. It is obvious that one should not expect from the Almaty Act more than what the conference members have so far agreed to. At present, the basic document is important enough and could become a starting point for future talks.

The signing of the agreement on the CICA Secretariat, with its headquarters in Almaty and Astana, at the second summit on 17 June 2006 made a signifi cant contribution to the strengthening of the

conference as an institution. In addition, the summit appointed the secretariat’s executive director.

The summit also approved the membership of Thailand and South Korea, which joined the conference in 2004 and 2006 respectively. The declaration of the conference’s second summit proclaimed 5 October CICA Day.

The summit’s fi nal document expressed support for Asia’s candi-dacy for the post of the UN secretary-general. It is remarkable that South Korea was then represented by its Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon, who was elected UN secretary-general in early 2007. We hope that the CICA will become a strong cooperation force in resolving threats to security in Asia like the OSCE in Europe, Ban Ki-moon said [69].

At the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly on 12 November 2007, the conference was granted observer status in the UN.

Kazakhstan regards the conference as a ground-breaking forum of its kind for discussion and exchange of views. This forum’s basic objective is to set up a constructive dialogue on security and confi -dence-building on the Asian continent.

In Asia, where the most formidable problems have intertwined into a complicated web, it is diffi cult to reach consent over the whole range of security issues. Therefore, the CICA participants must, fi rst of all, focus on the common, most current and controversial issues.

Taking this into account, the second summit’s declaration empha-sised the conference’s role as a versatile mechanism for “developing common approaches to security and cooperation matters based on a consensus” [70].

Therefore, the establishment of the secretariat in Kazakhstan was the basic result of the second summit. Astana will continue to chair the conference until 2010, when the third summit is due.

The development of the CICA structures will make the organisation speedy and timely and help draft a catalogue of confi dence-building measures and principles of cooperation security function. The CICA’s organisational development involves the solution of issues relating to funding, research and analytical support and the examination of decisions adopted.

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пасность в Центральной Азии. – Алматы, 2006.24. Послание Президента Республики Казахстан Н. Назарба-

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2002 гг.): Учеб. пособие. – 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. – Алматы: Юрист, 2003.

26. Заявление Министерства иностранных дел Республики Казахстан в связи с терактами в США 11 сентября 2001 г. // http: // www.mfa.kz

27. Заявление Министра иностранных дел К. Токаева о начале реализации Хьюстонской инициативы // http: // ru.government.kz

28. Келешек Р. Конгресс за укрепление партнерства // Казах-станская правда. – 2007, 3 апреля.

29. См.: // http: // www.stat.kz/30. Председатель комитета Мажилиса встретился с послом

США 16 января 2009 г. // www.inform.kz

Kazakhstan today


The CICA ministers of foreign affairs held their third meet-ing in Almaty on 25 August 2008 and summarised the results of their performance. They also welcomed Jordan and the UAE as new members of the CICA and adopted the declaration entitled “the CICA Progress in Implementation of Confi dence-Building Measures”.

With continued interest from the member states the CICA process may become a forum for dialogue between the parties in-volved with a possibility of becoming an international law-making institution. The implementation of the idea is capable of becoming a basis for creating a regional security system and speeding up processes of economic, cultural and social cooperation between Asian countries.

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31. Внешняя политика Республики Казахстан. Хроника (1991—1999). – Алматы, 1999. – 120 с. – С. 32.

32. Проекты и программы европейского технического содействия в СНГ// http://ncu.at.kz.

33. Соглашение о партнерстве и сотрудничестве между Республикой Казахстан, Европейскими Сообществами и их Государствами-членами. – Европейский Союз. Представительство Европейской комиссии в Казахстане, 1999.

34. Официальный сайт Министерства иностранных дел РК // http://www.mfa.kz

35. Официальный сайт Агентства РК по статистике // http: // www.stat.kz

36. Дипломатический курьер. – 2007. – №1 (02). – С. 39.37. По материалам официального сайта Министерства ино-

странных дел Республики Казахстан // http: // portal.mfa.kz 38. Токаев К.К. Дипломатия Республики Казахстан. – Астана:

Елорда, 2001. 39. Ближний Восток становится ближе // http: // www.

kazenergy.com 40. Токаев К.К. Дипломатия Республики Казахстан. – Астана:

Елорда, 2001. 41. По материалам официального сайта Министерства

иностранных дел Республики Казахстан // http: // portal.mfa.kz

42. Перспективы укрепления казахстанско-индийского парт-нерства. – Алматы: КИСИ при Президенте РК, 2006.

43. Министерство иностранных дел РК // www.mfa.kz 44. Токаев К.К. Под стягом независимости: очерки о внешней

политике Казахстана. – Алматы: Бiлiм, 1997. 45. Совместное Заявление Республики Казахстан и Респуб-

лики Корея по случаю официального визита в Республику Корея Президента Республики Казахстан 12–14 ноября 2003 г. // Казин-форм. – 2003, 14 ноября.

46. Подписано Совместное заявление Республики Корея и Республики Казахстан // Казинформ. – 2004, 20 сентября.

47. Ермекбаев Н. Индонезия в орбите внешнеполитических интересов Казахстана // Analytic. – 2008. – № 4.

48. Токаев К.К. Под стягом независимости: очерки о внешней политике Казахстана. – Алматы: Бiлiм, 1997.

49. Агентство по статистике РК. 50. Выступление Президента Республики Казахстан

Н.А. Назарбаева на 47-й сессии Генеральной Ассамблеи ООН

(Нью-Йорк, 5 октября 1992 г.) // Официальный сайт Президента РК // www.akorda.kz

51. Мирному сотрудничеству альтернативы нет // Казахстан-ская правда. – 2002, 18 октября.

52. В Алматы завершилась 63-я сессия ЭСКАТО. 23 мая 2007 г. // www.un.org

53. Токаев К.К. Дипломатия Республики Казахстан. – Астана: Елорда, 2001.

54. Программа действий по развитию Содружества Независи-мых Государств от 21 июня 2000 г. // http // cis.minsk.by/

55. План основных мероприятий по реализации стратегии экономического развития СНГ до 2020 г. // http: // cis.minsk.by/

56. Пятеро президентов на встрече в Боровом приняли сен-сационные решения // htpp: // www.centrasia.ru

57. Декларация о создании ШОС от 15 июня 2001 г. // htpp: // www.sectsco.org

58. Материалы саммита глав государств Шанхайской организа-ции сотрудничества от 5 июля 2005 г. // htpp: // www.sectsco.org

59. Бишкекская декларация от 16 августа 2007 г. // htpp: // www.sectsco.org

60. В Москве дипломаты стран ШОС обсудили подготовку к созыву специальной конференции по Афганистану // http: // www.ca-news.org

61. Назарбаев Н. Ключи от кризиса // Российская газета. – 2009, 2 февраля.

62. Рахматулина Г. Динамика развития интеграционных процессов в государствах СНГ и перспективы формирования Еди-ного экономического пространства / Под. ред. М.С. Ашимбаева. – Алматы: КИСИ при Президенте РК, 2004.

63. Выступление Президента Республики Казахстан Н.А. Назарбаева на Пятом Форуме руководителей регионов Казах-стана и России 22 сентября 2008 г. // http: // www.akorda.kz.

64. Заявление «О десяти простых шагах навстречу простым людям» // Бюллетень развития интеграции. – 1998. – № 2.

65. Рахматулина Г.Г. Перспективы формирования Союза центральноазиатских государств // Казахстан-Спектр. – 2005. – № 3.

66. Выступление Президента Республики Казахстан Н.А. Назарбаева на Первом саммите СВМДА // www.mfa.kz

67. Декларация СВМДА об устранении терроризма и содей-ствии диалогу между цивилизациями. – Алматы, 4 июня 2002 г. // www.mfa.kz

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68. Декларация принципов, регулирующих отношения между государствами – членами СВМДА // СВМДА: вопросы и ответы (справочник). – Алматы: ЦВПА, 2001.

69. Фомин О. Надежды Азии – в балансе новой стратегии // Экспресс К. – 2006, 1 июля.

70. Декларация второго саммита СВМДА // Пятнадцати-летний юбилей СВМДА: взгляд сквозь призму лет. – Алматы, 2007.

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 4. Kazakhstan’s Economy

CHAPTER 4. KAZAKHSTAN’S ECONOMY

4.1. Strategy for Economic Reform

The grave socioeconomic crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s broke down the USSR and economic ties, and accelerated unemploy-ment and infl ation. It was time to take decisive steps to overcome the existing misbalance and reform the economy.

The fi rst stages of the economic reform aimed at overcoming the crisis and ensuring stable development of the necessary insti-tutes of the new economic system. From 1992 to 1997, the most important, backbone reforms were effected, including economic liberalisation, privatisation, the building of a market infrastructure, introducing the national currency and developing the fi nancial system, as well as the tax and budget systems, and the attraction of foreign investment.

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These reforms and anti-crisis programmes fostered the expansion of the market economy and formed the basis for macroeconomic stabilisation and the transfer to a new stage of development.

The Kazakhstan 2030 Development Strategy announced by Presi-dent Nazarbayev in October 1997 was the most important factor in determining a logical route for the nation’s progress. Later on, mid-term strategic plans and programmes were prepared in order to attain the priorities set by the Strategy.

From 1998 to 2006, the dynamics of the key macroeconomic in-dicators was stable. GDP, industrial production, investment, foreign trade, gross agricultural produce, and other economic indicators were steadily rising.

By 2007, the rate of economic growth averaged 10%. GDP per capita exceeded $6,800 compared to $1,445.9 in 1997 (an almost fi vefold increase). Trade in the same period grew 5.4 times, including exports 6.6 times and imports 4.2 times.

As the economy stabilised, important macroeconomic measures were taken. These included the improvement of tax laws, the intro-duction of a savings pension system, the formation of a stock market, and the development of a two-tier banking system. At this stage, a new objective was set: to diversify the economy, make effective use of environmental assets, and encourage the advancement of knowl-edge-intensive high-tech processing production.

The strategic approach to the use of the country’s natural resources resulted in the creation of the National Fund in August 2000. Its pur-poses are to ensure stable socioeconomic development, accumulate fi nance for future generations (savings function), and ease the econo-my’s exposure to unfavourable external factors (stabilising function). Today, the National Fund’s reserve exceeds $25bn.

The current stage of Kazakhstan’s economic development is de-termined by the Industrial and Innovation Development Strategy for 2003-2015 prepared in 2002. This comprehensive programme aims at economic diversifi cation and the transfer (in the long term) to a service and technological economy.

The diversifi cation of industries and exports required the crea-tion of special development institutions. The Kazyna Sustainable

Development Fund and the Samruk Kazakhstan Holding for State Asset Management were set up to ensure the systemic and coordi-nated functioning of Kazakh national companies and government development institutions.

The main principles of the national holding and national manage-ment company are to enhance the competitiveness and economic activity of companies, to introduce the best corporate governance practices, and to assist the government in advancing companies.

The key activities of Kazyna are the development and imple-mentation of the strategy to improve the competitiveness and export opportunities of small, medium and large businesses in Kazakhstan, create the conditions and stimuli for businesses to enter the global market, form export niches, and advance the nation’s infrastructure.

The fi nancial and innovation development institutions under Ka-zyna’s management include the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, the National Innovation Fund, the Investment Fund of Kazakhstan, the Corporation for Export Development and Promotion, the State Export Credit and Investment Insurance Corporation, Damu Small Business Development Fund, Kazyna Capital Management Fund, and Kazakhstan Investment Promotion Centre.

Kazyna’s development institutions take a proactive part in the implementation of promising investment, industrial, and innovation projects in the framework of the Diversifi cation of Kazakhstan’s Economy through the Development of Clusters in the Non-Extrac-tive Sectors programme (the Cluster Initiative) launched in 2004, and the 30 Corporate Leaders Programme prepared in 2007 to further modernise the economy.

The objective of these programmes is to consolidate the efforts of businesses and the government to create new production and up-grade existing production so as to ensure diversifi cation and enhance the export potential of the non-primary sector in the medium term (before 2015).

Samruk Holding consolidated the government stakes in Kazpochta (the national mail operator), KEGOC (Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company), Kazakhtelecom (the national telecommunica-

228 229

Kazakhstan today


tions operator), Kazmunaigas (the national oil and gas company), and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (the national rail company).

The main purpose of the holding is to prepare and implement a strategy for the development of the real sector that would meet the country’s interests, and to maximise the long-term value of the com-panies. The uniqueness of Samruk, which is the fi rst such association in the CIS, is that it combines the stability of a government economy with the dynamism of a business-orientated company.

For objective economic and geographic reasons, Kazakhstan pays particular attention to uniform regional development, and effective territorial and economic organisation of regions. To this end, the Territorial Development Strategy until 2015 was prepared in 2006.

To strengthen the institutional base of this fundamental strategy, it was decided to set up regional development institutions in the form of social and business corporations. Compared to commercial corpora-tions, their main difference is that they reinvest their profi ts to attain the social, economic, or cultural goals of the region in the interests of which the corporation has been set up [1].

In 2007, seven social and business corporations consolidating geographical regions were set up in Kazakhstan. Their operations have already produced results.

The strategic approach to the advancement of the socially orien-tated economy helped Kazakhstan form the conditions for quality economic growth, improvements in living standards, and the devel-opment of competitive sectors. Further efforts will aim at deepening diversifi cation, strengthening production infrastructure, and enhancing government support for business activities. This solid base will help counteract external challenges more effectively.

The current stage of Kazakhstan’s economic strategy is determined by the need to overcome the effects of the global economic crisis. The results that were earlier attained through the nation’s economic policy allow one to conclude that the country will successfully pass this crisis stage.

As a part of the global economy, Kazakhstan was also exposed to the effects of the global fi nancial crisis of 2007. In the autumn of 2007,

the fi nancial sector faced problems that resulted in cuts in lending for shared construction and to small and medium businesses.

The shortage of liquidity affected the rates of industrial growth, which fell to 4.5% in 2007. The government took urgent steps to stabilise economic development – $4.6bn was allocated to improve situation in the fi nancial sector.

The second wave of the fi nancial crisis stepped out the global fi -nancial system, with an adverse effect on the real sector. This resulted in a signifi cant slowdown in the global economy and a respective fall in the global demand for goods and services. To stabilise and revitalise the domestic economy, Kazakhstan’s government had to take additional measures.

On 25 November 2008, the government of Kazakhstan approved the Plan of Action to Stabilise the Economy and Financial Sector in 2009-2010 (the Anti-Crisis Programme) fi nanced from the national budget and the National Fund. A total of 2.2 trillion tenge, or about 20% of GDP, is expected to be injected into the economy.

The main operator of the Anti-Crisis Programme is the Sam-ruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund, which was set up in 2008 following the merger of the Samruk Kazakhstan Holding for State Asset Management and Kazyna Sustainable Development Fund. Samruk-Kazyna’s main task is to foster the development of Ka-zakhstan’s economy against the background of the global crisis, using the fi nancial and other resources of national development institutions.

Today, the stability of the fi nancial environment, which is the key element of the economy, is extremely important to our country. Finance is often referred to as the circulatory system of the economy, and every breakdown in this system adversely affects the activities of the whole complex.

A total of $4bn was allocated to support the fi nancial system. This money was used to additionally capitalise the four leading banks (Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan, Kazkommertsbank, Alliance Bank, and BTA Bank) through the purchase of additional issues of their shares. According to the capitalisation terms, the money will be used to implement projects in the real sector.

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It should be emphasised that the government does not intend to nationalise the banks. Samruk-Kazyna will own up to 25% of their shares, and when the global fi nancial crisis eases the government will gradually withdraw the state holding (on market terms).

Another important element of the support of Kazakhstan’s fi nan-cial system is the creation of the Distressed Asset Fund, also in the framework of the Anti-Crisis Programme. Its main task is to improve the fi nancial condition of commercial banks by purchasing distressed assets and managing them, including sale in the market.

In 2008, the national budget spent 52 billion tenge, as the fi rst tranche, to capitalise the Distressed Asset Fund. In 2009, the fund’s authorised capital will be increased to 122 billion tenge, also from the national budget. The fund allows foreign investors to participate.

The second most important objective of the Anti-Crisis Programme is to resolve problems in the real estate market. The programme con-tains measures to revitalise the construction market. In particular, the government will purchase and complete properties that are at least 20% complete. Money will be provided to refi nance mortgages with lower interest rates, for additional mortgage lending, and for the establishment of the Rental Housing Fund.

Local executive bodies (akimats) and social and business cor-porations will take a proactive part in the implementation of this objective.

The third task for the Anti-Crisis Programme is to support small and medium businesses. This is an extremely important objective for our country because small and medium businesses, being an engine of the economy, enhance its diversifi cation and structural reconstruc-tion opportunities.

To support small and medium businesses, the National Fund will spend $1bn, which will be used to refi nance existing loans of small and medium businesses and issue new ones. In this case, the interest rate will not be higher than it was before the crisis (not more than 14%).

Another factor that will encourage economic activity by the popu-lation will be the measures taken by the government to increase local content in large mining projects.

The Anti-Crisis Programme is also expected to provide funds to develop the agro-industrial sector. This is a very important objective for Kazakhstan because 47% of its population lives in rural areas. To implement this, the National Fund will contribute $1bn, and the national budget a further $3bn. This money will be used to develop processing industries in the agricultural sector.

An essential task of the Anti-Crisis Programme is the implementa-tion of innovative, industrial and infrastructure projects. The National Fund will spend $1bn on these activities, and another $3bn is expected to be raised in foreign direct investment during 2009. The 30 Corpo-rate Leaders Programme will also be pursued proactively.

Signifi cant attention will be paid to infrastructure projects, which will help stimulate domestic demand and foster economic growth in the country.

In addition, the Programme states that the government will use its best endeavours to preserve the real incomes of people, and ensure the performance of the Head of State’s order to raise social pay-ments, pensions, and salaries to the public sector in 2009-2011. In other words, all social obligations will be discharged irrespective of the price of oil.

It should be emphasised that, in counteracting the global economic crisis, Kazakhstan is gaining respective experience. When external sources of fi nancing are closed, strategic approaches and decisions are being found based on the country’s own opportunities and resources. This gives us confi dence that the country will progress further.

The comprehensive implementation of the Anti-Crisis Programme will help Kazakhstan resist the existing globalisation threats and overcome the crisis, moving to a totally new level of development.

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4.2. Kazakhstan’s Natural Resources

Kazakhstan has a huge resource potential, which plays an impor-tant part in its dynamic economic development.

The country ranks fi rst in terms of the known reserves of zinc, wolfram, and barytes, second in silver, lead and chromites, third in copper, manganese, and fl uorite, and forth in molybdenum. In terms of its gold reserves, Kazakhstan is in the top ten. It also has about 8% of the global reserves of iron ore, and about 21% of global uranium reserves.

The advancement of the oil and gas sector is particularly important to Kazakhstan’s economy. Today, the country is rich in hydrocarbons, holding 3.3% of global reserves. The recoverable oil reserves are 4.8 billion tonnes. The recoverable gas reserves, including the new fi elds in the Caspian shelf, reach 3 trillion cu m, while the potential reserves are estimated at 6-8 trillion cu m. In terms of hydrocarbon resources, Kazakhstan ranks second in the CIS after Russia.

Oil and gas condensate production totalled 67.2 million tonnes in 2007 (up 4.1% on 2006) and 70.7 million tonnes, or 1.8% of the global oil production, in 2008 (Table 1). The balance of reserves and production suggests good prospects for the development of the country’s oil and gas sector.

The forecasted oil production and exports are shown in Table 1, gas production in Figure 1.

Table 1Forecasted oil production and exports in Kazakhstan

(million tonnes)

Description 2007 (actual)

2008 (actual)

2010 (forecasted)

2015 (forecasted)

Production 67.2 70.7 80.0 100.0

Exports 60.4 62.8 73.3 90.0

Source: Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The development of the giant Kashagan fi eld, which will be car-ried out by a consortium of major oil and gas companies, is extremely

годы

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

29.6 33.738.9 42.6 43.2 43.9 45.1

53.3

61.5

important to the advancement of Kazakhstan’s oil and gas sector. Oil production in this fi eld will start by 2013.

Source: Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Figure 1. Forecasted gas production in Kazakhstan (billion cu m)

The country’s oil and gas production progresses in accordance with the state Programme for the Development of Kazakhstan’s Sector of the Caspian Sea, launched in 2003.

The Programme set several stages of the development of oil and gas fi elds. The fi rst stage covered 2003-2005 and included exploration and the construction of onshore facilities.

The second stage (from 2006 to 2010) plans the expedited devel-opment of fi elds. During the third stage (from 2011 to 2015), stable production is expected to be reached. In addition to the oil and gas blocks that are currently under development, more than 200 new promising blocks will be determined and offered to bidders.

The mining and metallurgy sector is among the backbone indus-tries of Kazakhstan and has high export potential. Its products, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, are in stable demand in the global market.

Kazakhstan’s ferrous industry builds on major iron ore deposits, whose reserves reach some 700 million tonnes (8th place globally). Kazakhstan’s iron ore production ranks tenth after China, Brazil, Australia, Russia, the U.S., India, Ukraine, Canada, and South Africa,

234 235

Kazakhstan today


which account for more than 80% of global production. In the CIS, Kazakhstan is third after Russia and Ukraine.

Manganese ore deposits are important to Kazakhstan’s ferrous metallurgy. The country boasts over 7% of global reserves. A pecu-liarity of Kazakhstan’s manganese ore is high manganese content (up to 25%) and low phosphorus and sulphur content, and as a result its treatment is cheaper.

Non-ferrous metallurgy is also essential for the industrial devel-opment of Kazakhstan. This sector accounts for 11.7% of the total industrial production.

The country is extremely rich in copper, lead, zinc, and other non-ferrous, rare, and precious metals.

Kazakhstan’s proven copper reserves are estimated at 37 million tonnes, or 5.5% of global reserves, and the country ranks fourth after Chile, Indonesia, and the U.S. Over 90 copper deposits were explored in Kazakhstan, the largest of which are Jezkazgan, Aktogai, and Aidarly.

The country’s proven zinc reserves are 25.7 million tonnes, or 9.5% of global reserves. Kazakhstan is fourth after Australia, the U.S. and Russia. There are more than 50 deposits containing zinc, with polymetallic ores as a prevailing type.

Kazakhstan’s proven lead reserves reach 11.7 million tonnes, or 10.1% of global reserves. Kazakhstan ranks sixth after Russia, Aus-tralia, Canada, the U.S. and China. Kazakhstan’s lead reserves are concentrated in more than 50 deposits.

The country has signifi cant potential to develop its aluminium industry.

Over 20 bauxite deposits were explored in Kazakhstan. The main portion of reserves is in Kostanai Oblast (Western Turgai and Central Turgai bauxite areas). Ten bauxite deposits are being developed.

The mined bauxites are sent for processing to the Pavlodar Alumina Plant, whose products are exported mainly to Russia and Tajikistan.

Aluminium production in Kazakhstan totalled 1,514,500 tonnes in 2006, 1,550,300 tonnes in 2007, and 1,713,400 tonnes in 2008.

Kazakhstan is a large gold-bearing area. Its proven gold reserves reach 1,700 tonnes (4% of global reserves), making it seventh after South Africa, the U.S., Australia, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Indonesia.

A total of 199 commercial gold deposits were explored in almost all regions of the country, including 127 primary, 40 complex, and 32 placer deposits.

Copper and polymetallic deposits account for the main portion of the reserves (68%). The largest gold deposits are Vasilkovskoye (360 tonnes of gold in proven reserves) and Bakyrchik (277 tonnes). In the recent years, gold production exceeded 20 tonnes a year.

Kazakhstan’s silver reserves were explored in more than 100 de-posits, with the polymetallic (copper, lead, and zinc) ones accounting for the main portion (about 60%) of the reserves. Silver content in these deposits is 40 to 100 g per tonne. Approximately 25% of the country’s silver reserves are concentrated in cupriferous sandstone deposits (Jezkazgan and others), with silver content reaching 10-20 g per tonne. The portion of gold and silver ores in the total silver reserves and production is insignifi cant. The leading silver produc-tion companies are Kazakhmys and Kazzinc; the annual silver output reaches 700-800 tonnes.

Coal production is key to the economy of Kazakhstan. In terms of proven coal reserves, the country ranks eighth and accounts for 4% of global reserves. Power-station and coking coal, which is the most valuable for industry, is found in 16 deposits.

Kazakhstan is one of the top ten largest coal producers globally. In the CIS, it ranks third in terms of reserves and fi rst in terms of coal production per capita.

Today, the country’s coal industry accounts for 78% of electric power generated in Kazakhstan, and virtually 100% load of the by-product coke industry. In addition, it fully meets the utilities sector’s demand for fuel.

The leading coal producers in Kazakhstan are the companies from Pavlodar and Karaganda Oblasts (Bogatyr Access Komir, Vostochny Mine, Eurasian Energy Corporation, Maikuben-West, Coal Depart-ment of Mittal Steel Temirtau, and the Borly Coal Department of Kazakhmys).

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Kazakhstan is one of the world leaders in terms of proven uranium reserves, accounting for 21% of global fi gure. About 65% of these are suitable for treatment using the most progressive, environmentally friendly and cost effective method of in-situ leaching.

In accordance with the Blueprint for the Development of the Ura-nium and Nuclear Power Industries of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2002-2030, uranium production will reach 15,000 tonnes a year by 2010, making Kazakhstan the global leader.

Thus, Kazakhstan has signifi cant natural reserves and noteworthy potential for the advancement of its primary sector and increasing its infl uence on the global markets in raw materials.

4.3. The Investment Climate in Kazakhstan

Having become independent, Kazakhstan faced a need to locate resources that would ensure a shift from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. Socioeconomic, political and fi nancial factors, or, in other words, a favourable investment climate, were to be cre-ated to raise the attractiveness of the investment market and reduce investment risks.

This was achieved rather speedily. Steady fl ows of foreign invest-ment into the mining sector contributed to the country’s economic growth.

Today, investors are attracted by a country’s investment potential, low investment risks, stable legal framework and key macroeconomic characteristics (rich natural resources, workforce, fi xed assets, infra-structure, etc.), consumer demand, and other factors.

Kazakhstan has the majority of the above features, which is why investment is growing at a signifi cant pace.

To form a favourable investment climate, the legal framework was improved. The Laws On State Support to Direct Investment and On Investment were adopted to speed up the advancement of prior-ity sectors.

These statutes provide guarantees for direct investment, insurance against political risks, measures of state support, privileges and pref-erences. In other words, they create a favourable investment climate that corresponds to the strategic development goals of the country.

Kazakhstan’s investment system opens all industries to investors. The government is particularly proactive in attracting investment.

In the process of economic reform, not only were conditions con-ducive to the attraction of foreign investment offered. Large domestic sources of potential investment were set up including the system of commercial banks, the savings pension system, the stock market, and the Regional Financial Centre of Almaty.

The adopted statutes and organisational measures strengthened the country’s investment attractiveness and stimulated the infl ow of foreign investment. As a result, Kazakhstan was the fi rst CIS country to receive an international investment grade.

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In order to ensure effective communication with investors the Foreign Investors Council under the President of Kazakhstan was formed. This advisory body ensures direct dialogue with investors working in Kazakhstan and expeditiously resolves issues related to the investment activities and investment climate.

The foreign members of the Council include the top managers of international economic and fi nancial institutions, and foreign companies and corporations who are interested in long-term cooperation with Kazakhstan and who are working in the sec-tors that are a priority for the country’s industrial and innovative development.

The Council’s tasks include making proposals to the Head of State on the improvement of the investment climate and implementation of major investment projects.

To fulfi l its objectives, the Council has set up fi ve joint working groups – taxation, legislative issues, ongoing operations of foreign investors, improvement of the investment image of Kazakhstan, and the oil and gas sector. The working groups tackle various aspects of investment to make relevant recommendations to the members of the Council and government structures.

The state’s proactive participation in building the favourable in-vestment climate results in annual increases in foreign investment. During the fi rst nine months of 2008, foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan totalled $12.8bn, vs. $10.6bn in the same period of 2007, and $7.5bn in 2006.

The experts estimate that, to date, Kazakhstan has received 80% of all direct investment in Central Asia. The World Bank included our country in the top twenty countries deemed attractive to investors. Investment in fi xed assets grows year by year.

Because of the worsened external environment, measures were taken to activate internal sources, strengthen the state expenditure in the investment process, and stimulate domestic investment pro-grammes.

In 2007, the National Investors Council under the President of Kazakhstan was set up by a Decree by the Head of State, to work on the measures of state support to large business projects. This advisory

body works to speed up economic diversifi cation and modernisa-tion, and implement breakthrough projects with the participation of domestic investors, taking into consideration the development trends in national and foreign markets.

Samruk-Kazyna plays a leading part in consolidating domestic investment potential. The objectives of this fund include fostering investment activities in Kazakhstan, and the promotion of Kazakh investors abroad.

Currently, every region of Kazakhstan implements or plans invest-ment projects that are of socioeconomic importance to not only the region itself, but to the country as a whole.

As a result of the government’s proactive policy to raise invest-ment potential, the percentage of the non-government sector in total investment continues to grow. As the market economy evolves, Kazakhstan’s private sector is solidifying its positions in investment and the portion of own funds is gradually increasing.

From 1993 to July 2008, over $76bn was attracted in foreign di-rect investment. Two thirds of investment in Kazakhstan goes to the primary sector (mining and exploration), followed by real estate (over 10%), transport and communications (over 10%), and the processing industry (less than 9%).

The fact that this structure has been preserved over a long time helped align interregional disproportions, and increase capitalisation of the previously underinvested industries and regions. However, in the long term, this can result in industry lagging behind. For this reason, the government is trying to diversify investment fl ows and attract more money into the processing industry, and into industrial and agrarian regions.

Taking into consideration the pace of economic modernisation and the need to make full use of the nation’s investment potential, the state will also put effort into maintaining a favourable investment climate and improving the country’s investment image.

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4.4. Small and Medium Businesses

Kazakhstan pays particular attention to the development of small and medium businesses. The government guarantees freedom of business and ensures its protection and support to it. Small business is an important element, whose condition and level of development infl uences the sustainable economic growth of the country.

The country has a legal framework for business development. State support to business aims at eliminating administrative barriers and ensuring that business activities can be conducted with ease. A host of statutes were adopted to govern the government policy to build a strong market economy.

In order to create favourable conditions for the advancement of business (through the stimulation of domestic demand, and support to domestic enterprises), government purchases focus on local sup-pliers.

The legal framework related to competition also strives to protect the rights of market players and consumers from monopolies, anti-competitive actions of government bodies, and unfair competition. The state Competition Protection Agency works to create favourable conditions for fair competition in Kazakhstan’s commodity markets to ensure their effective functioning, the development of a uniform economic space, free fl ow of goods, and the freedom of economic activities in the country.

The business sector takes an active part in drafting and adopting statues, and improving the legal framework related to the develop-ment of business in Kazakhstan. This is done through the participa-tion in the work of expert councils established by central and local executive bodies.

Statistics says that the country has a little more than 1,000,000 small businesses, which altogether employ 1.7 million people.

The government understands the need to develop this sector and encourages small and medium businesses by all means. It places production and public service orders, helps promote goods in the markets of other regions, and helps promote investment and innova-tive projects.

The new Tax Code that took effect on 1 January 2009 provides tax preferences for all businesses that invest in the economy. It also lessens the overall tax burden on the non-primary sector and simpli-fi es tax administration, primarily for small and medium businesses. The resulting budget losses will be compensated by higher outputs in the primary sector. This will help raise the role and status of small and medium businesses.

Social and business corporations are tasked with creating the con-ditions to strengthen cooperation between large regional enterprises and small and medium businesses who can offer certain goods or services as outsourcers. In this way, small and medium businesses clusters will be created.

Additionally, social and business corporations will help promote the products of small and medium businesses in interregional and international markets. Their participation in projects ensures access for small and medium businesses to fi nancial, land, and technological resources, as well as to external markets, provides collateral guaran-tees from social and business corporations, and offers an opportunity to expand operations by founding joint ventures and grouping with manufactures of similar or related products.

To encourage and support small and medium businesses in the process of diversifi cation, state holdings have set up a committee for the outsourcing of non-strategic, non-core assets and operations of joint-stock companies with a government stake and of state enter-prises, and for their transfer into a competitive environment.

An essential element in the development of small and medium businesses are microcredits to the population that help attract non-government funds in the sector.

In 1997, the government adopted a resolution to set up the Small Business Development Fund, which was reorganised in 2008 as the Damu Business Development Fund under Samruk-Kazyna. This fund develops and promotes long-term lending schemes with the use of government funds allocated for businesses.

The Business Development Fund provided loans to 199 micro-credit institutions. Its contribution to the support of microcredit institutions active nationally is 44%. As a result of the microcredits,

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in particular to socially vulnerable people, workplaces are being cre-ated and preserved.

The country is now implementing a system to rate the freedom of business by region. These ratings should provide an objective es-timate and reveal the barriers that hinder the advancement of small and medium businesses.

Some administrative barriers have been already removed. Propos-als have also been made for the long term that require discussion and amendment of the respective statutes.

4.5. Oil and Gas Production and Transport

The top priority for Kazakhstan’s economic policy today is to solidify its positions in the regional energy space.

Kazakhstan is one of the top twenty largest producers of hydrocar-bons. The oil and gas sector accounts for up to 25% of the country’s budget. Hydrocarbon production is growing at a signifi cant pace. In 2008, 70.6 million tonnes of hydrocarbons were produced, up 90% on 2000. Over 80% of hydrocarbons are exported to world markets.

In order to further develop the oil and gas sector, work is being carried out to forecast and discover new promising fi elds, and speed up their exploration, development and commissioning.

Increased production of oil and gas requires the speedy develop-ment of transport infrastructure. Projects are under consideration to expand existing transport systems and build new routes to export Kazakh hydrocarbons.

Because of the favourable prospects for the construction of pipe-lines, in planning hydrocarbon export routes Kazakhstan pursues a multi-vector policy which allows the most effective use of pipeline systems.

The oil and gas sector has to solidify the country’s role as an infl uential and responsible player in global oil and energy markets. Therefore, important objectives at present include strengthening the country’s energy security, ensuring reliable and safe transit for hydrocarbons, and developing international cooperation over pipelines.

The ratifi ed Energy Charter Treaty is key to the enhancement of the country’s export potential. This document sets forth the principles of unimpeded and non-discriminatory transit of energy resources – an issue which is extremely to Kazakhstan as an intercontinental state.

Hydrocarbons exported by Kazakhstan transit through many coun-tries, primarily Russia. For this reason, it is important to strengthen the government’s role in oil and gas transport. This also explains the participation of state companies in the capital of major transport companies, and the strategic importance of the oil and gas sector to Kazakhstan’s economy.

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Pipelines account for the majority of exported oil. Therefore, the top priorities of the country’s policy are to further develop oil and gas transport infrastructure, and to create new export systems and expand existing ones.

At present the main routes for Kazakh oil are the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s (CPC) oil pipeline, Atyrau-Samara and Kazakhstan-Chi-na pipelines, and the sea transport system through the Aktau port.

The 1,510-km CPC pipeline connects the Tengiz oilfi eld with an oil loading terminal on the Russian coast of the Black Sea near Novoros-siysk. This pipeline is the largest route for Kazakh oil exports.

Over 131 million tonnes of oil have been transported since 2001 (the year it was commissioned), including 31.1 million tonnes in 2006, 25.6 million tonnes in 2007, and 25.8 million tonnes in 2008.

Taking into account the forecasted increases in the production of hydrocarbons, Kazakhstan needs to expand the CPC’s capacity up to 67 million tonnes a year (including 50 million tonnes for Kazakh oil). Kazakhstan and Russia’s energy authorities arrived at respective understandings in May 2008.

Another important export route is the Atyrau-Samara oil pipeline, which opens access to the markets of Eastern Europe through the Baltic Pipeline System and the Druzhba System, and to the Black Sea ports.

Atyrau-Samara exported 15.6 million tonnes of oil in 2006, 16 million tonnes in 2007, and 16.8 million tonnes in 2008.

Because of the planned increases in oil production, in particular in Western Kazakhstan, Kazmunaigas and the Russian Transneft are considering raising Atyrau-Samara’s capacity to 20 million tonnes a year, with a plan to expand further to 25 million tonnes a year.

Currently, Atyrau-Samara’s capacity can be expanded with the help of batching technology for pumping high-gravity oil from the Tengiz, Karachaganak and Kashagan fi elds. The Kazakh side is currently negotiating with Transneft to reach a decision on this issue.

The Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline is being constructed in two stages. The fi rst stage included building the Atasu-Alashankou sec-tion to transport oil from Western and Central Kazakhstan and Siberia to China.

The 813-mm Atasu-Alashankou pipeline runs 962 km. Its throughput capacity at the fi rst stage is 10 million tonnes year; it will be increased to 20 million tonnes. In 2007, the pipeline exported 4.7 million tonnes of oil.

Investment in Atasu-Alashankou amounted to $806m. Construc-tion was funded from authorised capital and loans raised against guarantees by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). On 28 June 2006, the fi rst start-up facility was commissioned. A total of 400,000 tonnes of oil were pumped to fi ll the pipeline.

To fulfi l the second phase of the Kazakhstan-China pipeline project, the Kenkiyak-Kumkol oil pipeline will be built, the exist-ing pipeline at the Kumkol-Karakoin-Atasu section will be recon-structed and modernised, and the Kenkiyak-Atyrau section will be reconstructed.

As for sea transport, the most important element in enhancing oil exports is the Aktau port situated on the Caspian Sea. Today, Aktau is the only Kazakh seaport which has offshore oil loading terminals and oil transhipment facilities to ensure transport of Kazakh oil by the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan (Baku), Russia (Makhachkala), and Iran (Neka).

In 2008, the Aktau port shipped around 9 million tonnes of Ka-zakh oil.

In accordance with an agreement between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan is implementing the Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System (KCTS) project, which includes the Yeskene-Kuryk pipeline and the Transcaspian system. The latter will include oil unloading terminals on Kazakhstan’s coast of the Caspian Sea, oil carriers for sea transport, oil loading terminals on Azerbaijan’s coast of the Caspian Sea, and connections to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan system.

KCTS is expected to transport 500,000 bpd (23 million tonnes a year) at the initial stage, with a further expansion to 750-1,200 bpd (35-56 million tonnes a year).

Oil transport to Iran is another promising southern route. Kaz-munaigas, Total, JNOC and INPEX are implementing the Ka-zakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran oil pipeline project, which will become

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an alternative route for Caspian oil being pumped to the Persian Gulf markets.

The participants are currently considering Phase I of the project, which includes tanker transportation of oil (without the construction of the oil pipeline) from Kazakhstan to the Iranian port of Neka.

A particular problem today is the overloaded Turkish straits. Too many carriers and tankers cross the Bosporus and the Dardanelles when passing from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Safe navi-gation and environmental requirements impose restrictions on the throughput capacity of the straits. In the long term, these will limit transport of additional quantities of Kazakh oil, hence the need for bypass projects.

This is the reason why Kazakhstan is considering participating in the construction of the Burgas-Alexandropoulos and Odessa-Brody-Polotsk-Gdansk pipelines.

In its energy policy, Kazakhstan is pursuing a multi-vector ap-proach and paying particular attention to the creation of new export routes to supply hydrocarbons to global markets. These will become a signifi cant factor in raising the country’s export potential and strengthening its economic security.

The gas sector is another important component of Kazakhstan’s economy. Natural gas, the known and estimated reserves of which reach 3.3 trillion cu m (including the recently discovered fi elds on the Caspian shelf), and potential resources 6-8 trillion cu m, is becoming an increasingly signifi cant energy carrier.

The paramount goals of the plan to advance the gas sector are to multiply the socioeconomic effects of the increased production and sound management of domestic gas reserves, and to enhance transit opportunities of the gas transport system with a view to satisfying domestic demand and further raising export potential.

Gas exports and transit are also important to Kazakhstan. The main gas routes are the Central Asia-Centre (CAC), Orenburg-Novopskov, Soyuz, Bukhara-Ural and Bukhara Gas Area-Tashkent-Bishkek-Al-maty (BGA-TBA) pipelines.

CAC transits Central Asian gas and exports Kazakh gas. Oren-burg-Novopskov and Soyuz transit Russian gas and export Kazakh

gas. Bukhara-Ural transits Central Asian gas, and BGA-TBA imports natural gas from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan.

The most urgent issue for the country’s gas transport sector is the reconstruction and modernisation of the gas pipeline system, in particular the CAC pipeline. CAC exports Kazakh and Central Asian gas to Russia, the Caucasus and Europe.

Intergas Central Asia prepared an investment feasibility study on the expansion of CAC, Makat-Northern Caucasus and Okarem-Beineu pipelines. This paper provides for the implementation of projects to raise the throughput capacity of CAC from 54.8 to 100 billion cu m a year.

Energy security and the energy defi cit of the southern regions are also very serious issues for Kazakhstan. The Beineu-Shymkent pipe-line, which will supply gas from western regions to southern oblasts and further to Kazakhstan’s eastern border, is being constructed to consistently meet the southern regions’ demand for gas. Kazmunaigas is fi nalising an investment feasibility study of the project.

Another signifi cant issue is the diversifi cation of export routes.The Kazakhstan-China pipeline project is being developed, which

will increase Kazakh gas exports to China and ensure the transit of gas there. In particular, it is expected that Turkmen gas will be transported to China through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the Kazakhstan-China border (through Shymkent to Khorgos). The fi rst phase of the project was planned for 2007-2009.

The Caspian and Transcaspian gas pipeline projects are also im-portant to the advancement of Kazakhstan’s gas transport system.

An agreement on the former was made at an international level by Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in late 2007. The Caspian pipeline project envisages the construction of a new pipeline, includ-ing along the Caspian Sea shore of Kazakhstan, with a throughput capacity of 30-40 billion cu m a year. This project will increase Ka-zakhstan and Turkmenistan’s transit potential and increase exports of Central Asian gas to Russia and to global markets.

The Transcaspian gas pipeline project is being considered in con-nection with the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) pipeline in Southern Caucasus, which is complete and ready to pump

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gas. This route will allow the export of natural gas to Europe through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

The Transcaspian pipeline, the throughput capacity of which is expected to be 20 billion cu m, will export Kazakh gas to Europe, through a link to the BTE pipeline.

However, it should be noted that this project involves some risks. These include the legal status of the Caspian Sea, which directly af-fects the policy of laying the underwater pipeline, as well as some political, environmental and technological issues.

4.6. Mining

The mining sector is one of the key industries in Kazakhstan. Its particular features are the great variety of the extracted minerals and, correspondingly, the host of businesses that explore and develop deposits and provide logistical services to subsoil users.

During Soviet times, Kazakhstan worked intensively to expand the raw material base and produce all the types of minerals that were ready for extraction. Major mining enterprises were set up and in-frastructure developed. Today’s strategic objectives call for the most effective use of Kazakhstan’s traditional advantages, which include the development of mineral resources.

A signifi cant economic aspect of Kazakhstan’s mineral resources is that they often lie near the surface and can be extracted using cheap open-pit mining. In addition, in some instances, their occurrence al-lows complex usage.

In Central Kazakhstan, for example, non-ferrous and ferrous ores, coking coal, limestone and fi re clay occur near each other. This combination is advantageous to the development of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy and related chemical and mechanical engineering production.

The Karatau Mountains, Rudny Altai, the Mugodzhar Hills, the Turgai Valley, and the Mangystau Peninsula are particularly rich in minerals. Kazakhstan’s huge natural resources make its mining sec-tor one of the most important industries, determining its economic potential.

The volumes of Kazakhstan’s mining production are signifi cant in global terms. Open-pit and underground mines and ore process-ing enterprises have been consolidated and are now the property of various groups. The leaders in the mining sector are Kazchrome, Kazatomprom, Kazakhmys, Kazzinc, Kazakhaltyn, and ArcelorMit-tal Termirtau.

Central Kazakhstan is home to the Karaganda and Ekibastuz coal basins where coking and high-calorie power-plant coal is mined from open pits and underground mines. The Karaganda basin mainly consists of underground mines containing high quality coking coal

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with an ash content of 10% to 35%. The basin has large gas reserves – methane has been extracted here for a long time. The basin also includes the Bogatyr mine, which is the largest mine in the world, producing 50 million tonnes of coal a year.

The main coal producer is ArcelorMittal, an international metal-lurgical company. ArcelorMittal uses coal for its steel plant, which is also situated in the region.

The Ekibastuz basin is situated to the northeast of Astana, in Pav-lodar Oblast. This basin is the largest coal producer in Kazakhstan. Its coal mines are managed by Bogatyr Access, a state enterprise, which accounts for about 35% of the coal production in Kazakhstan. The Ekibastuz coal has high ash content, ranging from 35% to 50%. This coal is mainly used by households and to generate power at thermal power plants.

As a cheap power-plant fuel, Kazakhstan’s coal is widely used in Northern Kazakhstan, the neighbouring Western Siberia, and the Urals. In the long term, Kazakhstan’s coal industry will progress even further. In addition to the reconstruction and re-equipment of mines in the Karaganda basin, the Maikuben brown coal fi eld (to the south-east of Ekibastuz) and the Priozerny mine (Turgai brown coal basin) have been launched since Independence.

Kazakhstan ranks second globally in terms of known uranium reserves, which are concentrated in six uranium areas – Shu-Sarysu, Syrdarya, Northern Kazakhstan, Caspian, Balkhash, and Ili.

Kazatomprom, a state nuclear holding company, is the fourth largest producer of uranium in the world. In 2006, Kazakhstan produced some 5,300 tonnes of uranium, out of which 3,000 tonnes were produced by Kazatomprom. In 2007, production reached 6,937 tonnes.

Kazakhstan is also a notable player in the world copper, uranium, titanium, ferroalloys and steel markets. In Eurasia, it is the only pro-ducer of chrome. It also has signifi cant infl uence on the regional iron, manganese, coal and aluminium markets.

Situated close to Russia, China and India and boasting huge re-sources, Kazakhstan has become one of the ‘hottest’ regions on the global investment map.

Kazakhstan’s mining sector has very promising economic poten-tial. The advancement of the competitive mining industry enhances the taxable base and provides signifi cant profi t for the national budget. The intensive development of the production and exports of raw ma-terials in recent years has seen the national economy attain signifi cant economic growth and strengthen its investment potential.

The country’s main objective today is to create the conditions conducive to the advancement of the industry, investment attraction, and construction of the relevant infrastructure, which will help make the most effective use of the industry’s competitive edge.

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4.7. Processing Industry

The advancement of high value-added production is one of the most important conditions for the dynamic development of Kaza-khstan. This is the reason that the government is offering signifi cant support to the country’s processing industry. This sector is in an exceptional position, because it creates new technology that often contributes to the progress of other industries.

Kazakhstan’s processing industry has a number of advantages. These include the host of idle production facilities where new pro-duction could be launched, cheap workforce with relatively high qualifi cations, the signifi cant educational and cultural background of the population, and the country’s natural and geographical po-tential.

The common development priorities in the sector are technical upgrades, energy and resource saving, technical and environmental safety of the technologies used, loss-reduction, and the effective use of mineral resources.

Since 1999, Kazakhstan’s processing industry has been demon-strating steady growth. The most dynamic sectors were metallurgy and metalworking, production of construction materials and foodstuffs, and the production of oil distillates.

One particular of the processing sector is that it is fully fed with local raw materials and fuel. Kazakhstan is rich in coal, oil, non-fer-rous and ferrous metals, chemical raw materials, and the construction materials that are necessary for the advancement of heavy industry. The country’s diversifi ed agricultural sector supplies raw materials for light industry and food processing.

The most developed mechanical engineering sectors in Kazakhstan are heavy and agricultural engineering, manufacture of machine tools, instrument engineering (to a certain extent), and electrical engineering. Taking into account the needs of the economy, the sector manufactures equipment for the mining, coal, oil, metallurgical and food industries, and machinery for the transport and construction sectors.

The country’s mechanical engineering enterprises also produce press and forging equipment (Shymkent), cutting machines (Almaty),

batteries (Taldykorgan), centrifugal pumps (Astana), and X-ray equip-ment (Aktobe).

The centres of industrial production are Almaty, Karaganda, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Shymkent and Atyrau. Astana and Pavlodar are the important hubs in agricultural engineering.

Foreign investment is being attracted into the mechanical engineer-ing sector to set up the production of medical equipment, agricultural machinery, diesel engines, food industry equipment, electric motors, and other items.

A total of 41 chemical enterprises operate in Kazakhstan. These include Kazphosphate, Kazazot, the Aktobe Chromic Compound Plant, Kaustik, Orica Kazakhstan, Nitrokhim, Ulba-Ftorkompleks, Reactive Phosphorus Compounds, SDT Group, and Yevrokhim.

In the near future, some chemical enterprises will be consolidated into a nationalised chemical company which will manufacture fertilis-ers and other products.

The products offered by Kazakhstan’s chemical sector are plastics, chemical fi bres and yarn, tyres for cars and agricultural machinery, a wide range of rubber goods, chromic compounds, calcium carbide, caustic soda, nitrogen and phosphoric fertiliser, phosphorus com-pounds (white phosphorus, sodium tripolyphosphate, phosphoric acids), synthetic detergents, sulphuric and nitric acids, and other items.

The country’s chemical industry is built on a solid mineral base, which includes phosphate rocks, iron pyrites, barytes, bromine, so-dium and potassium salts, sodium sulphate, oil processing and coking industry by-products, and sulphur dioxides produced by non-ferrous metallurgy.

Today, the most developed chemical sectors are the mining-and-chemical industry and the heavy chemicals industry. They extract chemical minerals and produce mineral fertilisers and inorganic (phosphoric and sulphuric) acids, respectively.

The petrochemical industry is also on the rise. The country has three oil refi neries in Atyrau, Pavlodar and Shymkent that produce petrol, diesel, fuel oil, aviation kerosene, petroleum bitumen, and other oil products.

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To meet the country’s demand for oil products to a fuller extent, another oil refi nery is expected to be built in Western Kazakhstan, not far from Aktau. The prospects of this sector are based on the government support and further investment in all-round oil refi n-ing.

To advance Kazakhstan’s petrochemical sector, the National Industrial Petrochemical Technology Park (a special economic zone) was set up in Atyrau Oblast. This facility will refi ne crude from the Tengiz fi eld in accordance with an agreement with Ten-gizChevroil.

The construction sector manufactures cement, asbestos sheeting, asbestos-cement pipes, rolled roofi ng, linoleum, sanitary ware, fl oor and decorative ceramic tiles, panels and other structures for large-panel house construction, kaolin for the paper industry, radiators, convectors, and other construction materials and structures.

Kazakhstan has suffi cient resources to manufacture construction materials.

Cement manufacturing has become an important industry in Kaza-khstan. Powerful cement plants were built in Shymkent and Semei, in the vicinity of which large cement clays occur. New high-tech brick and linoleum enterprises were launched. Glass plants and a host of other enterprises will be set up.

The development of non-ferrous metallurgy in Kazakhstan is rather impressive. This sector started in 1928 when the fi rst major enterprises, the Leninogorsk Polymetallic Plant and the Karsakpai Copper Plant, were built. Ever since then, the extraction and process-ing of non-ferrous metals in Kazakhstan have been progressing at a signifi cant pace.

Kazakhstan’s non-ferrous sector became a leading export industry because of the country’s rich mineral base.

The main industries in the non-ferrous sector are copper, lead and zinc, aluminium, and titanium and manganese. Each of these industries includes mines, open pits and concentrating plants that often form large works.

Copper extraction and smelting are concentrated in Central and Eastern Kazakhstan. The largest copper enterprises are the Balkhash

and Zhezkazgan Mining and Metallurgy Plants. The lead and zinc, or polymetallic, industry occupies the east and south of the country. The Shymkent Lead Plant (based on the Karatau Mountains’ deposits) is operating in the south. The town of Tekeli is another important polyme-tallic producer. The aluminium and titanium and manganese industries have developed in Pavlodar and Ust-Kamenogorsk, where large thermal and hydro power plants generate large volumes of cheap electricity.

Kazakhstan’s ferrous metallurgy includes integrated and non-in-tegrated production. The country manufactures cast iron, steel, rolled iron, and ferroalloys.

The largest ferrous metallurgy enterprise in Kazakhstan is the Karaganda Metallurgical Plant, which combines two integrated plants and uses iron-ore concentrates delivered from Kostanai Oblast and metal scrap. The plant manufactures cast iron, steel, pipes, railing, and sheet iron.

Quality ferrous metallurgy is also being further developed. This includes the Aktobe and Aksu ferroalloy plants.

Some metallurgical products made in Kazakhstan are the cheapest in the world. Metallurgical goods are also much cheaper than oil and gas in terms of transport costs because they do not require separate infrastructure (such as oil and gas pipelines).

The metallurgical sector and the production of fi nished metalwork contribute to the enhancement of Kazakhstan’s exports. The country’s metallurgical industry is currently the most consistent competitor in external markets.

The food and light industries also have signifi cant potential and are an important element in comprehensive economic development. During its years of independence, Kazakhstan has built a solid base to further advance these sectors.

The most developed food sectors in Kazakhstan are the produc-tion of meat, bakery, fl our, and dairy products. Sugar production is developing in the south where sugar beet is grown. Other food industries include fi sh (Northern Caspian), confectionery, canned items, and winemaking.

The most advanced light industries (out of the numerous that exist) are the manufacture of textiles (including cotton, wool and

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cloth manufacture), leather and footwear, felt, knitted fabrics, and sewing.

The largest textile centres are Almaty, Shymkent, Karaganda, Kostanai, Taraz, Petropavlovsk, and Uralsk.

4.8. Space Industry

In recent years, space operations have become integrated into economic processes. This tendency has required the government to develop a whole complex of space activities.

Scientifi c experiments in the area of space technology, geophysics, medicine and biology, biotechnology and fundamental sciences have made it possible to use space achievements in almost every fi eld, from alerts to the possibility of environmental disasters to the creation of new virus vaccines.

A wide range of services associated with space research and orientated to end users need to be developed. The country will have signifi cant economic benefi ts if space research and other astronautic achievements are integrated into its economic activities.

At the very beginning of the space era, the role of space exploration in human life could not have been imagined. Today, there is no area of human activities that could not make use of the results of space exploration. The industrial, agricultural, transport, energy, health, educational and telecommunications sectors – all of them make use of the space industry’s achievements.

During the years after the fi rst artifi cial satellite and Vostok 1 with Yury Gagarin aboard were launched, space exploration progressed signifi cantly. Today, over 40 countries produce and launch spacecraft demonstrating their scientifi c and technological potential. More than 130 countries use the results of space activities. The Baikonur Cos-modrome ensures the operation of the International Space Station.

Space satellites now provide precise records of natural and land resources. Observations from space help predict yields, locate forest fi res and epicentres of earthquakes and fl oods.

It is important to not only develop the orbital and earth compo-nents of the observation and navigation system, but also to ensure its effective use and integration with the programmes and plans for the acceleration of the country’s socioeconomic and innovative ad-vancement.

The mechanism of public-private partnership will be used to achieve this.

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Space activities in Kazakhstan are performed by the National Space Agency, which was set up in 2007. Its main objectives are to develop uniform state policy in the area of space activities and ensure its implementation; to exercise government control and coordination of space activities; to form and develop the space industry, including designated space systems, ground facilities, space research and tech-nology, and human potential; to create conditions for the formation of a market in space technology and services; to promote international cooperation in the area of space activities; and to coordinate work related to Baikonur.

The National Space Agency works through subsidiaries, which include Kazakhstan Garysh Sapary, the National Centre for Space Research and Technology, Baiterek, the Republican Centre for Space Communications and Electromagnetic Compatibility of Electronic Equipment, and the other state enterprises that participate in the management of Baikonur.

The companies’ activities include fundamental applied research into the physics of near, deep and terrestrial space; implementation of intersectoral space programmes and projects; and creation and im-plementation of high-performance information and space technology to meet socioeconomic objectives.

In 2004, to increase the effi ciency of the space industry, the govern-ment adopted the State Programme for Space Activity Development in 2005-2007. A similar programme for 2009-2020 is currently under consideration.

These papers cover the following issues: the creation of a scientifi c space system and advanced space power installations; development of a scientifi c and experimental base for space activities and astrophysi-cal research; development of a national system for satellite monitoring of Kazakhstan’s territory and crust; research aboard the International Space Station; and the upgrade of ground space facilities.

A total of $6bn is expected to be invested in Kazakhstan’s space industry by 2011, and an additional 69 billion tenge in the National Space Agency’s projects.

This money will be used to set up the Baiterek complex, a space-craft assembly and test complex in Astana, the KazSat communica-

tions and broadcasting system with ground control, and an earth remote sensing system with ground control.

Retraining and professional development for space specialists, and preparation of technical regulations and standards in the area of space activities is also planned.

In order to effectively advance its space activities, Kazakhstan is in close contact with Russia, one of the leading space powers. According to the agreement between Kazakhstan and Russia on the development of cooperation with regard to the effective use of the Baikonur complex, signed on 9 January 2004, Russia’s operation of Baikonur is extended until 2050.

Cooperation between the countries is not limited to Baikonur. Other issues include increasing the environmental security of space activities and enhancing Kazakhstan’s participation in the implemen-tation of ground and space programmes.

A promising player in Kazakhstan’s space industry is the Baiterek joint venture, which plans to set up Baiterek, a new, environmentally friendly spacecraft complex at Baikonur to provide commercial launch services.

In addition, the National Space Agency was working towards sending a Kazakh astronaut to the International Space Station in the autumn of 2009 to fulfi l a special scientifi c programme.

The State Programme for Space Activity Development aims at the creation of a fully-fl edged space industry, a knowledge-intensive hi-tech sector fostering the industrial and innovative development of the national economy and solidifying national security and defence.

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4.9. Agriculture

Agriculture is one of the key industries of Kazakhstan’s econo-my.

In the north, the climate is favourable for the cultivation of spring wheat, oats, barley and other crops, as well as vegetables, melons, and a number of industrial plants (sunfl ower, crown fl ax, tobacco, etc.).

In the warm south, at the foothills and in the river valleys, cot-ton, sugar beet, yellow tobacco and rice are grown using irrigation. Gardens and vineyards bear fruit.

Kazakhstan’s diverse nature provides signifi cant opportunities for the development of animal husbandry. Sheep, horse, camel and cattle breeding are the traditional types of husbandry in Ka-zakhstan.

The desert and semi-desert areas in central and southwest Kaza-khstan are widely used as seasonal pastures. In summer, mountain meadows in the east and southeast are used.

As a priority sector of the country’s economy, agriculture has great potential and signifi cant reserves.

Kazakhstan’s agrarian sector has the following features:– the horizontal and vertical zoning of soil and vegetation is

strongly expressed. The forest-steppe and steppe zones account for 10% of all land, semi-desert and desert about 60%, and mountain areas about 5%. Annual precipitation is low in all farming areas (150-320 mm);

– the total area of agricultural land is 222.6 million hectares, including 24 million hectares (10.8%) under the plough, 5 million hectares (2.2%) occupied by hayfi elds, and 189 million hectares (85%) by pastures;

– northern regions specialise in growing crops and animal hus-bandry; southern regions, where irrigation plays a signifi cant part, cultivate diverse plants (crops, oil plants, fruit and berries, vegetables, cotton);

– Kazakhstan is a major exporter of wheat and fl our (one of the top ten exporters globally); cotton and leather/wool have a sig-

nifi cant portion in the country’s agricultural exports (15% and 25%, respectively);

– animal husbandry is traditional in Kazakhstan.To strengthen the rural economy, state and industrial programmes

to develop and support the agricultural sector and villages were adopted over the last ten years and fuelled with solid fi nance. Addi-tionally, the Kazagro national holding was set up in 2006 to improve the system of state support. The holding includes the Food Contract Corporation, Mal Onimderi Korporatsiyasy, Kazagrofi nance, the Agrarian Credit Corporation, the Fund for Financial Support to Ag-riculture, Kazagrogarant, and Kazagromarketing.

The holding company works to implement the state policy of food security, provide credits and insurance for agricultural businesses, and develop the markets in agricultural produce and rural areas.

These and other issues can be resolved if the policy of invest-ment in Kazakhstan’s agricultural sector is improved, the agrarian production and service infrastructure is advanced, and horizontal and vertical ties and the respective production cycles are created in the agricultural sector. Currently, the development of exports and respective infrastructure, and control and stabilisation of domestic food markets are of particular importance.

The strategic objectives for the investment policy are to diversify the sources of fi nance for the sector, expand the market in domestic and foreign capitals, develop the system of guarantees to creditors, and enhance the instruments of fi nancing, because the national budget still remains the main source of funds. Measures are also being taken to advance rural businesses and the system of fi nancial services to rural population, including with the participation of the commercial players in the fi nancial market.

Kazakhstan is trying to make its agricultural sector export-ori-entated, which is why it is particularly important to develop the production and service infrastructure. This involves providing the sector with better equipment, introducing up-to-date processes and leasing schemes, encouraging associations of small agricultural producers, developing the full production cycle, advancing non-agricultural businesses in rural areas, and ensuring the institutional

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development of credit and consumer partnerships and cooperatives in rural areas.

In addition, taking into account foreign achievements in the promo-tion of competitive agriculture, it is planned to develop an insurance system for the crop growing sector, provide agricultural players with access to exhibitions and fairs, and set up a network of information and advisory centres in rural areas.

Cluster development projects (with regard to the cotton, horticul-ture, processing, and poultry breeding clusters) are being implemented within the framework of the government’s strategic programmes. In particular, as a result of government support and private investors, projects are being implemented to set up a network of vegetable warehouses, greenhouses and poultry farms and build grain and cot-ton processing factories.

The agricultural sector needs to enhance exports and diversify markets. This will allow the country to use the advantages of the sector when global demand for quality food expands.

To this end, new grain terminals will be built abroad (in Iran, on the Black Sea, and on the Chinese border) and the Aktau seaport capacity will be increased.

In addition, the government is providing support to innova-tive agricultural projects, as well as research and engineering. Kazagroinnovatsiya was set up for this purpose. This company consolidates agricultural research institutions, in particular in the area of grain farming, animal husbandry, food industry, forestry, farming, crop growing, fi shery, mechanisation, and agricultural economics.

The consolidation of agrarian research and production potential will raise the effectiveness of new agricultural technologies and ensure their commercialisation, as well as the adoption of best world practices and their adaptation to domestic conditions. The priorities of agrarian science are based on the peculiarities of the country’s agricultural sector, its competitive advantages and specialisation.

Environmental security, the quality of produce and restoration of natural resources are issues of particular importance.

Agricultural businesses are also proactive in enhancing coopera-tion between each other. In 2005, the Agricultural Union of Kazakh-stan was created in order to consolidate farms, public associations and agricultural organisations. The association’s members are legal entities and their associations and unions, including the Farmers’ Union, the Poultry Farmers’ Union, the Grain Union of Kazakhstan, and associations of regional households.

The association provides advisory and legal assistance to its members so that they can obtain grants and loans from the state or private fi nancial institutions or lease equipment. This is made pos-sible because of the connections to state authorities and large private agricultural organisations.

As Kazakhstan’s agrarian potential evolves, more attention is being paid to the quality of equipment in the sector. The demand for modern machinery and mechanical aids is being fuelled by changes in production processes, growing specialisation and concentration of production, and quantitative and qualitative characteristics of agricultural equipment.

Animal husbandry is traditional in Kazakhstan. Domestic animals (horses, sheep, cows, and camels) were the basis of the Kazakh ‘fam-ily economy’ for centuries.

The government policy in the area of animal husbandry ensures stable increases in cattle and poultry population and improvements in their yields and reproduction.

Work is being done to further raise competitive production in the sector in order to maintain the country’s food security and exports. Enhancements to the infrastructure for large animal farms are planned, which will include special feedlots for cattle and sheep, a network of slaughter facilities, and modern meat processing plants. Production and advanced processing of wool and leather will be developed.

These projects will be implemented within the framework of public-private partnership and with the participation of foreign in-vestors.

Another important issue for animal husbandry is the expansion of the livestock breeding sector, which will include an increase in the specifi c weight of pedigree stock, development of specialised

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infrastructure, and modernisation of animal farms. The number of animal farms is expected to grow to 500. Kazagro provides fi nance to import pedigree livestock.

Investment in agriculture increases year by year. The size of agri-cultural businesses’ own funds, loans and foreign investment grows in addition to budget allocations.

Kazagro is an active participant in these processes. The holding company attracts domestic and foreign investment to increase Ka-zakhstan’s agricultural potential and provides systemic government support to upgrade the sector and make it competitive.

4.10. Trade

Trade is one of the most prominent economic activities in Kaza-khstan, essential for the successful development of its economy.

Since 2003, the sector’s share in the nation’s GDP has been be-tween 11% and 12%. The trading sector employs up to 15% of the economically active population. Trade turnover is increasing year on year and the percentage of non-foods is growing continuously.

The sector has the highest representation of private properties and small and medium businesses. It also provides full-time and part-time employment for women and young people, which is why it has so much social and economic importance.

The trading sector in Kazakhstan is advancing in line with global tendencies: traditional forms of trade are being replaced by modern ones; large retail chains achieve dominance; the supply system is becoming vertically integrated; up-to-date sales, marketing and mer-chandising technologies are being used; and new forms of trade such as e-commerce and mobile commerce are emerging.

All common forms of retailing are present in Kazakhstan. The range of goods offered in the market is continuously being expanded and the quality of services is growing. The number of modern trad-ing fl oors is increasing with the development of the competitive market.

Kazakhstan’s market is rather attractive for retail development. The contributing factors are the growing trends towards concentration of economic activities, increased economic density, improvements in personal incomes and living standards, and the implementation of urban development programmes.

The retail segment (cash-and-carry stores, supermarkets, hyper-markets, trade networks) has been the most dynamic in the recent years. Shopping malls have also become very popular as places for family entertainment.

Kazakhstan has a number of large chain stores and some malls franchised by international trading companies.

Prior to 2006, individual entrepreneurs and markets dominated the retail market. Yet, as the consumer market develops, the trading

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companies’ percentage in trade turnover is on the increase. Trading in non-foods has demonstrated the most noticeable growth.

Retail infrastructure also received powerful impetus from the quality development of trade. Modern warehousing, logistics and information services, and manufacture of equipment are on the rise.

Today’s retailing is characterised, primarily, by the changing balance between store-based and non-store forms of trade. The con-solidation of retail businesses, the emergence of new forms of trade, and the transformation of the sector into a modern service industry are a positive infl uence on the development of the sector.

The arrangement of trading in fresh products in retail outlets is very important to Kazakhstan because individuals and small businesses get an opportunity to sell their products at fair prices. This is also a solution to the problem of the sector’s social orientation.

In addition, as Kazakhstan needs to develop its food potential and saturate the market with fresh products, the need also arises to sys-tematise the efforts of wholesale purchasers and retail outlets aimed at the improvement of the supply chain at a regional level to make it export-orientated. These schemes have been successful in other countries and include specialised fairs, exhibitions and workshops where producers and traders can agree on the quality and quantities of supplies.

Achieving this objective will help strengthen ties between trading and production systems, improve transport and logistics potential, en-hance the range of products, and satisfy the demands of the market.

The effective development of retailing depends on the level of wholesaling. The latter has a function of regulating trade fl ows across consumers and retailers located in various regions of Kazakhstan. The wholesaling infrastructure is continuously being developed. Previously scattered, this segment demonstrates better organisation of procurement and supply systems, as well as storage and batching, to meet the market demands.

A highly organised system of trade and services is being built in Kazakhstan as a result of improvements in the trading policy of the state and the respective legal framework, as well as in the consumers’ welfare and purchasing power.

The growing investment in the material and technical base of sales outlets contributes to the advancement of up-to-date infrastructure that meets the requirements of present-day trade, creates favourable conditions for domestic producers, and fosters effective fl ows of goods with minimum transaction costs.

Business activities in the area of trade are not limited to trading and servicing. To improve quality, it is necessary to set up an infor-mational infrastructure and a public system to provide producers, intermediaries and buyers with the latest information on supply and demand, and news from the sector.

A consumer culture is also growing. Consumer rights institutions are trying to increase the transparency of service and trade compa-nies.

From the very fi rst days of the market economy in Kazakhstan, commodity exchanges emerged as a form of trade. They fostered the arrangement of domestic exchange of goods and information, on external markets in particular. However, this form of trade is not very popular. There are only fi ve commodity exchanges in Kazakhstan and their sales and turnover are not very high.

Nevertheless, Kazakhstan needs to develop exchanges that would allow effective prices and terms of supply to be set, as well as quality requirements that would enhance the prospects of processing com-panies and the territorial dispersion of markets. A new commodity exchange is expected to be set up on the Regional Financial Centre of Almaty’s (RFCA) Special Trading Floor. The Special Trading Floor was established to develop the regional stock exchange in Ka-zakhstan, with the intention of becoming a link between the Asian and European exchanges.

In the future, it is likely that a common commodity exchange will be organised with the Russian Trading System (RTS). Ka-zakhstan produces a great deal of exchange commodities and its convenient geographic location attracts traders from all over the continent.

Because of changes in the global trade on exchanges, the CIS needs to create a relevant trading system and a pricing policy that would take into account the specifi cs of production and marketing.

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The effective development of trade will be fostered by enhance-ments in logistics, which includes logistics complexes, the packaging industry, transport, warehousing, freight-forwarding services, and regional transport terminals. The transport and logistics sector is one of the priorities for the Kazakhstan-2030 Strategy.

To this end, warehousing and logistics zones will be built near large cities to ensure the sale of goods. Essential communications will link these areas with the cities. These facilities will be built on the terms of public-private partnership. The possibility of setting up special economic zones will also be considered.

In these zones, with the help of investors, distribution centres, warehouse stores (which will purchase goods from industrial or agri-cultural producers), and A- and B-class shared warehouses (managed by warehouse operators) will be developed.

New forms of trade constantly emerge in global trading. E-com-merce, which includes using mobile access to the Internet for shop-ping, is an innovation that is still underdeveloped in Kazakhstan.

E-commerce has serious potential for the advancement of small and medium businesses. Signifi cant attention is being paid to the develop-ment of this segment, taking into account the territorial dispersion of population and manufacturers in Kazakhstan.

The hospitality and household and business service industries are also developing impressively. The latest technologies are spread-ing rapidly and international companies are entering Kazakhstan’s markets.

In the foodservice sector, almost all formats (restaurants, cafes, canteens, fast food restaurants and catering) representing many world cuisines are present. The number of businesses is growing at a sig-nifi cant pace (almost threefold from 2004 to 2008, with the number of seats having grown more than fourfold and the value of services almost fourfold).

The level of service is also growing as competition tightens. Mas-tery contests and festivals are being organised.

The service sector is demonstrating similarly high results. Com-petition in this sector is the toughest and fosters the development of modern service techniques and organisation of business.

4.11. Banking

From its fi rst days, Kazakhstan’s banking system has been orien-tated towards international fi nancial market standards. At present, this is an established sector, able to play a proactive part in the concentra-tion and redistribution of capital.

From the very beginning, Kazakhstan’s banking system was formed in line with the best banking principles used worldwide. In January 1991, the Law On Banks and Banking in the Kazakh SSR was adopted to launch banking reforms.

After the state sectoral banks had been reorganised and the na-tional divisions of the Gosbank of the USSR had been vested with the functions of the central banks of sovereign states, and following the establishment in 1991 of the fi rst commercial banks, a two-tier banking system was formed in Kazakhstan.

The fi rst tier of the new system included the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its branches in oblast centres. The second tier comprised banks that were established from former spe-cialised banks, and those newly established by individuals and legal entities.

In the early 1990s, the number of fi nancial institutions – com-mercial banks and organisations offering banking services – soared. The number of commercial banks in 1993 exceeded 200. However, following tightened requirements for second-tier banks, in 2002 their number decreased to 38.

On the other hand, the number of institutions offering banking transactions increased signifi cantly over the same period. Improve-ments in fi nancial control and supervision helped strengthen the fi nancial stability of second-tier banks and the reliability of the system as a whole.

By November 1993, when the tenge was introduced, Kazakhstan’s banking system had been generally formed. This allowed the move to the country’s own monetary policy.

To further strengthen the banking system, the Programme for the Second-Tier Banks’ Adoption of the International Financial Report-ing Standards was approved in December 1996. In accordance with

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the programme, all banks operating in Kazakhstan were obliged to reach international levels in the suffi ciency of equity, liquidity, asset quality, management, accounting, and data input and transfer before the end of 2000.

In November 1999, the Kazakhstan Deposit Insurance Fund was founded, which became the backbone of the Deposit Insurance Sys-tem. Sixteen banks joined this system in early 2000. On 1 January 2004, the deposit insurance system became compulsory. This means that if a bank is licensed to accept deposits from individuals it is obliged to join the insurance system.

Amendments to the banking laws made in April 2000 concerning the banking secrecy of individuals’ deposits also contributed to the improvements to the deposit protection system.

These improvements fostered the attraction of people’s savings to banks. As a result, the volume of banking transactions increased, the banks’ competitiveness improved, and their services became cheaper and more accessible to the general public. At present, the population of Kazakhstan are active users of the services of second-tier banks (savings, payments, etc.) and this is a positive infl uence on the coun-try’s economic development.

In 2004, the Agency for the Regulation and Supervision of the Financial Market and Financial Institutions was set up to better protect the users of fi nancial services, develop a stable infrastructure for the domestic fi nancial market, and create an effective and independent system of consolidated supervision. The National Bank assigned the Agency the respective functions and powers; the Agency now func-tions successfully as the national regulator.

The National Bank implements state monetary policy, issues ban-knotes and coins, and exercises the central bank’s functions, foreign exchange regulation and control, management of gold and foreign exchange assets, and trust management of the National Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Today, 37 second-tier banks operate in Kazakhstan. They have 380 branches nationwide and 15 representative offi ces abroad. A total of 16 banks, including seven subsidiary banks, have foreign participants. Also, 33 representative offi ces of foreign banks operate

in Kazakhstan. This confi rms interest in Kazakhstan’s market and the advanced level of the national banking system.

Kazakhstan’s leading banks are striving to enhance their foreign economic transactions and their rankings by international rating agen-cies. These ratings help them attract capital from global markets.

The banking sector is one of the key elements of the country’s economy. The banks’ assets equal 80% of the country’s GDP, deposits 30%, and loans about 60%. In comparison to the fi rst days of Kaza-khstan’s banking sector, these fi gures have grown tremendously.

Over the last year, the dynamics of the banking system slowed because of external infl uences. It should be noted however that the regulator’s policy and state measures aimed at ensuring the stability of the banking sector helped prevent a sharp decline in the perform-ance of the banks.

Commercial banks in Kazakhstan offer a wide range of services for individuals and legal entities. These include traditional bank-ing services as well as innovations such as e-banking and Internet banking. These services apply the most modern bank and service technologies.

As the clients’ fi nancial expertise and trust in fi nancial institutions grow, the competition in the banking market toughens. This is causing the banks to improve their services and operations.

In conclusion it can be said that Kazakhstan’s banking sector has been following market principles and is able to create the conditions necessary to accumulate the population’s savings and further provide them in the form of loans to the real sector.

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4.12. Transport

Ever since ancient times, people living in the territory of today’s Kazakhstan and Central Asia have made use of the advantages of the proximity of the Great Silk Road running from the southeastern borders of China to the Mediterranean coast of Turkey – a distance of more than 6,500 km. The Silk Road transited an enormous number of goods and cultural achievements.

Kazakhstan has taken measures to strengthen its trade and eco-nomic relationships along the famous route. At present, Kazakhstan has transport (rail, motor, and air) links to China and can deliver goods from Europe and Asia to almost every point in China and Southeast Asia. It also has sea links to Iran and intermodal (rail and motor) connections to Turkey.

Transport is extremely important to Kazakhstan. Its vast territory, low population density, long distances between populated localities, and remoteness from global markets make the transport system vital.

Despite its landlocked location, Kazakhstan has high transit po-tential as a bridge between Europe and Asia. This is why there is a need to develop the transit sections of continental routes. This is the objective of the Transport Development Strategy until 2015 (Trans-port Strategy) approved in 2005, which envisaged the creation of a transport and communications complex complying with government’s economic strategies.

When this objective is achieved, Kazakhstan’s transport sector will become integrated with the global transport system and will ensure accessible, secure and rapid deliveries between the East and the West. Using the country’s transport potential will bring signifi cant income to the nation and transport companies and promote the advancement of a competitive transport and logistics sector.

The sectoral strategic programme provides for the gradual develop-ment of a network of transport routes and interlinks. In addition, infra-structure facilities and all types of transport means will be upgraded.

The strategy covers all types of transport (except pipelines); the development and effectiveness of these depend largely on state policy.

The role of rail transport in Kazakhstan is very important. Rail-ways account for the largest portion of freight and passenger traffi c in the country.

Kazakhstan’s rail network has four major longitudinal routes (Turksib, Trans-Kazakhstan (Petropavlovsk-Karaganda-Shu), Oren-burg-Tashkent, and Kungrad-Beineu-Makat-Astrakhan) and three latitudinal routes (Trans-Siberian, Central Siberian, and Southern Siberian (with branch lines)).

The total length of the railways in Kazakhstan exceeds 14,000 km. Fifteen division points (eleven with Russia, two with Uzbekistan, one with Kyrgyzstan, and one with China) connect the country’s rail system with neighbouring states. The Transport Strategy provides for the building of 1,600 km of new railways and the electrifi cation of 2,700 km of the existing lines.

The construction of the Druzhba-Alashankou cross-border railway passage between Kazakhstan and China and opening of the Saraghs-Mashhad railway passage between Turkmenistan and Iran has opened new transit routes on the Great Silk Road, from the Chinese ports of Lianyungang, Qingdao, and Tianjin on the Pacifi c coast, to Kaza-khstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Turkey, and to the ports of the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. At present, goods are being transported along this route through Kazakhstan at a great rate.

Kazakhstan has a network of motor roads totalling more than 88,000 km. Five international motor routes, with a total length of 17,000 km, cross Kazakhstan. All oblast cities and towns have au-tomobile connections to all regional localities and settlements. The investment policy is aiming at the modernisation of the existing roads and construction of new international and local routes.

Because of the country’s vast territory, air transport is extremely important and there is often no alternative. Kazakhstan is home to 22 large airports, including 14 international hubs. Freight and pas-senger transit between Europe and Asia is extremely important to the sector.

Air Astana, the nation’s largest airline, provides both domestic and international fl ights. Leading international companies, including

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British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, Turkish Airlines, and Iran Air, also operate in Kazakhstan.

The length of Kazakhstan’s navigable waterways is more than 6,000 km. The water routes run along the Irtysh, Syrdarya, Ural, Kigach, Ili, and Ishim Rivers, the Bukhtarma, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Shulba, and Kapchagai Water Reservoirs, and Lakes Balkhash and Zaisan.

The Caspian Sea links Kazakhstan with Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. Russian rivers and channels provide connections to the Black and Baltic Seas and further to Western Europe.

The Aktau Port situated on the Caspian Sea is the only ice-free seaport in Kazakhstan and a strategic international hub. Grain, ores, coal, wood, and oil products are being transported by sea. Because of the extensive development of the oil sector, freight traffi c on the Caspian Sea has grown signifi cantly.

Pipeline transport is becoming increasingly important in light of the enhancement of the country’s oil and gas potential. The fi rst oil pipeline from the Dossor fi eld to the Rakusha port was commissioned in 1915 to pipe the Emba oil to the Caspian Sea. In the 1930s, when oil production increased, a 900-km Guriyev-Orsk oil pipeline was built.

The development of oil fi elds in Western Kazakhstan called for the construction of the Uzen-Makat-Samara pipeline, with a link to the Atyrau Refi nery, and the Uzen-Zhetybai-Shevchenko pipeline. The Omsk-Pavlodar pipeline was laid in the 1960s when the Pavlodar Refi nery was commissioned.

The major Central Asia-Centre and Bukhara-Ural gas pipelines cross Kazakhstan with links to the industrial centres in Western and Northern Kazakhstan. Southern regions are fed with gas from the 1,317 km Mubarek-Tashkent-Shymkent-Taraz-Almaty pipeline.

Future pipeline development strategies will try to ensure that new oil pipelines provide stable supplies to the nation’s own refi neries and transport Kazakh oil to external markets, using the routes that are the most convenient to freight forwarders.

At present, the most signifi cant transport objective for Kazakhstan is to further improve domestic and interstate links and upgrade the majority of the existing infrastructure.

To speed up these large-scale efforts that are of international im-portance Kazakhstan needs signifi cant investment in order to upgrade its railroads, ground facilities, and air traffi c control system.

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4.13. Communications

Communications are an integral part of Kazakhstan’s economic and social infrastructure. The main components of this sector are telecommunications and postal services.

The largest providers of telecommunications and postal services in Kazakhstan are Kazakhtelecom and Kazpochta, respectively.

The country has fi ve cellular operators, including three GSM providers.

In accordance with the Access to Telephony Programme, by 2013, telephone and Internet connections, including those based on the mod-ern CDMA-40 wireless format, will be made available nationwide.

The number of Internet users has grown signifi cantly recently. However, only 14 out of 100 people in Kazakhstan had access to the Internet before 2008 and the 2008 fi gure was expected to increase to 21.

The government has prepared and introduced a proactive E-Gov-ernment Development Programme. The number of state services provided via web-portals to people and businesses is increasing every day. Some information services are already available electronically. These include information on real estate, and data related to the draft law on the national register of registration numbers databases.

In order to successfully advance the Internet, the government has adopted the Blueprint for the Formation and Development of Ka-zakhstan’s Internet Segment (Kaznet) as a Single Information Space for 2008-2012.

In 2006, the Samgau National Science and Technology Holding was set up, which is a determinant of how telecommunications, the Internet in particular, and technical progress will advance. The main objective of this organisation is to provide a basis for the creation of a high-tech society in Kazakhstan. To achieve this, equal access to knowledge, information, information and communications services, and technologies will be provided to all people irrespective of their social status, age, or location.

The postal service is managed by Kazpochta, the national postal operator, which represents Kazakhstan in the global community. Ka-

zpochta offers a wide range of services, including mailing, fi nancial and agency services, and is a system that handles all information, money and commodity fl ows. The postal operator has the largest network of branches and these provide full coverage of the country, including districts and rural areas.

Kazpochta was the fi rst operator in the CIS to develop a postal and savings system and is the only structure that has implemented it. The regional communications community acknowledged the success of Kazpochta and recommended Kazakhstan’s new postal system as a promising model for postal services in the CIS.

Kazakhstan’s postal service presently employs approximately 21,000 people and has more than 3,200 offi ces nationwide, including 14 oblast and four national branches.

Kazakhstan’s postal service is now being intensively transformed into a multifunctional ‘fi nancial supermarket’, which will soon offer a full range of postal, fi nancial and other services, as well as into a general logistics operator, something that is essential for such a big country with high transit potential.

Kazpochta is the only major network which has access to almost all of Kazakhstan’s population and has no alternatives. At the same time, courier, direct mail and mail order services are being developed. Major international logistics operators such as DHL, EMS, FedEx, and UPS have representative offi ces in Kazakhstan.

Oblast branches are connected to the corporate information net-work by optical fi bre lines (Frame Relay). All regional postal branches are interconnected by satellite channels. Since 2007, negotiations have been underway to transfer these channels to IP VPN ground lines provided by Kazakhtelecom.

The economic success of a country is possible only if a modern IT infrastructure exists. The creation of this infrastructure needs to involve domestic engineers and producers. This is an objective necessity – if an up-to-date IT infrastructure is missing, it will be impossible to enhance the economy. The development of a competi-tive communications sector ensures the harmonious progress of the economic space.

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4.14. Tourism

When thinking where to go, tourists are attracted by natural landscapes, geographic peculiarities, cultural heritage, advanced infrastructure, and security. Kazakhstan has all the opportunities to become a country with a favourable tourism image.

Kazakhstan is situated in the heart of Eurasia, at the intersection of the largest Asian and European countries. This favourable geographic loca-tion is very benefi cial for the development of international tourism.

Kazakhstan has diverse tourism potential and unique opportunities to develop almost all types of tourism, from visits to historic places and ecotourism, including observation of rare species of fl ora and fauna, to adventure travel and other active types of tourism.

The country has many unique natural preserves and national parks, over 100 therapeutic facilities, and more than 9,000 archaeological and historic sites.

Kazakhstan’s tourism sector is an established structure, which is continuing to progress. This is confi rmed by annual increases in the number of incoming tourists.

The development of tourism is one of the priorities of the Strategy for Kazakhstan’s Joining the World’s 50 Most Competitive Coun-tries. The State Tourism Development Programme for 2007-2011 was adopted because the tourism cluster is one of the seven priority non-primary sectors, the advancement of which will raise the com-petitiveness of the country and enhance its economic diversifi cation. A number of investment incentives and preferential treatments are provided and the visa laws are being improved.

The country’s recreational potential allows the development of a host of promising sub-sectors.

A list of twenty breakthrough projects attractive to tourists was compiled and is being implemented. The largest projects are the con-struction of the Zhana Ile tourist centre on the Kapchagai Reservoir, the Burabai complex in the Shchuchinsk and Borovoye recreational area, and the Kenderli Resort in Mangystau Oblast.

Following the example of the U.S., who have made the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) a popular tourist

site, Kazakhstan is developing the First Space Harbour on the Planet project in Baikonur. This project will include excursions into the history of the space industry.

Other major projects include the construction of a chain of cheap tourist-class hotels in the regions. Twenty small hotels for 900 beds are already being built in Akmola Oblast alone. Another project en-visages the construction of a 4,000-seat sports complex on the left bank of the Ishim River in Astana.

The creation of a special economic zone in Mangystau Oblast is also being considered. A project has been prepared to develop beach and cruise tourism on the Caspian Sea, including building the Aktau City coastal town. Another promising project is the construction of the Kenderli Resort.

Kazakhstan’s geographic peculiarities make it evident that the country has signifi cant potential for ecotourism. In particular, Ka-zakhstan’s diverse mountainous rivers are ideal for rafting.

Tremendous work is being carried out in order to develop the ten most attractive tourist routes in the national natural parks, Altyn Yemel, Ile Alatau, and the Charyn Canyon in particular.

The Great Silk Road routes are also being worked on as an area of cultural and educational tourism. A 1,200 km northern line of the Silk Road runs through Kazakhstan, from China to Uzbekistan. This section is a unique complex of historic, archaeological, and archi-tectural sites.

The ancient cities of Otrar, Sauran, and Turkestan were not only trade centres, but scientifi c, cultural, and religious hubs. Today, more than 300,000 people visit these places every year for educational and religious purposes. Hotels and caravanserais are being planned along the route, and mutual recognition of tourist visas in Central Asia is being negotiated.

The launch of the Silk Road Pearl tourist train along the route Almaty-Turkestan-Tashkent-Samarkand-Bukhara-Urgench-Mary-Ashgabat-Almaty is also planned.

In addition, Kazakhstan has world-class ski sites that can com-pete with the best ski resorts in the world. The most popular tourist sites are the Shymbulak ski resort, the Medeo high-altitude skating

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rink, and the Shchuchinsk-Borovoye resort, often called the ‘Kazakh Switzerland’.

Asiada-2011 will be a powerful stimulus for the development of tourism. Sports facilities which will be built for the Asian Games in Almaty and Astana can then be used as tourist sites.

As for international cooperation, 23 intergovernmental agree-ments on tourism are in effect now. Intergovernmental agreements with Slovenia, Lithuania, Moldova, and Cuba are being discussed. Agreements with Germany, the UK, South Korea, France, Japan, and the U.S. are being drafted.

An important measure aimed at the development of international relations in the area of tourism is strengthening ties with the World Tourism Organisation. Cooperation in the framework of this authorita-tive structure will help Kazakhstan join the global tourism community in the shortest possible time, effectively form its tourism image, take part in the largest forums, and exchange technologies.

4.15. Foreign Economic Relations

Kazakhstan is a fully fl edged participant in international economic relations. The number of its partner countries has grown signifi cantly, and economic ties have been established with many developed and developing states. Kazakhstan is moving steadily towards integration with the global market.

Kazakhstan’s trade partners include European, Asian, American and African countries, and Australia.

Since 1997 the geography of Kazakhstan’s foreign trade has changed noticeably towards enhanced relationships with foreign countries. This has had a positive infl uence on Kazakhstan’s foreign economic activities. The dynamics of Kazakhstan’s foreign trade is shown in Table 2.

Table 2Kazakhstan’s Foreign Trade

$ billion2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Trade, total 13.8 15.0 16.3 21.3 32.9 45.1 61.9 80.5 109.1

Exports 8.8 8.6 9.7 12.9 20.1 27.8 38.2 47.8 71.2

Imports 5.0 6.4 6.6 8.4 12.8 17.3 23.7 32.7 37.9

Source: Statistics Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan

An analysis of Kazakhstan’s foreign trade proves that it is grow-ing steadily. In 2008, foreign trade turnover was almost eight times as high as in 2000.

The main consumers of Kazakhstan’s products in 2008 were Italy (16.7% of all exports), Switzerland (15.8%), China (10.8%), Russia (8.7%), France (7.6%), the Netherlands (6.5%), and Iran (2.9%).

The largest portion of exports from Kazakhstan is raw materials. In 2008, mineral products accounted for 73% of Kazakhstan’s ex-ports which shows that the country is still orientated towards primary production.

Therefore, the priorities of Kazakhstan’s state policy are the modernisation and diversifi cation of economic development. This

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01994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 9 month 2008

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was emphasised by President Nazarbayev in his State-of-the-Nation Address Through Crisis to Renovation and Development on 6 March 2009, “Our future depends on further economic modernisation and the development of basic infrastructure. We will continue to fi nance and implement existing promising investment projects.” [2]

An important element of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy is deepening cooperation with the European Union. This is particularly signifi cant because of the extension of the EU and its readiness to activate politi-cal dialogue with Kazakhstan.

The relations between Kazakhstan and the EU are leaning towards becoming stable and long-term. Kazakhstan is the largest of the EU’s partners in Central Asia and the CIS. The most dynamic platform for cooperation is the oil and gas sector. In future, Kazakhstan is expected to become the largest supplier of Caspian oil and gas resources to European markets.

In addition, trade and economic ties are being expanded in the area of transport, industrial production, and agriculture.

An analysis of the trade between Kazakhstan and the EU shows that it is progressing positively (see Figure 2).

The economic ties of Kazakhstan with Russia and China are also being developed.


Figure 2. Trade between Kazakhstan and the EU ($ million)

Russia is Kazakhstan’s strategic trade partner and a stable and con-tinuous investor in its economy. Trade between the countries accounts for 20% of Kazakhstan’s foreign trade. In 2008, trade turnover reached about $20bn, an increase of more than 50% on 2007. The dynamics of trade between Russia and Kazakhstan is shown on Figure 3.

25

20

15

10

5

01995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

years


Figure 3. Trade between Kazakhstan and Russia ($ billion)

At present, Russian investment fl ows into priority sectors such as industry, construction, fi nance, transport, and communications. Ac-cording to the Statistics Agency, more than 3,000 businesses involve Russian capital.

Russia is Kazakhstan’s main energy partner. The Protocol to the Agreement on the Delineation of the Northern Part of the Caspian Sea Floor, which was signed in May 2002, offered new prospects for oil and gas cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan. The Protocol delineates the northern Caspian Sea between Russia and Kazakhstan and sets forth the principles of the joint development of the Kurmangazy (Kazakhstan) and Tsentralnaya (Russia) geological structures, as well as the Khvalynskoye fi eld (Russia).

Kazakh oil is being transported by the Atyrau-Samara pipeline. The volume of oil pumped annually exceeds 15 million tonnes.

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The countries are the main shareholders in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). Today, Kazakhstan is third after only Russia and Norway among non-OPEC suppliers in terms of oil exports to the EU market.

Because of the increased production and sale of Kazakh gas, efforts were made to agree on gas processing in Russia and on using Russian transport infrastructure for exports. The forthcoming development of the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, which will process gas from the Karachaganak fi eld, is very important. The volume of Kazakh gas to be processed at the facility is expected to reach 15 billion cu m a year.

Russia and Kazakhstan are jointly taking part in the modernisa-tion of the Central Asia-Centre (CAC) gas transport system. Within the programme for the reconstruction of the gas pipeline system, it is planned to gradually increase the CAC throughput capacity from today’s 54.6 billion cu m to 80 billion cu m a year.

China is also a signifi cant trade partner for Kazakhstan. Trade relations between the countries are very dynamic. In the fi rst nine months of 2008, bilateral trade reached $8.74bn. In China’s foreign trade with Central Asia and Eastern Europe, Kazakhstan consistently ranks second to Russia.

The dynamics of trade between Kazakhstan and China is shown in Figure 4.

Energy is obviously one of the priorities for bilateral cooperation. The implementation of the Atasu-Alashankou oil pipeline project, which pumped 5.1 million tonnes of oil in 2008, was particularly important. At present, the Kenkiyak-Kumkol oil pipeline – Phase II of the Kazakhstan-China pipeline – is being constructed.

The establishment of the Khorgos Cross-Border Cooperation Centre also contributed to the development of cooperation between the countries. The Kazakh government is negotiating the construc-tion of the Khorgos-Zhetygen rail line. The need for this project was emphasised by President Nazarbayev in his State-of-the-Nation Ad-dress on 6 February 2008 [2].

The construction of the Khorgos Centre is essential for both Cen-tral Asia and the CIS (primarily Russia) as it will create conditions

for the expansion of the post-Soviet countries’ trade and economic ties with China.


Figure 4. Trade between Kazakhstan and China ($ billion)

The Western Europe-Western China transport corridor is another project with Chinese investment that is signifi cant for the develop-ment of Central Asia’s transit potential. This route is expected to run as follows: St. Petersburg-Moscow-Kazan-Orenburg-Kyzylorda-Shymkent-Taraz-Almaty-Khorgos-Lianyungang. Its length will be 8,445 km, including 2,787 km in Kazakhstan.

The Balkhash thermal power plant is another priority project with Chinese investment. Module 1 of the plant is expected to be commis-sioned by 2013, and Module 2 in 2016.

However, we believe, that economic cooperation between the two countries has signifi cant potential for enhancement. Not only are the energy and transport sectors promising economically, but the process-ing industries as well. Construction materials, pharmaceuticals, light industry, agrarian sector, and innovations are also areas with good prospects for cooperation.

16141210

86420

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 9 month 2008

years

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References

1. Послание Президента РК Н.А. Назарбаева народу Казах-стана «Стратегия вхождения Казахстана в число 50-ти наиболее конкурентоспособных стран мира. Казахстан на пороге нового рывка вперед в своем развитии». – Астана, март 2006 г.

2. Послание Президента РК Н.А. Назарбаева народу Казах-стана «Через кризис к процветанию и обновлению». – Астана, март 2009 г.

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 5. Human Development in Kazakhstan

CHAPTER 5. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN

5.1. EducationThe development of education and science is one of the strategic

priorities of Kazakhstan’s state policy. They are a signifi cant infl u-ence on the pace of economic, social and cultural progress and will determine the nation’s competitiveness in the forthcoming years.

“…Almost all successful modern states that are proactively in-tegrated with the system of global economic relationships banked on a ‘smart economy’. However, to create it, we need, fi rst of all, to develop our own human capital,” said President Nazarbayev in his State-of-the-Nation Address New Kazakhstan in the New World. A Strategy for the Next Stage of Development [1].

To this end, the government has adopted a number of policies with the objective of making domestic education and science match

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the best international standards and meet the needs of economic and social modernisation.

To achieve this, the government is taking measures to reform edu-cation and science, adapt them to modern requirements, and integrate them with global educational and scientifi c processes.

Over the years of independence, Kazakhstan’s education sys-tem has passed through several stages and the following have been achieved:

− a legislative framework for the educational process has been formed;

− a differentiated, multi-tier education system (preschool, school, vocational, higher and postgraduate education) has been developed;

− the principles of, and approaches to, education management have been adjusted taking into account the objectives of the market and state development;

− a system of public and private schools and institutions of higher education has been formed to meet the basic needs for education;

− the National Education Quality System, which includes the unifi ed national testing for school graduates, has been developed and adopted;

− educational institutions have been computerised and all schools and institutions of higher education are now being connected to the Internet;

− the mechanism of free and paid for education has been stand-ardised;

− a mechanism of educational grants and loans has been cre-ated;

− Kazakhstan’s education system has entered the global edu-cational space by joining the UNESCO Education For All initiative and the Bologna Convention;

− a three-tier higher and postgraduate education system (Bach-elor’s, Master’s and Ph.D. programmes) has been adopted;

− credit technologies for institutions of higher education have been introduced;

− distance learning is being developed; and

− the technical and fi nancial base of educational institutions has improved signifi cantly.

Having joined Education for All’s (EFA) Dakar Framework for Action, Kazakhstan is now working to achieve the goals set by the World Educational Forum.

In the recent years, global community has begun to pay signifi -cant attention to the quality of fundamental education, which is an integral and paramount condition for improving the quality of life. The EFA global movement refl ects this process to the fullest extent possible.

The country’s educational policy aims at ensuring the quality development of all people. The implementation of the EFA Frame-work for Action in Kazakhstan is conducive to the sustainable and comprehensive functioning of the sector, and its harmonisation with the strategies for the improvement of the quality of education.

Kazakhstan’s education system is continuing to be improved. The legislative framework has been changed signifi cantly. The laws On Education, On the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and On Social and Medical and Pedagogical Correctional Support to Disabled Children have been adopted.

In accordance with President Nazarbayev’s State-of-the-Nation Address dated 19 March 2004, Towards a Competitive Kazakhstan, Competitive Economy, and Competitive Nation, the Blueprint for the Education system Development in Kazakhstan until 2015 and the State Education Development Programme for 2005-2010 were approved in 2004.

The programme objectives are to modernise the national multi-tier education system, improve the quality of education, and meet the needs of people in pursuance of the nation’s Strategic Development Plan until 2010.

In order to form an effective education model, the programme has set the following goals:

− transition to a 12-year school education and setting up of a system of vocational education for high school students;

− development of a new level – post-secondary vocational education;

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− development of a three-tier system of higher education (Bachelor’s, Master’s and Ph.D. programmes) to be fi nanced through academic loans; and

− creation of the National System for the Education Quality Assessment.

According to the Head of State, further reform of education is “[…] one of the most important instruments in ensuring Kazakhstan’s real competitiveness. The main criterion of success of the educational reform is reaching a level when every national of Kazakhstan, who has the respective education and qualifi cation, is in demand in any country. We should ensure that quality educational services that meet world standards are provided nationwide.” [2]

Within the framework of this programme and in accordance with the Law On Education, the government is focusing on the devel-opment of preschool, school, vocational, higher and postgraduate education.

Preschool education is important to develop communicative skills and speech in children, ensure their physical development, and prepare them for school.

During the educational reform, the most signifi cant objectives were to determine and implement the measures that would protect children’s rights to preschool education.

As a result, the preschool system has seen positive changes since 2000. The number of preschool institution closures has fallen, and many have been reopened (after kindergartens and day nurseries had been returned into municipal ownership). The number of children in preschools has grown over the recent years.

Preschool preparation of children aged fi ve and six has been made compulsory and free of charge. This socially important resolution has enhanced the accessibility of education and provided an equal start for all children who enter school.

At present, more than 80% of future students study in preschool groups at schools and kindergartens. Special private institutions (with English, fi ne arts, or music classes) are being set up for gifted children.

To ensure equal access to preschool education for all children, the network of preschool institutions will be expanded with the help of

national and local budgets and private investment. The introduction of low-cost preschool models, where children spend two to four hours a day in the institution, is planned.

Kazakhstan’s preschool institutions are held in high esteem by parents and teachers, and have been positively evaluated by inter-national organisations such as UNESCO, UNICEF, ADB, and the Russian Regional Development Bank (RRDB), and others.

The priorities for school education are to ensure that free secondary education in state schools is available at all times to all nationals, that the quality of the educational process meets modern requirements, and that all children of school age study at school.

School education is one of the key factors of socialisation, a person’s involvement in social processes. It provides the fundamen-tal skills and knowledge that are necessary for future professional activities or further education, as well as for the respective social status. School education has three levels – primary, secondary, and high school, and is an essential element of the education system as a whole.

An important issue for schools is the transition to the 12-year school programme, which will have three stages and will accept stu-dents from the age of six. This transition will be made in 2010. The Education and Science Ministry’s Centre for 12-Year Education is now testing teaching and methodical materials in 52 schools nation-wide. Educational standards, and teaching programmes, plans, and aids for the 12-year programme are being developed. To achieve this objective, international experience has been analysed and scholars from universities in the leading countries, authors of textbooks, and the best teachers have been involved.

The National Centre for State Educational Standards and the Ka-zakh Education Academy, named after Ybyrai Altynsarin, have been set up to streamline the updates of educational materials and raise the quality of education.

A tremendous amount of work is being carried out to achieve the objectives associated with the transition to 12-year school education. These objectives include shrinking the defi cit of available seats in schools and providing additional seats for the fi rst grade students

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(aged six); creating conditions that will allow specialised training in high school, in particular in non-graded schools and schools for disabled children; strengthening schools’ material and technical base; providing advanced training and professional development to teach-ers in accordance with modern requirements; and developing new standards, programmes and textbooks.

To reduce the defi cit of seats, it was planned that about 300 schools and boarding schools were to be built in the three-year period from 2007 to 2010. In 2007, 76 schools were built; in 2008, 88 schools for 63,000 seats were commissioned under the 100 Schools, 100 Hospitals presidential programme; and another 102 schools for 69,000 students are expected to be built in 2009-2010.

The Uchebnik Research and Methodological Centre has been launched. This organisation will provide textbooks for all levels of education, and ensure their theoretical examination and practical testing.

Particular attention is being paid to rural schools. To ensure the comprehensiveness and quality of education in non-graded schools, the number of mixed classes at the secondary and terti-ary levels will be gradually decreased. There are plans to build specialised boarding schools in rural areas for children from non-graded schools.

As ordered by the Head of State and in accordance with Govern-mental Resolution No. 213 dated 13 March 2004, in 2004 Kazakhstan adopted the unifi ed national testing system which has become a tool of independent external control over students’ expertise.

Unifi ed national testing combines a graduation examination in schools with entrance examinations for colleges and institutions of higher education. The testing includes four disciplines: three compul-sory (Kazakh/Russian, Mathematics, and the History of Kazakhstan) and one optional. Since 2007-2008, Kazakh has been made a com-pulsory discipline in Russian schools, and Russian a compulsory discipline in Kazakh schools. As a consequence, the tests now include fi ve disciplines.

The computerisation of schools in 2001 was a signifi cant achieve-ment. Almost all schools, including those in rural areas, were provided

with up-to-date computers. At present, they are being connected to the Internet. A total of 75% of schools are expected to be connected to the Internet by 2010.

In accordance with the EFA Framework for Action, measures are being taken to provide education to disabled children, the number of which now exceeds 120,000.

Disabled children’s’ rights are being governed by the Law On So-cial and Medical and Pedagogical Correctional Support to Disabled Children, in compliance with Article 23 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Additionally, measures are being taken to educate children with deviant behaviour. Ten specialised institutions have been opened to teach more than 800 children falling into this category.

As at the beginning of the school year of 2007-2008, 7,958 day schools operated in Kazakhstan with the number of students exceed-ing 2,627,000 [3]. The country also has a network of night schools for nationals of any age (both employed and unemployed) offering in-house, correspondence, family, and external classes. In the school year of 2007-2008, 24,000 people studied at 79 night schools.

Vocational (primary and secondary professional) education in-cludes a network of educational institutions that prepare qualifi ed technical and service staff for various professional sectors.

As at the beginning of the school year of 2007-2008, the vocational system comprised 313 professional schools and lyceums (106,769 students) and 460 colleges (499,546 students).

The Education and Science Ministry has been paying continuous attention to the introduction of new technology in the vocational system. Since 2001, professional schools, lyceums and colleges have been equipped with multimedia classes, computers, electronic teaching materials on fundamental and special disciplines, and con-nections to the Internet.

The government has been supporting the institute of social partner-ship with employers, subsidising students in particular specialisations – subsidies that are paid back by the graduate proceeding to work for a specifi c enterprise. The State Education Development Programme for 2005-2010 and the Strategic Plan envisaged increasing the number

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of students studying under the scheme from 17% to 24% in colleges, and from 96% to 98% in professional schools.

Promoting Professional Education in Kazakhstan, a joint Kazakh and German project, has been implemented within the respective intergovernmental cooperation agreement. This project was intended to develop the mechanisms of interaction between vocational schools and employers relevant to the current economic conditions.

The system of higher education has also changed signifi cantly dur-ing the years of independence. The non-government education sector has been developed, a new entrance model has been introduced, and new requirements for the quality of education have been adopted.

In 1999, the system of higher education in Kazakhstan became multi-level: base higher education (Bachelor’s degree), higher re-search and teaching education (Master’s degree), and special higher education.

Classical-type universities have been established from regional institutions of higher education. Teachers’, agricultural and technical institutes have progressed. New institutions, including the Gumilyov Eurasian University, the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Eco-nomics and Strategic Research (KIMEP), the Atyrau Oil and Gas Institute, the Kazakh National Music Academy, and the international Kazakh-Turkish Yassawi University (the fi rst institution established by Turkic peoples), the Kazakh-British Technical University, the Kazakh-American University, and the Kazakh-German University, have been set up. A new international university is expected to be opened soon in Astana.

In 2007-2008, licences were withdrawn from some institutions of higher education and their divisions that had failed to pass the qualifi cation audit by the Education and Science Ministry. This was done within the framework of the state policy to improve the quality of educational services. As a result, the number of institutions reduced to 167; their students numbered 717,053.

The government has been making signifi cant efforts to provide social support to students. In accordance with President Nazarbayev’s order, the government resolved to allocate, starting from 1 March 2009, 3 billion tenge ($20m) for educational grants to excellent stu-

dents who then study for free. As a result, the number of grantees has grown by 11,500 students.

In addition, the government will allocate 15 billion tenge ($100m) for subsidised educational loans to medical and technical students.

The eligibility criteria for subsidised loans are academic perform-ance and social status. The preferred borrowers are orphans, students with disabled parents, students from large or broken families, and students with parents who are pensioners.

The enhancement of international cooperation is one of the priori-ties in reforming the higher education system. Kazakhstan’s young people are provided with an opportunity to learn from foreign edu-cational and research centres, and the national education system’s achievements are being promoted abroad. In this context, a signifi cant objective of the higher education system is for Kazakhstan to join the global educational space.

To achieve this objective, Kazakhstan is taking measures to implement the Bologna and Lisbon Declarations, to ensure that Ka-zakhstan’s institutions of higher education are accredited worldwide, and to ensure the nostrifi cation of diplomas issued in Kazakhstan and other countries. Direct partnerships between Kazakh institutions of higher education and foreign research and educational centres are also being strengthened.

On 5 November 1993, President Nazarbayev signed a resolution to found the Bolashak international scholarship. This initiative was intended to help talented young people receive quality education abroad for the benefi t of the country. In 1994, the fi rst group of Kazakh students went to study in foreign countries.

From 1994 to 2004, about 800 Bolashak scholarships were awarded. In 2005, the Head of State, in his annual State-of-the-Nation Address, increased the number of scholars to 3,000 a year.

A number of new concepts have been introduced to effectively implement this initiative: scholarships for specialised higher educa-tion and Bachelor’s degrees have been awarded for the fi rst time, and the Bolashak awardees are now selected in strict compliance with the Priority Specialities List approved annually by the Republican Commission for Training Abroad.

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In 2005-2007, the Priority Specialities List for the Bolashak scholarship was prepared in line with the country’s development priorities and its demand for highly qualifi ed personnel in certain economic sectors. These benchmarks are set forth by the nation’s strategic documents such as:

1. Strategy for Industrial and Innovative Development for 2003-2015;

2. State Education Development Programme for 2005-2010;3. State Public Health Reform and Development Programme for

2005-2010;4. State Programme for Space Activity Development in 2005-

2007;5. State Programme for Rural Areas Development in 2004-

2010;6. Cultural Development Programme for 2006-2008;7. State Housing Construction Development Programme for

2005–2007;8. State E-Government Development Programme for 2005–2007;

and9. Transport Strategy until 2015.At present, the Bolashak scholars can study in 32 countries, at 630

leading universities. The scholarship is focused on Master’s and Ph.D. degrees. Technical and medical specialities are preferred as they are in greatest demand in Kazakhstan.

Bolashak is somewhat of a guarantee of a successful career and pro-fessional achievements. Many graduates hold important positions with government bodies, public and international organisations, and joint-stock companies and take part in various state and international projects, making their contribution to the advancement of the country.

Postgraduate education has also been developing successfully. In recent years, the Master’s degree was introduced as an intermedi-ary stage between the Bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. Compared to the Bachelor’s degree, the Master’s degree offers students heightened expertise in an academic discipline or professional fi eld of study.

The Master’s courses are being provided by major universities (the al-Farabi Kazakh National University, the Kazakh National Technical

University, the Gumilyov Eurasian State University, the Kazakh State Management Academy, KIMEP, the International Business Academy, and the International Business University and others). Some of these institutions invite foreign lecturers.

The Master’s degree is a qualitatively new level of business and educational services. In KIMEP, for example, the MBA programmes combine specialised business and management courses, long-term international cooperation, and share experiences with the best Western business schools, which is, in the aggregate, an undoubted advantage.

Many graduates take postgraduate courses, while the others apply their expertise in practice. The demand for highly qualifi ed young specialists is growing steadily.

The reforms that have been carried out in the recent years have made it possible to make a transition from the unifi ed education sys-tem to a multiple-option system. Students have been provided with an opportunity to select the forms of education (from full-time attend-ance to distance learning), teachers’ methods, and training materials. Syllabuses have been improved and innovative and authors’ training programmes have been enhanced.

The technical and fi nancial base of the country’s education system has also improved signifi cantly. The nation’s budget expenses for the development of education are growing each year. In 2007, the budget expenses for education were 455.8 billion tenge (3.6% of the GDP), compared to 85.4 billion tenge (3.3%) in 2000. In 2008, this fi gure reached 547.8 tenge. By 2012, annual allocations for education are expected to total up to 816 billion tenge [4]. In other words, in 2008, the public investment in education was 6.4 times higher than in 2000, and in 2011 it is expected to grow almost tenfold.

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5.2. Science

Kazakhstan has a powerful scientifi c and technical potential due to the combination of the Soviet scientifi c heritage and the achieve-ments made during the years since independence.

In Soviet times, scientifi c schools were established in many areas, including non-ferrous metallurgy, catalysis, physics, mathematics, space research, mining, chemistry, biologically active substances, high-molecular compounds, human, plant and animal biochemistry and physiology, geography, and botany. Social sciences developed successfully. Many works by Kazakh scholars have been recognised worldwide, including in the area of geology, non-ferrous metallurgy and chemistry, and others.

Having become independent in 1991, Kazakhstan faced the chal-lenge of building its own scientifi c base. The fi rst steps were the creation of the legislative and organisational framework for Kazakh science.

In 1992, the Law On Science and Scientifi c and Technical Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan was adopted and the Ministry of Sci-ence and New Technologies was created.

In 1992-1993, structures (for standardisation, scientifi c person-nel evaluation, state registration of research and development, de-posit manuscripts and dissertations, and patents) were established to determine the scientifi c and technical policy of the sovereign Kazakhstan.

In 1993, the Republican Special-Purpose Scientifi c and Technical Programme for the Development of the State System of Scientifi c and Technical Information in the Republic of Kazakhstan was adopted. A number of national scientifi c centres were established, including the Centres for Electronic Engineering, Communications, Advanced Processing of Minerals, Biotechnologies, and the National Nuclear Centre.

In 1996-1999, a number of organisational reforms were effected in the administrative system. The Education and Science Ministry was formed to become the executive body in charge of scientifi c development. The National Academy of Sciences, previously a state

institution, became a public organisation. Academic institutes began to withdraw from the National Academy of Sciences to become sectoral organisations or join institutions of higher education.

In 2001, the Law On Science was adopted on the basis of the Blueprint for the Science and Scientifi c and Technical Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which was developed a year earlier. This law governs social relationships in the area of science and sets forth the rights and obligations of the participants in scientifi c and technical activities. The Innovative Development Programme until 2015 was approved in the same year.

In July 2002, the Law On Innovative Activities took effect. The state innovation policy aims to create a balanced production infra-structure that ensures that competitive, high-tech products and services dominate production and administration sectors.

In 2006, a new era of improvements in the area of scientifi c ad-ministration began. The main feature of the structural reforms effected in 2006 was a new decision-making system, a concept proposed by President Nazarbayev at a lecture at the Eurasian National University on 26 May 2006. The importance of this system was emphasised by the fact that the Government’s High Scientifi c and Technical Com-mission (HSTC), which was set up in August 2006, was headed by the Prime Minister.

The HSTC was intended to determine the national scientifi c and technical priorities and report to the Head of State on the development of science and technology in the country once every three years. In 2007, the HSTC established the International Expert Council, which was tasked with analysing global scientifi c trends and the potential for advanced research into particular sciences. The results of this analysis, in the form of proposals and recommendations, are regu-larly reported to HSTC so that it can adjust the nation’s scientifi c and technical policy.

In July 2006, the Science Committee was established within the Education and Science Ministry. This structure became the single administrator authorised to fi nance research, including fundamen-tal studies and programmes of national importance. The Science Committee is a working body of the HSTC. By 2010, all research

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activities by sectoral ministries are expected to be fi nanced through the Committee.

The Science Fund, which was established within the Education and Science Ministry as a joint-stock company with the government having a 100% stake, is authorised to fi nance development work, as well as scientifi c and technical, risk, and initiative projects. The Fund’s strategic goal is to support world-class research and development ap-plications that could prove effective, selected on a tender basis.

The change of the HSTC’s status and the establishment of the Science Committee and the Science Fund have strengthened the institutional basis for support and innovations, and helped Kazakh scholars better understand global trends and focus on the priorities that are conducive to improving the country’s competitiveness.

Other improvements include the introduction of the targeted fi nanc-ing of research, the creation of a state scientifi c and technical expert body, and the update of the respective legislative framework.

Five national scientifi c centres (the National Nuclear Centre and the National Centres for Advanced Processing of Minerals, Biotech-nologies, Electronic Engineering, and Communications) are working to preserve the potential of the major sectoral scientifi c institutions that are leaders in their respective disciplines.

The primary objective of these centres is to ensure the industrial application of scientifi c products that have been fully commercialised and patented, and have successfully passed commercial tests and proved their technical and economic effectiveness.

In addition, three scientifi c centres (for geosciences and enrichment metallurgy, and biological and astrophysical research) have been set up within academic research institutes. These centres are intended to focus science and technology on the priority areas of fundamental studies and enhance the fundamental science’s contribution to the socioeconomic development.

In August 2005, the Education and Science Ministry’s National Biotechnology Centre (NBC) was created. Its objectives are to ad-vance research in the fi eld of biotechnology, and develop the main areas of research in accordance with the state scientifi c and technical priorities, subject to their socioeconomic importance.

The NBC’s main activities are fundamental and applied research, into resource-saving, environmentally friendly, and wasteless tech-nologies in particular; creation of knowledge-intensive production while ensuring the protection of intellectual property and the com-mercialisation of domestic technologies, as well as the transfer of foreign ones, to meet the demands of agriculture, healthcare, environ-ment protection, food and processing sectors; and the preparation and professional development of specialists.

NBC is the lead organisation that has been coordinating the fol-lowing applied scientifi c and technical programmes: Development of Up-to-Date Technologies to Form the Biotechnology Cluster in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2006-2008; Avian Infl uenza: Study and Development of Control Aids and Measures for 2006-2008; Scientifi c and Technical Backup of Biological and Chemical Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2006-2008; and Scientifi c and Technical Backup of the Monitoring and Genetic Mapping of Highly Infectious Anti-Crop and Anti-Animal Agents to Ensure the Biological Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2004-2006 (completed).

Thirty scientifi c institutions, including six research centres (Au-burn University, University of Texas and University of California from the U.S., the French National Centre for Scientifi c Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifi que), Nagasaki University from Japan, and the Vector State Scientifi c Virology and Biotechnology Centre from Russia) have taken part in the implementation of these programmes.

In July 2007, the Geoscience and Enrichment Metallurgy Centre was established. Its subsidiaries include the Physics and Technology Institute, the Satpayev Institute of Geological Sciences, the Geography Institute, the Seismology Institute, the Akhmedsafi n Hydrogeology and Hydrophysics Institute, and the Altai Geology and Environment Institute.

The centre’s activities include the creation and advancement of a modern scientifi c and production cluster in the area of hydrocarbon and mineral exploration, production, recovery and advanced process-ing; generation of new materials; maintenance of environment, water and seismic security; and sustainable development of production and

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natural complexes in accordance with Kazakhstan’s strategic priorities to become one of the top 50 most competitive countries.

The centre employs 1,534 specialists, including 15 academicians, 135 doctors of science, and 247 candidates of science.

In March 2004, the Astrophysical Research Centre was established by merger of the Space Studies Institute, the Ionosphere Institute, and the Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute, who were made subsidiaries. Its core activities are astrophysical observations and theoretical stud-ies of galactic and extragalactic objects (stars and primary planets); research into the mechanisms of solar-terrestrial relationships (the study of dynamic processes that determine the interaction of spheres (atmosphere, ionosphere, magnetosphere) based on the monitoring of mesosphere, ionosphere, the geomagnetic fi eld, and cosmic rays) to develop the physical principles for forecasting space weather over Kazakhstan; development of the fundamentals of remote sensing, and the methods and technologies of space monitoring and environmental forecasting of the human impact on the country’s natural and economic complexes; and creation of new technologies in the areas of space materials science and the physics of metals.

The National Scientifi c Centre for Motherhood and Childhood (Astana), the Syzganov National Scientifi c Surgery Centre, and other major scientifi c institutions are making their important contribution to the scientifi c advancement of Kazakhstan.

The State Scientifi c Development Programme for 2007-2012 has become a new impetus for the advancement of science. This programme has begun to reform administration in the fi eld in order to optimise scientifi c institutions’ activities; enhance fi nancing; or-ganise new forms of scientifi c activities; solidify the material and technical base for scientifi c research; improve innovative potential; strengthen ties between science and production; ensure that scientifi c technologies and products are given practical application; and raise the economic effectiveness of science.

The period of 2007 to 2009 was a preparatory stage for the pro-gramme. The legislative framework has been adjusted to modify the administration of science and technology, and reform the fi nancing of R&D and engineering.

In 2010-2012, the programme will focus on 1) the integration of science and education; 2) the preparation of scientifi c personnel; and 3) the development of scientifi c infrastructure to improve domestic science’s contribution to production.

Additionally, the programme plans to set up fi ve state-of-the-art national laboratories, which will cooperate directly with the best scientifi c centres worldwide. These laboratories will serve as the base for centres in 15 regional universities, which will undertake research in the priority fi elds of applied technology under the guidance of the laboratories.

Business incubators, which are intended to commercialise small technical projects and will be located in research centres and universi-ties, will make a substantial contribution to the advancement of the production-orientated branches of knowledge.

The establishment of the Samgau National Science and Technology Holding Company is among the most recent administrative decisions. The company will coordinate the development of IT.

Public-private partnership is extremely important to the advance-ment of national science. It is understood that private businesses should be involved in the development of applied products and in the creation of innovative infrastructure, and should play a leading part in technological modernisation.

In future, it is planned that R&D will be fi nanced by private inves-tors through venture funds or on a contractual basis. Amendments to the Tax Code regarding the treatment of R&D costs as deductibles are expected to stimulate private sector demand.

By 2012, the private sector is expected to pay 50% of the national R&D costs, compared to 7% in 2005. In the end, it is expected that the private sector will fi nance two thirds of the national R&D costs.

In the recent years, Kazakhstan’s government has been working intensively to bring the national patent laws in compliance with the modern international requirements. This has been instigated by the fact that Kazakhstan had become attractive to both domestic and foreign applicants.

The budget allocations for science remain a key factor for scientifi c progress. In 2005, investment in science exceeded 12.4 billion tenge

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(an increase by 5.8 times on 2000), and by 2012 it is expected to total up to 350 billion tenge a year (a 25-fold increase).

The budget allocations for the Science Development Programme for 2007-2012 will total 43,386,200,000 tenge, including 24,133,700,000 for Phase I (2007-2009) and 19,252,500,000 for Phase II.

In future, the national budget expenditure on science will be at least 2% to 2.5% of GDP. This is comparable with the level of expenditure in developed countries.

During the years since independence, Kazakhstan’s science has achieved impressive results, some of which have been recognised worldwide.

There are plans to renew and expand the existing chemical and petrochemical enterprises using domestic technologies. Effective and competitive small to medium oil, gas and coal processing facilities will be built.

The achievements in the fi eld of social sciences include the fi nd-ings on the formation of the Kazakh ethnic territory and on the history of the Kazakh nationhood and the national liberation movement, as well as the closed gaps in the history of Kazakhstan’s literature and fi ne arts in the early 20th century.

In the area of physics and mathematics, the following develop-ments have been made: an automated air pollution forecasting system for industrial cities; the theory of multi-purpose automatic control systems for deterministic and stochastic complex processes; and the fundamentals of the computer-aided design of multifunctional new-generation materials. A high-resolution electrostatic energy analyser and a special composite spectrometer for the analysis of fractured surfaces have been developed. A methodology for forecasting the yield of cereal crops with the help of remote sensing and ground sur-veillance has been made available. The agroclimatological zoning of Kazakhstan has been calculated. The condition of the areas adjacent to the Caspian and Aral Seas has been studied and the reasons for environmental crises there have been analysed.

The achievements in the fi eld of geoscience are as follows: new fundamentals of metallogenic and ore-formation analysis have been developed; a series of geologic and economic maps, with elements of

forecasting, has been prepared to show the condition and prospects of the main types of Kazakhstan’s mineral resources; the country’s oil and gas map has been issued; new advanced geographic information systems and hydrogeological databases have been developed; and physical and dynamic earthquake source models have been created.

Signifi cant achievements have also been made in the area of non-ferrous metallurgy. New technologies have been theorised and developed, and new promising metallurgical and enrichment processes have been launched at enterprises in Kazakhstan and the CIS.

The developments in the area of chemical technology include new high-performance catalysts and catalytic processes for the refi ning of Kazakh oil; and a series of new synthesised monomers and polymers, on the basis of which high-strength composite materials and water-soluble polymers have been obtained.

A new niacin technology has been patented in 20 foreign countries. This vitamin is necessary for medicine and agriculture. New medica-tions have been created and launched.

Biological achievements include successful research into molecu-lar and cell biology, and the structural and functional organisation and control of the genome of higher organisms.

Kazakh scholars from NBC have created domestic cures for avian infl uenza and have made tests, together with their Russian counter-parts, of the measles vaccine. A cartographic pasture cadastre model, which has no comparables, and a concept of the biological reproduc-tion of soil fertility have been developed.

Kazakh agrarian science has created and tested 193 crop varieties, taking into account the bioclimatic potential of the regions, and has formed a gene pool of forage (3,473 specimens) and vegetable (156 specimens) crops.

Fourteen new types, races and breeds of livestock have been developed.

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5.3. Public Health

In his State-of-the-Nation Address for 2008, President Nazarbayev set a task to fundamentally reform public health. “The health of the nation is a nationwide objective… The main problem of the public health system today is that it still does not meet the demands of people in modern Kazakhstan. Today, we are not satisfi ed with the existing infrastructure, and the quality and organisation of medical services.” [5]

To this end, the following priorities have been set for public health for the forthcoming years: restoration and development of healthcare facilities; focus on disease prevention; professional development of medical workers; procurement of medications for the population; and promotion of and ensuring a healthy lifestyle.

These priorities are being achieved within the framework of the State Programme for Public Health Reform and Development for 2005-2010. This paper provides for the creation of an effective healthcare system which would meet the modern demands of the population.

The long-term objectives of the programme are to adopt inter-national principles of the organisation of health services, with the focus on primary healthcare (PHC); to create an optimal healthcare model which would meet the demands of the population, the sector, and the state; to enhance the accessibility of health services to the population and encourage the population to take care of their own health; to provide equal access to medical services and implement the principle of joint responsibility of the state and population for healthcare; to enhance preventive and health-improving measures; to promote maternal and child health; to improve the medical and demographic situation; and to reduce the incidence of socially im-portant diseases.

The fi rst stage of the programme (2005-2007) has shown that the country had achieved signifi cant improvements in healthcare: the key medical and demographic rates (including the birth rate, mortality, and natural increase) have improved; the rates of mater-nal and infant mortality have stabilised; the incidence of socially

important diseases such as TB, cancer, infectious pathologies, and mental and substance dependence disorders, and the level of trau-matism have reduced.

The draft Code On Public Health and the Healthcare System has been fi nalised and submitted to the Mazhilis for consideration.

Rural healthcare services are also being developed. Each state outpatient clinic in rural areas has been provided with the necessary medical equipment, vehicles and personnel. Telemedicine equipment has been installed in rural hospitals to arrange consultations with the leading healthcare centres and doctors nationwide.

The material and technical base of healthcare institutions is being strengthened. In 2005-2007, 13.9 billion tenge was provided to buy equipment for the state PHC and emergency medical services. In 2007, the salaries of medical personnel were raised by 50-70%.

In 2007, construction of eleven medical treatment institutions with general specialisations was begun under the 100 Schools, 100 Hospitals presidential programme.

Although Kazakhstan has overcome the negative trend of popula-tion decrease, the problem of child and maternal mortality is still acute. In 2005-2007, 7.9 billion tenge was allocated to equip children’s and obstetric institutions.

Also, signifi cant funds have been allocated to provide free medi-cines to children under fi ve years of age, iron- and iodine-contain-ing preparations to pregnant women, and medicines to chronically ill children and adolescents who are provided with dispensary and outpatient care.

On 20 August 2007, the National Scientifi c Centre for Maternity and Childhood opened in Astana.

New medical technologies are being introduced. In 2007, 28 unique cochlear implantations were made to children who had severe hearing loss. In 2008, 150 of these surgeries were carried out.

To ensure early detection of diseases and provide timely and ef-fective medical aid and rehabilitation, preventive examination pro-grammes for women of childbearing age (from 15 to 49) have been launched. Case follow-ups and treatment are also being provided. X-ray equipment has been purchased for these purposes.

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The Programme for the Development of Cardiologic and Car-diac Surgery Services for 2007-2009 have been developed and ap-proved. In 2007, the national budget allocated 5.4 billion tenge to implement it. In 2008, cardiac surgery departments were opened in West Kazakhstan, North Kazakhstan, Almaty and Atyrau Oblasts. In 2009, similar departments were opened in Zhambyl, Kyzylorda and Mangystau Oblasts.

The Anti-AIDS Programme for 2006-2010 is ongoing. As at 1 January 2008, 9,378 people living with HIV, including 223 children, were recorded as a total for the years starting from 1987. Because of the adverse situation with AIDS in Central Asia, the Blood Service Improvement Programme for 2008-2010 has been adopted with the aim of reducing the risk of AIDS contracted for medical reasons. In addition, eight new blood centres are expected to be built in the oblasts.

Work is in the pipeline to compile a state pharmacopoeia, which will set forth uniform standards for both domestic and foreign medi-cations.

To ensure equal access to medicines, there are plans to develop a new model for the provision of medicines to outpatients, which will be based on government-fi xed prices for medications.

In 2008, the following work was continued: the reform of the PHC system and the hospital sector; improvement of the HR and scientifi c potential; gradual adoption of international standards in the pharma-ceuticals sector; improvement of the quality of medical services; and improvement of the legislative framework in the sector.

To this end, the Health Ministry has adopted a strategic plan for the development of the sector during 2009-2011. This initiative will help fi nd solutions to the existing problems and form a healthy na-tion. The national budget was expected to provide 299.5 billion tenge to implement the strategic plan in 2009, and 411.6 billion and 368.9 billion in the subsequent years, respectively.

In the near future, the construction of a total of 96 healthcare facilities is planned. Over 50 billion tenge has been allocated to this end. It is also planned to complete the construction of the Republican Scientifi c Neurosurgery Centre, the Republican Diagnostic Centre, the

Research Institute of Emergency Medical Services, and the Scientifi c Cardiac Surgery Centre. In addition, the construction of four training clinics for institutions of higher medical education was begun in 2008, with the fi nancing reaching 5.2 billion tenge.

Institutional reforms are also underway. The Governmental Reso-lution dated 13 May 2008 established the National Medical Holding Company, with a 100% government stake, which comprises the Na-tional Centre for Maternity and Childhood, the Republican Children’s Rehabilitation Centre, the Research Institute of Emergency Medical Services, the Republican Diagnostic Centre, the Republican Scientifi c Neurosurgery Centre, the Scientifi c Cardiac Surgery Centre, and the Kazakh State Medical Academy. New mechanisms of administering healthcare institutions will be developed based on the example of this structure.

New institutional developments include a quality management system for medical services. To this end, the state accreditation of healthcare institutions will be arranged in 2009 to determine whether they are effective enough to accept public orders.

Requirements for the Sanitary and Epidemiologic Service are be-coming stricter. This structure is playing an important part in control-ling the quality of environment, foodstuffs and water that are necessary to maintain human health. In particular, in 2009, an objective was set to develop controls which would prevent poor quality products that contain melamine, dioxides or mycotoxins being imported.

Because of the problems instigated by the global fi nancial crisis, the government is considering how to improve the provision of medi-cations to the population, in particular through the development of the domestic pharmaceutical production. It is also taking measures to prevent increases in prices of medications and medical services.

From 1 July 2009, the procurement and distribution of medica-tions will be carried out through a unifi ed distribution system. This scheme is expected to guarantee the quality and security of medicines as all supplies will be subject to compulsory certifi cation in state laboratories. Medications will become more accessible because the sole distributor will hold three months stock and ensure uninterrupted supplies to customers, including rural ones.

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The unifi ed distribution system will enhance the effectiveness of the provision of medicines and improve the control of their use in hospitals. It is also expected to stimulate the development of domes-tic pharmaceutical production. The incentives will include various forms of preferential treatment, more government purchase orders, and long-term contracts with domestic producers.

The year-on-year expenditure provides a vivid picture of the government’s care of public health. The government spending on healthcare was about 2.2% of GDP in 2006, 2.3% in 2007 and 2.5% (383 billion tenge) in 2008. In 2009, the national budget spent 482 billion tenge and by 2012 the expenditure on public health is expected to exceed 600 billion tenge a year.

In 2008 alone, the targeted current transfers for the equipment of local blood centres and healthcare institutions totalled 17.72 billion tenge; for the development of mobile- and telemedicine in rural areas 629.7 million tenge; and for the construction and reconstruction of healthcare facilities in rural areas 17.02 billion tenge.

In 2009, the national budget allocated over 33 billion tenge in tar-geted current transfers to implement the State Programme for Public Health Reform and Development for 2005-2010. This fi gure included 15.76 billion tenge to be spent on the equipment of local healthcare institutions; 15.66 billion tenge on the provision and expansion of the guaranteed free healthcare services; and 1.6 billion tenge on the development of mobile- and telemedicine in rural areas.

The positive changes in the healthcare system suggest that it will strengthen further.

5.4. Environment

The fundamentals of the state environment protection policy were set forth by the Environmental Security Blueprint approved by President Nazarbayev on 30 April 1996.

The Blueprint considered the environmental priorities of the transition period, including the environmental issues of privatisa-tion, and the need to create environmental legislation, state control and expert bodies, and the economic mechanisms of environmental management.

Since the Blueprint has been adopted, signifi cant changes have happened in the social development of Kazakhstan. Strategic docu-ments for the nation’s advancement have been adopted; the envi-ronmental legislation framework has been developed; a number of international environmental conventions have been signed; and an environmental management system has been created.

The Laws On Environment Protection, On Specially Protected Natural Areas, and On Environment Expert Assessment were adopted in 1997, On Radiation Security in 1998, and On Air Protection in 2002. As for the rational nature management, the Presidential Decrees On Subsoil and Subsoil Use (1996) and On Oil (1995) and the Forest, Water and Land Codes (2003) were made effective.

A signifi cant number of bylaws have been developed and ap-proved to govern various aspects of state management and fi nancing of environment protection, use and restoration.

In January 2007, the Environmental Code was adopted, which has become a very important instrument in the development of state environmental policy. This document standardised the environmental principles and requirements effective in Kazakhstan in accordance with international levels. The Blueprint for the Transition to Sustain-able Development for 2007-2024 has also set forth the long-term priorities and plan of action for environment protection.

The Law On the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources is cur-rently being drafted, which will govern and stimulate the generation of power from non-traditional sources (wind, geothermal, biochemical and solar energy).

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* In 2008, for example, over 20,000 people took part in environmental hearings nationwide.

Kazakhstan today


Additionally, the Strategy for the Effective Use of Energy and Renewable Resources is being drafted for the purposes of sustainable development. The Environmental Code is being amended with regard to importing environmentally hazardous technologies, machinery and equipment.

To improve the nation’s legislation, the government is trying to bring it in compliance with the legislation of developed countries and to adopt international standards. Kazakhstan has ratifi ed a number of international environmental treaties including the Biodiversity Convention, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertifi ca-tion, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the Convention of the World Meteorological Organisation, among others.

In 2009, Kazakhstan acceded to the Kyoto Protocol, which sets forth the procedure for, and limits on, emissions.

Institutionally, environment protection is managed by the Envi-ronment Protection Ministry, which is the chief coordinator of all nationwide activities in this fi eld. In addition to the ministry, the respective structural divisions of other ministries, departments and governmental bodies, and a host of civil sector organisations work on environmental issues*.

Environmental expert assessment, permit-issuing, and inspection work has been fi ne-tuned.

Currently, the most topical environmental problems in Kazakhstan are climate change and ozone layer depletion, the reduction in biodi-versity, desertifi cation, water and air pollution, and the accumulation of production and consumption waste.

Taking into account the current emissions of ozone depleting substances and the forecasted permitted emissions within the Mon-treal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer signed on 16 September 1987, the fi rst several decades of the 21st century will be a determinant in terms of ozone depletion. The ozone layer over Kazakhstan and the planet as a whole will begin to repair

over the next thirty years if no more ozone depleting substances are emitted.

Biodiversity issues also remain topical. The rare endemic and ex-tinct species in need of protection include over 400 species of plants and 300 species of vertebrates, a signifi cant portion of which is on the verge of extinction.

To preserve original ecosystems, with their whole complex of biocommunities, and to save the life cycle of animals and plants, a network of specially protected natural areas, that are considered a benchmark in terms of natural conditions, fl ora and fauna, has been set up.

In 2002, Kazakhstan had 24 specially protected natural areas, including nine conservation areas and seven national parks with a total area of 2,815,800 hectares. Out of this fi gure, forests accounted for 24.7% (695,400 hectares) and water reservoirs 10.5% (294,400 hectares). Research into the dynamics of natural processes and sci-entifi c observations are being undertaken in conservation areas and the nature records are being kept.

In addition, Kazakhstan has four zoological gardens, all the prop-erty of the state. Their aggregate area is 1,567,000 sq m, including 447,400 sq km occupied by animal housing. The country’s zoos are home to 7,400 animals of 823 species.

Desertifi cation is a signifi cant environmental problem. A total of 70% of the country’s area is exposed to desertifi cation and degrada-tion to a greater or lesser extent, which can be explained by its natural peculiarities. Out of 188.9 million hectares of pastures, 26.6 million are extremely degraded. The pastures and hay fi elds adjacent to ru-ral populated localities are in the worst condition, which manifests itself in the area reduction, spread of poisonous weeds, and shrub invasion.

The salinisation of irrigated land is increasing the area of saline deserts in closed basins and their resalinisation. Saline soils account for 31.3% of all irrigated arable land.

On the whole, there is a stable trend towards the deterioration of land, including the reduction in humus content, biogenic elements, plant species, and biological productivity.

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Because of the catastrophic reduction of the Aral Sea, the Aral region has been declared an environmental disaster zone. The Programme for the Comprehensive Solution of the Aral Problems for 2004-2006 has resulted in the level in the northern part of the sea reaching 41.4 m on the Baltic system of heights, compared to 39 m before the project. The surface area has increased from 2,606 to 3,156.6 sq km and the volume of water from 17.7 to 25.2 cu km, while its salinity has decreased from 23 to 12 g per litre.

In order to further resolve the problems of the Aral region, on 26 September 2006, the government approved the Programme for the Comprehensive Solution of the Aral Problems for 2007-2009.

The former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site remains one of the most environmentally distressed areas in the country. The Programme for the Comprehensive Solution of the Problems of the Former Semipal-atinsk Nuclear Test Site for 2005-2007 has proved that the area is still contaminated with radioactive substances and that its water bodies have high content of production-induced radionuclides.

The programme above aimed at maintaining the security at nu-clear and radiation sites. The activities included non-dissemination of radioactive contamination, the management and disposal of nuclear weapon waste, and the restoration of contaminated areas. Work is in the pipeline to draw reliable radiation maps of the area.

To further restore the land at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, the Programme for the Comprehensive Solution of the Problems of the Former Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site for 2009-2011 was developed in 2008 on the orders of the Head of State. This pro-gramme provides for the return of more than 80% of the site area into economic use.

The research within the Environment Protection Programme for 2005-2007 has shown that over more than 100 years of the develop-ment of oil and gas fi elds in Kazakhstan oil production enterprises had signifi cantly worsened the environmental situation in the regions adjacent to the Caspian Sea.

Soil contamination, numerous oil storage pits and onshore wells, and the tanker fl eet are the main sources of toxicants in the Caspian Sea. The lack of effective wastewater disposal systems at oil and gas

enterprises is causing the formation of lifeless water reservoirs, with salt water and toxic substances.

The radioactive contamination of oil fi elds, caused by the fact that oilfi eld water in many areas has high radionuclide content, is also a signifi cant issue.

The health of the population living in the areas of oil production is of special concern. Four generations of people have been living in an area of intense air, soil and water pollution by oil products. Research suggests that certain diseases such as blood and haematopoietic organ diseases (two to four times higher than the country’s average) can be associated with oil contamination.

Signifi cant changes have been recorded in the life of the fi sh fauna in the Northern Caspian Sea, which is one of the causes of the threefold reduction in sturgeon production.

All these facts require utmost attention by governmental bodies to the environmental problems of the Caspian region. In addition, the responsibility for the stabilisation and improvement of the environ-ment at the Caspian Sea was stipulated by the Framework Conven-tion for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (dated 4 November 2003), which was ratifi ed by Kazakhstan on 13 December 2005.

Following this, the government prepared and adopted a national plan of action to protect the Caspian Sea environment.

Government bodies are also considering the qualitative and quan-titative composition of groundwater and surface water that is exposed to environmental burden because of the irretrievable withdrawal of natural water and pollution by poorly treated wastewater. This situ-ation is caused by the fact that the majority of water facilities and networks were commissioned or overhauled more than 20 or 30 years ago. Untreated wastewater fl ows directly to absorption fi elds (in Taraz, for example) or waste ponds (Kokshetau, Kyzylorda, Uralsk, Petropavlovsk, and Kostanai).

A signifi cant volume of wastewater from industrial enterprises (up to 24% in some towns) fl ows directly to municipal treatment plants, the majority of which are overloaded. So, wastewater treatment technologies are not compliant with the design data. In Taldykorgan,

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Atyrau, Pavlodar, Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semei, the treatment facili-ties are overloaded by 1.5 to 2 times.

Wastewater ponds are often fi lled to their maximum, resulting in the continuous threat of the embankments failing. In 2006, the amount of wastewater disposed into surface water exceeded 2.8 billion cu m, up 8% on 2005.

The quality of water supplies to the population, in rural areas in particular, also remains a topical issue. In almost every region, there are localities that have a shortage of quality drinking water. In early 2009, the Head of State requested that the government consider the possibilities of using groundwater for these purposes.

In the recent years, a tendency towards lesser water intake due to the use of recirculation and recycling systems has appeared. The volume of water taken from natural water bodies and used for irriga-tion, watering and agricultural water supplies have to some extent decreased.

Another concern is the condition of trans-border rivers that fl ow from neighbouring countries and are already polluted. They are aggra-vating the environmental situation in trans-border regions. Kazakhstan is taking measures to resolve this issue through intergovernmental committees set up in conjunction with its neighbours.

The issue of historical contaminations also remains acute. The En-vironment Protection Programme for 2005-2007 produced proposals as to how assess the environmental impact of historical contamina-tions and repair them. These contaminations include waste from past operations of oil and gas, heat and power engineering, mining and processing industries, as well as abandoned oil and injection wells and fl owing water wells.

In recent times, thorough research has been undertaken to assess the impact of military space and test sites on the environment and public health. This research has proved that the test and simulated launches of launch vehicles cause the contamination of vast areas along their trajectories.

Natural sites are being severely damaged by both the compo-nents that separate from launch vehicles and the residual propel-lant. These issues are being resolved by the committees that have

been set up with Russia at an intergovernmental level to assess the damage caused to Kazakhstan, and with the help of interstate legal mechanisms.

Air pollution is another issue of concern. At present, the emission of chemical compounds is about 200 kg per person a year, compared to 163 kg in 2000.

In recent years, the nationwide pollutant emissions from station-ary sources have stabilised at approximately 3 million tonnes a year. At the same time, emissions by vehicles are growing continuously because of the increase in the number of vehicles used in the country. Air pollution is an issue of particular importance to the cities. In the majority of large cities, the contribution of vehicles to gross emissions is 60% or more, and in Almaty it is 90%.

The main causes of air pollution from stationary sources in Ka-zakhstan are the obsolete technologies at many enterprises; a lack of dust-trapping and gas-cleaning plants; poor performance by exist-ing treatment facilities; breaches in operating practices; and use of poor-quality coal in the power industry. The government has taken measures to make the 43 largest enterprises in the country, which account for 80% of emissions, eliminate the causes of pollution and repair the damage caused. In 2008, a total of 123 billion tenge was spent to this end. As a result, emissions have reduced by 149,000 tonnes throughout the country.

The aggravation of the radiation issue is also giving cause for concern. These include the operation of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, the activities of the atomic industry, the production and processing of minerals with high content of radioactive elements, and the natural radioactive anomalies in the populated localities and in groundwater used for drinking water supplies. These facts have been confi rmed by the research undertaken within the Environment Protection Programme for 2005-2007.

Chemical contamination is another topical issue for Kazakhstan. It involves the spread of chemically active substances used in economic activities, the most dangerous of which are persistent organic pollutants that are not biodegradable and concentrate in living organisms.

318 319

Kazakhstan today


The disposal of pesticide and toxic chemicals packaging is also a serious problem. The country lacks pesticide storages and specialised burial sites for unusable pesticides and their packaging.

Land contamination by industrial and energy waste is one of the most signifi cant environmental problems in Kazakhstan. The indus-tries that produce the highest volumes of waste are ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy and coal mining. Non-ferrous metallurgy’s waste sites occupy approximately 15,000 hectares, including 8,000 hectares occupied by rock dumps, about 6,000 hectares by mill tailings, and more than 500 hectares by the metallurgical plants’ dumps.

The growing storage of waste is producing new technogenic landscapes to the detriment of the environment. The issue of storing and processing the increasing volumes of domestic waste is also very important. The domestic waste storage facilities often do not comply with health standards and affect the environment, land in particular.

To resolve this problem, the Environment Regulation and Control Committee set up the Waste Department in 2008. In order to under-stand what action was needed, the Committee inventoried all waste facilities throughout the country and approved some 7,500 waste certifi cates. The responsibility for environmental violations has been signifi cantly toughened. In some instances, licences have been with-drawn and huge penalties been imposed on enterprises.

Large-scale natural and man-caused disasters also cause signifi -cant damage. Forest and steppe fi res are the most detrimental. The damage caused by them since 2000 has already exceeded several billion tenge.

Biodiversity is also affected by unauthorised logging, grazing, collecting of medicinal herbs, and hunting. To preserve natural resources, trees are being planted, new recreational areas are being created, and hydrotechnical amelioration and other measures are being undertaken.

In recent years, expenditure by the national budget and businesses on environment protection has grown signifi cantly. In 2009, this spending is expected to increase by 150 billion tenge.

5.5. Gender Policy

In Kazakhstan, the policy of gender equality is being pursued in accordance with the Constitution. Article 14.2 of the Constitution reads that, “No one shall be subject to any discrimination for reasons of origin, social or property status, occupation, sex, race, ethnic origin, language, religious beliefs, persuasions, place of residence, or any other circumstances.” [6]

Kazakhstan has acceded to the most important conventions and declarations adopted by the UN and other international organisations in regard to women’s rights. This has helped improve the situation with the political rights of women and overcome hidden and open gender discrimination. As for the political rights of women, the most important events were Kazakhstan’s accession to the UN Conventions on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, on the Political Rights of Women, and on the Nationality of Mar-ried Women. Kazakhstan has also signed a number of statutes of the International Labour Organisation concerning the rights of women and children.

Kazakhstan’s gender policy is being developed on the basis of the Blueprint for the State Policy on the Improvement of the Status of Women. This paper sets forth the main principles, priorities and objectives of gender policy in Kazakhstan. Its objectives are to achieve a balanced representation of women and men in authority; to provide equal opportunities for economic independence, busi-ness development, and career advancement; to create conditions conducive to the equal exercise of rights and duties in a family; and to eliminate gender-based violence. The blueprint is effective for the current period (until 2010) and for the longer term (until 2030). [7]

The Gender Equality Strategy for 2006-2010 is another conceptual instrument that specifi es areas of gender policy and is aimed at more effective resolution of the most signifi cant gender issues. In particular, it provides for the creation of a training network for female politicians, and for the allocation of budget funds for socially important projects that concern the issues of family and women. [8]

320 321

Kazakhstan today


To improve women’s employment opportunities, the Strategy provides for the development of state and private children’s preschool institutions. A special section of the Strategy concerns gender educa-tion and advocacy among the population, in particular state offi cials, parliamentarians, the Maslikhat deputies, managers at all levels, and the mass media.

At present, Kazakhstan has a whole system of institutional mecha-nisms to protect the rights of women and improve their status. These mechanisms are being continuously developed and improved and are becoming increasingly effective.

The main such institution is the National Family and Gender Policy Commission, which is a consultative and advisory body to the President. Similar structures operate at regional levels of state management.

The Commission is working to eliminate the stereotypes of gender superiority and clarify the necessity of social equality of women and men. Its priorities for the near future are to lobby the draft laws On Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and On Domestic Violence.

The involvement of women in economic activities is another issue on the agenda. Since 2000, the government has been taking measures to support women’s businesses. Tens of thousands of women have obtained ‘soft’ loans and opened their own businesses. The Small Business Development Fund has allocated more than 2 billion tenge to this end over six years.

NGOs are playing a signifi cant part in improving women’s status in Kazakhstan. Currently, about 150 NGOs are active in the country, the most prominent of which are the Association of Business Women of Kazakhstan, the Feminist League, the Almaty Women’s Informational Centre, and the Almaty Centre for Gender Research. In addition to these, the Institute of Social and Gender Research is operating under the Kazakh State Female Teachers Institute, and there are also some other scientifi c centres.

Women’s NGOs have set up centres for employment and occupation guidance, and small business and legal support. They are also develop-ing a network of crisis centres to combat violence against women.

In the area of gender issues, Kazakhstan is cooperating with inter-national organisations including UNIFEM, OSCE, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), USAID, the British Council, and UNDP.

The government is creating conditions to implement the gender approach in the budgeting processes at all levels and in the develop-ment of state socioeconomic programmes. UNIFEM and the National Family and Gender Policy Commission are implementing the Social/Gender Budgets in Kazakhstan project.

Parliamentarians are also mindful of the issues of family and women. They have created the Otbasy group and are cooperating with the National Commission.

Maternity and infancy protection is at the centre of the govern-ment’s attention, taking into account the importance of the nation’s health. In 2008, Kazakhstan began to implement a special Maternity and Infancy Protection Programme. As part of the state People’s Health Programme, it is one of the priorities for the nation’s gender policy. The programme has a number of blocks, including social sup-port to women and healthcare. In particular, the birth and childcare allowances have been signifi cantly increased.

In 2008, compulsory social insurance for pregnancy and childbirth, and for childcare until one year of age was introduced. The National Scientifi c Centre for Maternity and Childhood and the Republican Children’s Rehabilitation Centre were launched. Additional measures are being taken to support large families.

The gender programmes have produced visible positive changes in the demographic situation. The birth, natural increase and reproduc-tion rates have improved and the maternal and infant mortality rates are tending to decrease. The health of the population is improving.

Kazakhstan has created all the conditions for women to take part in the state management on a par with men. Signifi cant efforts have been made to strengthen women’s political leadership.

322 323

References

1. Послание Президента РК Н.А. Назарбаева «Новый Ка-захстан – в новом мире» – Стратегия очередного этапа развития страны. 28 февраля 2007 г. // www.akorda.kz

2. Назарбаев Н.А. Стратегия вхождения Казахстана в 50 самых конкурентоспособных государств мира. Март 2006 г.

3. Агентство по статистике Республики Казахстан // www.stat.kz

4. Назарбаев Н. Казахстан – только вперед! // www.akorda.kz5. Назарбаев Н.А. Рост благосостояния граждан – главная цель

государственной политики. Февраль 2008 г. // www.akorda.kz6. Конституция Республики Казахстан. – Алматы, 1998.7. Концепция гендерной политики в Республике Казахстан

// www.gender.cawater-info.net8. Стратегия гендерного равенства в Республике Казахстан

на 2006–2016 годы // www.akorda.kz

Kazakhstan today

Appendices. Kazakhstan in Figures

APPENDICES. KAZAKHSTAN IN FIGURES

The

stru

ctur

e of

GD

P by

sect

or%

Sect

or1s

t qu

arte

r 20

071s

t hal

f of

200

71s

t nin

em

onth

s of

2007

2007

1st

quar

ter

2008

1st h

alf

of 2

008

1st n

ine

mon

ths

of20

0820

081s

t qu

arte

r 20

09

1st

half

of

2009

1st n

ine

mon

ths

of 2

009

Prod

uctio

n of

goo

ds39

.542

.044

.443

.442

.446

.747

.445

.637

.340

.243

.4A

gric

ultu

re, h

untin

g, fo

rest

ry,

fi she

ry1.

92.

35.

25.

72.

12.

75.

55.

32.

73.

26.

2

Agr

icul

ture

, hun

ting,

fore

stry

1.9

2.2

5.1

5.6

2.1

2.6

5.4

5.2

3.1

6.1

fi she

ry0.

020.

10.

10.

10.

030.

10.

10.

10.

10.

1In

dust

ry33

.030

.828

.928

.334

.737

.334

.032

.228

.730

.329

.5Th

e ex

tract

ive

sect

or17

.416

.214

.915

.119

.822

.620

.518

.714

.816

.216

.3M

anuf

actu

ring

13.0

12.7

12.4

11.5

12.3

12.9

12.0

11.8

11.0

12.0

11.4

Pro

duct

ion

and

dist

ribut

ion

of

elec

trici

ty, g

as a

nd w

ater

2.6

1.9

1.6

1.7

2.6

1.8

1.5

1.7

2.9

2.1

1.8

Con

stru

ctio

n4.

68.

910

.39.

45.

66.

77.

98.

15.

96.

77.

7Pr

oduc

tion

of s

ervi

ces

58.8

55.9

53.7

54.3

57.4

52.4

50.7

52.1

64.8

60.0

55.5

Trad

e, re

pairs

of c

ars

and

hous

ehol

d ite

ms

14.1

12.8

12.2

12.4

13.5

12.1

11.9

12.3

14.6

13.6

13.1

Hot

els

and

rest

aura

nts

0.8

0.8

0.9

0.9

1.0

0.9

0.9

0.9

1.2

0.9

0.9

Tran

spor

t and

te

leco

mm

unic

atio

ns10

.111

.111

.311

.59.

610

.39.

911

.010

.610

.510

.3

Tran

spor

t7.

98.

79.

09.

07.

08.

38.

08.

57.

88.

08.

0Te

leco

mm

unic

atio

ns2.

22.

42.

32.

52.

62.

01.

92.

52.

82.

52.

3Fi

nanc

ial a

ctiv

ities

5.4

5.8

6.0

5.9

5.9

5.5

5.4

5.3

6.2

5.8

5.2

Ope

ratio

ns w

ith p

rope

rty,

letti

ng a

nd s

ervi

ces

to

cons

umer

s18

.215

.814

.414

.918

.215

.314

.714

.921

.318

.315

.7

Gov

ernm

ent e

xpen

ses

2.2

2.3

2.2

1.9

2.0

1.9

1.8

1.7

2.3

2.6

2.4

Edu

catio

n4.

03.

43.

13.

33.

62.

92.

72.

84.

34.

03.

5H

ealth

care

and

soc

ial

serv

ices

2.1

1.9

1.8

1.7

1.9

1.7

1.6

1.5

2.3

2.2

2.2

324 325

Kazakhstan today


Tabl

e co

ntin

uatio

n

Sect

or1s

t qu

arte

r 20

071s

t hal

f of

200

71s

t nin

em

onth

s of

2007

2007

1st

quar

ter

2008

1st h

alf

of 2

008

1st n

ine

mon

ths

of20

0820

081s

t qu

arte

r 20

09

1st

half

of

2009

1st n

ine

mon

ths

of 2

009

Oth

er s

ervi

ces

1.9

2.0

1.8

1.8

1.7

1.8

1.8

1.7

2.0

2.1

2.2

Tota

l by

sect

ors

98.3

97.9

98.1

97.7

99.8

99.1

98.1

97.7

102.

110

0.2

98.9

Indi

rect

ly-m

easu

red

serv

ices

of fi

nan

cial

in

term

edia

tion

-4.4

-4.7

-4.9

-4.8

-5.6

-5.1

-4.8

-4.7

-6.6

-5.2

-3.9

Tota

l add

ed v

alue

93.9

93.2

93.2

92.9

94.2

94.0

93.3

93.0

95.5

95.0

95.0

Taxe

s an

d cu

stom

s du

ties

6.1

6.8

6.8

7.1

5.8

6.0

6.7

7.0

4.5

5.0

5.0

Gro

ss d

omes

tic p

rodu

ct10

0.0

100.

010

0.0

100.

010

0.0

100.

010

0.0

100.

010

0.0

100.

010

0.0

Indi

ces o

f phy

sica

l vol

ume

of in

dust

rial

out

put o

f the

Rep

ublic

of K

azak

hsta

n by

sect

or%

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

*

Indu

stry

102.

711

5.5

113.

811

0.5

109.

111

0.4

104.

810

7.2

105.

010

2.1

101.

7

Extr

activ

e se

ctor

109.

612

1.0

114.

011

5.9

110.

211

3.4

102.

710

7.0

102.

610

5.5

106.

1

Fuel

ext

ract

ion

109.

011

8.3

115.

311

6.9

110.

311

4.9

104.

210

6.4

103.

010

6.3

107.

3

Ext

ract

ion

of c

oal,

ligni

te a

nd p

eat

83.7

128.

410

5.7

93.1

115.

010

2.4

99.7

111.

310

1.2

102.

892

.1

Ext

ract

ion

of c

rude

oil

and

acco

mpa

nied

gas

114.

411

5.8

115.

111

7.4

108.

311

3.6

102.

910

6.1

102.

610

5.3

107.

7

Ext

ract

ion

of n

atur

al (c

ombu

stio

n) g

as13

5.0

125.

010

1.5

121.

212

2.5

124.

610

6.1

104.

610

4.5

115.

110

8.4

Ext

ract

ive

sect

or, e

xclu

ding

fuel

ext

ract

ion

110.

913

0.6

106.

811

0.5

108.

910

2.5

91.5

111.

799

.699

.399

.7

Ext

ract

ion

of ir

on o

re10

1.4

191.

794

.311

5.3

116.

010

6.3

82.9

113.

810

2.8

89.3

101.

1

Ext

ract

ion

of n

on-fe

rrou

s m

etal

s11

7.1

117.

510

6.2

108.

310

4.5

98.2

93.1

104.

695

.510

5.7

98.5

Man

ufac

turin

g10

2.0

117.

411

5.0

108.

110

7.9

109.

210

7.6

108.

110

7.8

97.1

95.5

Pro

duct

ion

of fo

odst

uffs

, inc

ludi

ng b

ever

ages

91.4

116.

110

8.2

108.

711

0.7

109.

411

7.0

107.

710

7.4

98.8

98.8

Pro

duct

ion

of to

bacc

o pr

oduc

ts86

.310

2.8

110.

910

9.6

109.

610

9.0

107.

010

2.8

102.

290

.493

.1

Text

ile a

nd g

arm

ent i

ndus

try10

3.1

121.

712

5.6

115.

795

.410

3.4

114.

010

2.7

81.6

110.

487

.6

Pro

duct

ion

of le

athe

r, le

athe

r pro

duct

s an

d sh

oes

103.

117

3.9

286.

313

4.9

127.

812

2.2

92.3

110.

516

7.0

128.

191

.6

Tim

ber i

ndus

try a

nd p

rodu

ctio

n of

woo

den

item

s10

2.9

133.

812

0.0

124.

711

9.6

91.8

114.

491

.310

9.1

98.9

86.3

Pul

p an

d pa

per i

ndus

try; p

ublis

hing

86.7

109.

614

0.4

124.

410

5.1

117.

613

1.4

115.

810

6.7

88.6

102.

1

Prod

uctio

n of

cok

e, p

etro

leum

pro

duct

s an

d nu

clea

r mat

eria

ls88

.611

7.1

119.

410

8.6

113.

310

4.3

116.

210

4.7

109.

210

3.6

105.

3

Pro

duct

ion

of p

etro

leum

pro

duct

s71

.210

3.8

123.

710

9.8

113.

410

4.9

118.

610

4.0

108.

310

3.1

103.

7

326 327

Kazakhstan today


1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

*

Che

mic

al in

dust

ry10

5.9

118.

616

1.3

113.

411

7.6

111.

795

.310

3.6

128.

610

9.3

76.3

Pro

duct

ion

of ru

bber

and

pla

stic

pro

duct

s18

4.9

142.

313

0.8

160.

414

0.5

155.

912

5.2

132.

213

2.2

108.

792

.3

Pro

duct

ion

of o

ther

non

met

al m

iner

al p

rodu

cts

96.1

138.

614

6.1

117.

512

8.8

129.

313

5.5

119.

612

4.4

78.4

92.7

Met

allu

rgy

116.

711

6.3

108.

410

6.4

100.

310

4.7

93.7

105.

410

3.0

96.2

94.3

Ferr

ous

met

allu

rgy

134.

911

8.9

101.

810

7.9

107.

610

5.0

89.2

101.

411

1.5

86.3

96.5

Pro

duct

ion

of n

on-fe

rrou

s m

etal

s10

3.7

113.

911

3.6

105.

093

.110

3.1

96.1

106.

398

.310

3.6

91.2

Pro

duct

ion

of fi

nish

ed m

etal

pro

duct

s78

.213

7.9

69.0

96.4

122.

710

4.1

102.

013

0.3

115.

780

.695

.5

Mac

hine

-bui

ldin

g11

3.6

179.

914

1.2

109.

612

1.6

131.

712

4.7

119.

411

4.6

92.6

85.7

Oth

er s

ecto

rs o

f ind

ustry

70.0

164.

315

0.2

115.

015

3.8

140.

212

3.2

100.

111

7.4

87.7

107.

6

Prod

uctio

n an

d di

strib

utio

n of

ele

ctric

ity, g

as a

nd w

ater

95.7

105.

810

8.6

101.

911

0.3

102.

010

4.4

102.

810

9.2

105.

498

.1

Pro

duct

ion

and

dist

ribut

ion

of e

lect

ricity

98.5

108.

110

5.9

103.

411

2.0

102.

210

3.8

108.

510

7.6

106.

597

.8

Pro

duct

ion

and

dist

ribut

ion

of g

aseo

us fu

el91

.996

.791

.172

.715

8.9

103.

813

0.9

103.

811

1.9

95.8

104.

1

Sup

plie

s of

ste

am a

nd h

ot w

ater

94.0

105.

511

3.4

103.

111

0.0

102.

610

3.4

94.8

115.

110

3.3

98.4

Col

lect

ion,

pur

ifi ca

tion

and

dist

ribut

ion

of w

ater

88.8

104.

510

7.6

100.

696

.410

1.1

106.

210

1.7

104.

793

.398

.2

* - p

relim

inar

y da

ta

Tabl

e co

ntin

uatio

n

Prod

uctio

n in

the

Rep

ublic

of K

azak

hsta

n

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Coa

l, ‘0

00 to

nnes

58,3

7874

,872

79,1

3573

,731

84,9

0786

,875

86,6

1796

,231

98,3

8411

1,07

2C

rude

oil,

incl

udin

g ga

s co

nden

sate

, ‘00

0 to

nnes

30,1

3035

,317

40,0

9147

,271

51,4

5159

,485

61,4

8665

,003

67,1

2570

,671

Nat

ural

gas

(tot

al o

utpu

t), ‘0

00’0

00 c

u m

9,94

611

,542

11,6

1014

,109

16,5

9722

,102

24,9

7326

,382

29,5

6232

,889

Iron

ore,

‘000

tonn

es9,

617

16,1

5715

,886

17,6

7519

,281

20,3

0319

,471

22,2

6323

,834

21,4

86

Iron

pelle

ts, ‘

000

tonn

es2,

814

6,64

06,

107

7,30

88,

849

9,44

77,

494

8,47

38,

572

6,95

2C

oppe

r ore

, ‘00

0 to

nnes

28,7

7332

,751

34,8

7236

,703

34,8

8730

,383

34,0

6734

,082

31,2

6632

,566

Chr

omiu

m o

re, ‘

000

tonn

es2,

406

2,60

72,

046

2,37

02,

928

3,28

751

626

923

134

9A

sbes

tos,

‘000

tonn

es13

923

327

129

135

534

730

631

529

323

0

Cer

eals

, coa

rse

fl our

and

gra

dule

s an

d ot

her

grai

n pr

oduc

ts, ‘

000

tonn

es55

,665

38,7

8337

,520

26,0

8229

,300

28,8

0226

,141

35,9

5640

,235

43,2

28

Flou

r of g

rain

and

pla

nt c

rops

; mix

ture

s of

fi ne

gr

indi

ng, ‘

000

tonn

es1,

262

1,74

11,

776

2,10

72,

123

2,12

72,

756

2,85

03,

080

3,37

5

Fres

h br

ead,

‘000

tonn

es45

056

955

653

851

853

656

558

961

565

5S

ugar

, ton

nes

228,

486

279,

715

346,

513

390,

543

480,

255

542,

586

528,

781

490,

247

392,

261

508,

496

Pet

role

um p

rodu

cts,

‘000

tonn

es5,

488

6,24

17,

039

7,46

08,

648

8,87

310

,844

11,2

0211

,384

11,7

91M

otor

fuel

(pet

rol,

incl

udin

g je

t fue

l), ‘0

00 to

nnes

1,29

81,

255

1,58

21,

693

1,84

11,

928

2,35

92,

345

2,63

32,

505

Ker

osen

e, in

clud

ing

jet f

uel o

f ker

osen

e ty

pe,

‘000

tonn

es71

6310

924

530

929

424

931

438

540

2

Gas

oils

(die

sel f

uel),

‘000

tonn

es1,

830

1,95

42,

245

2,30

42,

754

2,88

83,

705

3,88

84,

295

4,37

5Fu

el o

il, ‘0

00 to

nnes

2,13

32,

391

2,73

72,

797

3,06

92,

708

3,55

03,

333

2,58

43,

204

Cem

ent,

‘000

tonn

es83

81,

175

2,02

92,

129

2,58

13,

662

4,18

14,

880

5,69

95,

837

Mar

keta

ble

conc

rete

, ‘00

0 to

nnes

741

934

1,49

63,

508

4,26

16,

254

8,94

610

,658

15,4

7110

,108

Cas

t iro

n, ‘0

00 to

nnes

3,43

84,

011

3,90

74,

009

4,13

84,

283

3,58

23,

369

3,79

53,

105

Raw

ste

el, ‘

000

tonn

es4,

105

4,79

94,

691

4,86

65,

069

5,37

24,

477

4,24

54,

784

4,24

3

328 329

Kazakhstan today


1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Ferr

oallo

ys, ‘

000

tonn

es1,

000

1,09

21,

130

1,23

51,

401

1,44

71,

530

1,61

41,

703

1,59

0Fl

at-r

olle

d pr

oduc

ts, ‘

000

tonn

es3,

186

3,89

43,

888

4,01

83,

838

4,04

03,

105

3,00

03,

441

2,82

6Zi

nc-p

late

d ro

lled

prod

ucts

, ‘00

0 to

nnes

279

364

396

499

709

762

606

580

604

527

Raw

alu

min

ium

: alu

min

a, ‘0

00 to

nnes

1,15

81,

217

1,23

11,

387

1,42

01,

468

1,50

51,

515

1,55

61,

713

Raw

lead

, ton

nes

158,

890

185,

812

158,

722

162,

175

133,

178

157,

016

135,

446

115,

974

117,

641

98,1

84R

aw z

inc,

tonn

es24

8,75

426

2,57

027

7,07

328

6,45

429

4,56

631

6,73

135

7,09

036

4,82

135

8,22

636

5,57

2R

efi n

ed c

oppe

r, to

nnes

361,

890

394,

723

425,

670

452,

989

432,

511

445,

268

418,

356

427,

723

406,

091

398,

411

Ele

ctric

ity, ‘

000’

000

kWh

47,4

9851

,635

55,3

8458

,331

63,8

6666

,942

67,9

2071

,669

76,6

2180

,348

Hea

ting

ener

gy, ‘

000

Gca

l63

,321

65,5

0376

,398

78,6

5185

,699

87,3

2590

,829

83,1

8393

,218

94,0

57N

atur

al w

ater

, ‘00

0’00

0 cu

m2,

125

2,06

92,

234

2,20

12,

221

2,38

82,

350

2,46

42,

673

2,78

8

Tabl

e co

ntin

uatio

n

Indi

ces o

f phy

sica

l vol

ume

of in

dust

rial

out

put o

f the

Rep

ublic

of K

azak

hsta

n by

sect

or in

200

9*%

yea

r-on

-yea

rJa

nuar

y-Ja

nuar

y-Ja

nuar

y-Ja

nuar

y-Ja

nuar

y-Ja

nuar

y-Ja

nuar

y-Ja

nuar

y-Ja

nuar

y-Ja

nuar

y-Ja

nuar

y-Ja

nuar

yFe

brua

ryM

arch

Apr

ilM

ayJu

neJu

lyA

ugus

tSe

ptem

ber

Oct

ober

Nov

embe

rD

ecem

ber

Indu

stry

98.2

96.8

95.4

95.2

95.4

97.3

97.9

98.5

99.0

99.8

100.

710

1.7

Extr

activ

e se

ctor

104.

310

1.5

99.8

99.9

99.9

101.

810

3.2

104.

010

4.7

105.

210

5.7

106.

1Fu

el e

xtra

ctio

n10

710

3.3

101.

310

1.4

101.

410

2.9

104.

910

5.9

106.

610

6.9

107.

210

7.3

Ext

ract

ion

of c

oal,

ligni

te77

.777

.279

.879

.281

.179

.081

.083

.085

.087

.489

.792

.1E

xtra

ctio

n of

cru

de o

il an

d ac

com

pani

ed g

as10

8.6

104.

610

2.3

102.

610

2.4

103.

310

5.5

106.

510

7.3

107.

510

7.7

107.

7E

xtra

ctio

n of

nat

ural

(c

ombu

stio

n) g

as11

2.4

106.

710

5.8

107.

210

6.4

106.

410

6.9

107.

810

8.3

108.

410

8.6

108.

4E

xtra

ctiv

e se

ctor

, exc

ludi

ng fu

el

extra

ctio

n82

.786

.687

.887

.888

.492

.392

.092

.092

.794

.197

.299

.7E

xtra

ctio

n of

iron

ore

51.5

62.4

64.5

68.2

68.7

72.7

76.6

81.6

85.1

88.7

95.6

101.

1E

xtra

ctio

n of

non

-ferr

ous

met

als

96.4

96.1

97.0

96.3

96.8

101.

496

.695

.094

.795

.397

.498

.5M

anuf

actu

ring

87.6

88.6

88.2

87.8

88.5

90.5

90.3

90.6

90.8

92.2

93.7

95.5

Pro

duct

ion

of fo

odst

uffs

, in

clud

ing

beve

rage

s97

.797

.997

.796

.295

.696

.696

.997

.397

.397

.497

.898

.8P

rodu

ctio

n of

toba

cco

prod

ucts

88.1

84.4

87.2

88.3

86.7

88.6

90.8

92.6

93.2

92.6

92.4

93.1

Text

ile a

nd g

arm

ent i

ndus

try10

4.3

99.0

92.7

88.4

85.2

85.2

86.0

89.0

89.1

86.5

88.6

87.6

Pro

duct

ion

of le

athe

r, le

athe

r pr

oduc

ts a

nd s

hoes

92.9

81.5

82.1

88.8

103.

910

0.2

94.7

102.

796

.693

.691

.991

.6Ti

mbe

r ind

ustry

and

pro

duct

ion

of w

oode

n ite

ms

93.6

91.2

79.2

76.9

80.7

78.8

79.2

82.2

81.1

82.2

85.0

86.3

Pul

p an

d pa

per i

ndus

try;

publ

ishi

ng86

.186

.683

.484

.281

.680

.985

.093

.495

.097

.099

.610

2.1

Pro

duct

ion

of c

oke,

pet

role

um

prod

ucts

and

nuc

lear

mat

eria

ls95

.693

.393

.494

.093

.395

.297

.098

.310

0.2

104.

210

4.4

105.

3P

rodu

ctio

n of

pet

role

um

prod

ucts

96.7

93.0

93.5

94.3

93.3

94.8

96.9

97.5

99.2

103.

010

2.7

103.

7C

hem

ical

indu

stry

71.7

72.5

74.7

75.5

78.4

75.5

72.7

69.9

70.0

69.0

70.0

76.3

Pro

duct

ion

of ru

bber

and

pla

stic

pr

oduc

ts10

1.0

105.

110

8.2

95.5

88.8

89.8

86.1

87.7

88.2

87.8

91.4

92.3

Pro

duct

ion

of o

ther

non

met

al

min

eral

pro

duct

s80

.386

.484

.079

.077

.779

.879

.683

.285

.288

.491

.492

.7M

etal

lurg

y84

.485

.984

.782

.285

.989

.987

.586

.787

.689

.592

.194

.3Fe

rrou

s m

etal

lurg

y68

.573

.777

.677

.580

.285

.084

.084

.587

.590

.694

.096

.5

330 331

Kazakhstan today


% y

ear-

on-y

ear

Janu

ary-

Janu

ary-

Janu

ary-

Janu

ary-

Janu

ary-

Janu

ary-

Janu

ary-

Janu

ary-

Janu

ary-

Janu

ary-

Janu

ary-

Janu

ary

Febr

uary

Mar

chA

pril

May

June

July

Aug

ust

Sept

embe

rO

ctob

erN

ovem

ber

Dec

embe

rP

rodu

ctio

n of

non

-ferr

ous

met

als

98.3

96.6

91.0

90.5

92.2

96.0

92.9

90.4

88.5

89.1

90.0

91.2

Pro

duct

ion

of fi

nish

ed m

etal

pr

oduc

ts93

.310

6.6

101.

898

.810

9.6

108.

699

.591

.288

.489

.292

.695

.5M

achi

ne-b

uild

ing

69.5

76.1

77.4

75.7

75.5

78.2

77.7

79.5

80.2

81.9

93.8

85.7

Oth

er s

ecto

rs o

f ind

ustry

88.9

106.

896

.695

.885

.778

.075

.210

2.9

102.

611

0.5

108.

410

7.6

Prod

uctio

n an

d di

strib

utio

n of

ele

ctric

ity, g

as a

nd w

ater

92.2

92.2

93.3

91.7

92.4

93.5

94.0

94.5

95.0

95.5

97.0

98.1

Pro

duct

ion

and

dist

ribut

ion

of

elec

trici

ty90

.790

.591

.792

.392

.794

.094

.594

.794

.895

.196

.797

.8P

rodu

ctio

n an

d di

strib

utio

n of

ga

seou

s fu

el95

.385

.987

.090

.192

.096

.810

3.3

105.

910

6.0

104.

110

4.7

104.

1S

uppl

ies

of s

team

and

hot

w

ater

93.9

96.2

97.5

92.4

92.7

93.6

93.6

94.3

95.5

96.0

97.4

98.4

Col

lect

ion,

pur

ifi ca

tion

and

dist

ribut

ion

of w

ater

92.7

81.8

82.0

81.8

85.3

88.2

89.8

91.7

92.2

92.7

95.0

98.2

* pr

elim

inar

y da

ta

Tabl

e co

ntin

uatio

n

Prod

uctio

n of

key

indu

stri

al p

rodu

cts i

n th

e R

epub

lic o

f Kaz

akhs

tan

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

*

Extr

activ

e se

ctor

Coa

l - to

tal,

‘000

tonn

es84

,906

.586

,875

.186

,617

.396

,230

.598

,383

.911

1,07

2.3

101,

524.

2

Cru

de o

il, in

clud

ing

gas

cond

ensa

te, ‘

000

tonn

es51

,451

.159

,484

.861

,486

65,0

03.1

67,1

25.3

70,6

71.0

76,3

83.5

Cru

de o

il (na

tura

l mix

ture

of h

ydro

carb

ans)

, inc

ludi

ng o

il ext

ract

ed fr

om

bitu

min

ous

min

eral

s, ‘0

00 to

nnes

45,3

76.3

50,6

71.5

50,8

69.8

54,3

38.8

55,2

65.0

58,6

46.0

64,2

50.0

Gas

con

dens

ate,

‘000

tonn

es6,

074.

88,

813.

310

,616

.210

,664

.311

,860

.312

,025

.012

,133

.5

Nat

ural

gas

in g

aseo

us s

tate

, inc

ludi

ng a

ccom

pani

ed o

il gas

, ‘00

0’00

0 cu

m16

,596

.922

,102

.124

,972

.926

,381

.629

,561

.532

,889

.33,

5610

.7

Nat

ural

gas

in g

aseo

us s

tate

(mar

keta

ble

outp

ut),

‘000

’000

cu

m7,

195.

88,

969.

59,

516.

89,

664.

59,

791.

311

,708

.610

,972

.9

Iron

ore,

‘000

tonn

es19

,280

.920

,302

.519

,471

.122

,262

.623

,834

.121

,486

.322

,289

.6

Iron

pelle

ts, ‘

000

tonn

es8,

849.

09,

447.

07,

494.

08,

473.

08,

572.

06,

951.

86,

182.

4C

oppe

r ore

, ‘00

0 to

nnes

34,8

86.8

30,3

82.8

34,0

67.1

34,0

81.8

31,2

66.0

32,5

66.3

31,2

24.8

Cop

per-

zinc

ore

, ‘00

0 to

nnes

6,18

9.2

5,97

0.2

5,78

6.8

4,64

4.6

3,89

7.0

5,24

8.6

5,03

4.1

Alu

min

ium

ore

(bau

xite

s), ‘

000

tonn

es4,

737.

34,

705.

44,

815.

44,

883.

84,

942.

65,

160.

15,

130.

0Le

ad in

lead

con

cent

rate

, ‘00

0 to

nnes

37.5

33.0

31.0

48.1

40.2

38.8

39.4

Zinc

in z

inc

conc

entra

te, ‘

000

tonn

es39

3.5

361.

436

4.3

404.

638

6.0

387.

441

8.6

Man

gane

se o

re, ‘

000

tonn

es2,

369.

02,

318.

12,

233.

22,

531.

12,

482

2,48

52,

467.

7

Chr

omiu

m o

re, ‘

000

tonn

es2,

927.

83,

287.

151

5.9

269.

223

1.2

348.

54,

678.

0N

atur

al s

and,

‘000

cu

m2,

599.

63,

937.

45,

615.

36,

965.

97,

479.

95,

765.

04,

215.

9G

ranu

les,

chi

ps a

nd s

tone

pow

ders

; peb

bles

, gra

vels

, roa

d m

etal

or

crus

hed

ston

es, ‘

000

tonn

es13

,749

.217

,377

.218

,884

.028

,539

.241

,068

.226

,053

.224

,884

.8

Sal

t and

pur

e so

dium

chl

orid

e, to

nnes

287,

238

347,

850

17,8

167

416,

680

227,

643

504,

100

213,

320

Asb

esto

s, ‘0

00 to

nnes

354.

534

6.5

305.

531

4.7

292.

623

0.1

230.

0

* pr

elim

inar

y da

ta fo

r Jan

uary

-Dec

embe

r 200

9

332 333

Kazakhstan today


Prod

uctio

n of

key

indu

stri

al p

rodu

cts i

n th

e R

epub

lic o

f Kaz

akhs

tan

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

*M

anuf

actu

ring

indu

stry

Mea

t and

mea

t pro

duct

s, to

nnes

67,5

2268

,815

85,6

2591

,412

110,

187

113,

466

122,

187

Tinn

ed m

eat,

tonn

es1,

446

1,86

92,

659

3,17

94,

702

4,61

34,

618

Sau

sage

s, to

nnes

22,6

5823

,057

25,0

6530

,759

38,1

8039

,983

38,9

65Fi

sh p

roce

ssed

and

tinn

ed, t

onne

s22

,724

2,38

6928

,329

26,9

8434

,107

38,7

8341

,020

Frui

t and

veg

etab

le ju

ices

, ‘00

0 lit

res

56,9

80.2

77,2

97.2

99,4

58.6

129,

997.

216

8,03

5.1

122,

509.

513

2,16

2.4

Cot

ton

oil a

nd fr

actio

ns, t

onne

s27

,113

28,5

0438

,395

38,2

6927

,914

27,3

3834

,218

Raw

sun

fl ow

er o

il, to

nnes

63,9

0870

,556

57,5

5966

,800

71,7

7255

,056

90,3

20R

efi n

ed s

unfl o

wer

oil

and

fract

ions

, ton

nes

43,5

4552

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56,2

9574

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83,7

9162

,162

69,5

39M

arga

rine

and

sim

ilar p

rodu

cts,

tonn

es22

,658

25,1

8926

,893

25,7

5629

,016

34,1

3345

,342

Unp

roce

ssed

milk

and

cre

am, t

onne

s14

8,01

915

4,41

217

9,67

322

5,81

625

8,73

326

5,50

823

5,15

6M

ilk a

nd c

ream

in s

olid

sta

te, t

onne

s2,

138

2,60

44,

277

4,44

43,

847

3,40

32,

861

But

ter,

tonn

es10

,566

13,0

4019

,736

18,5

9619

,707

16,5

9814

,732

Che

ese

and

cotta

ge c

hees

e, to

nnes

11,1

8913

,033

14,9

5217

,042

17,1

5415

,473

13,9

00Fl

our o

f gra

in a

nd p

lant

cro

ps; m

ixtu

res

of fi

ne g

rindi

ng, t

onne

s2,

122,

740

2,12

6,57

42,

755,

964

2,84

9,86

63,

079,

725

3,37

5,46

03,

467,

621

Fres

h br

ead,

tonn

es51

7,62

353

6,23

556

4,81

658

8,56

161

4,56

965

5,16

164

0,35

8S

ugar

, ton

nes

480,

255

542,

586

528,

781

490,

247

392,

261

508,

496

385,

166

Cho

cola

te, c

onfe

ctio

nary

pro

duct

s m

ade

of c

hoco

late

and

sug

ar, t

onne

s48

,340

51,9

3269

,772

74,6

7677

,569

77,0

5290

,737

Noo

dles

and

oth

er p

asta

pro

duct

s, to

nnes

72,0

0979

,228

85,0

9210

4,14

812

4,84

212

2,39

512

7,22

8B

rand

ies,

‘000

litre

s2,

213.

32,

797.

25,

430.

86,

278.

16,

115.

34,

292.

94,

427.

7Vo

dka,

spi

rits

with

alc

ohol

con

tent

by

volu

me

no le

ss th

an 4

5.5%

, ‘00

0 lit

res

29,3

79.1

33,3

45.1

56,9

8454

,767

.349

,871

.145

,026

.939

,817

.3E

thyl

alc

ohol

, ‘00

0 lit

res

18,4

28.5

18,1

61.9

28,4

05.3

27,4

91.2

26,3

59.6

23,5

17.2

19,7

05.4

Win

es, ‘

000

litre

s39

,300

.140

,352

.152

,869

.336

,794

.919

,414

.613

,284

.811

,753

.7B

eer,

‘000

litre

s23

4,84

6.4

278,

041.

432

3,47

0.9

363,

838.

841

0,96

0.2

360,

676.

236

0,80

6.9

Cig

ars,

che

root

s, c

igar

illas

, cig

aret

tes,

‘000

’000

pie

ces

25,7

14.9

28,0

37.5

30,0

08.1

30,8

33.8

31,5

07.0

28,4

82.5

26,7

48.2

Flee

ce (s

heep

), w

ashe

d de

grea

sed

unca

rbon

ised

, unc

ombe

d, to

nnes

6,02

73,

195

1,22

72,

668

2,88

080

373

5C

otto

n fi b

re, t

onne

s13

2,63

814

0,07

015

6,27

014

5,01

811

0,47

113

3,34

897

,194

Fabr

ic, ‘

000

sq m

25,5

92.9

20,3

01.9

35,5

30.2

56,4

59.6

43,3

25.3

43,4

79.6

34,6

58.2

Car

pets

and

car

pet p

rodu

cts,

‘000

sq

m98

.999

.110

5.6

101.

536

.12.

02,

9Le

athe

r of c

attle

or h

orse

ski

n w

ithou

t hai

r, ‘0

00 s

q dm

99,8

21.8

133,

468.

988

,110

.311

5,40

1.2

202,

728.

328

6,73

1.1

238,

757.

7Le

athe

r of s

heep

, goa

t or p

ig s

kin

with

out h

air,

‘000

sq

dm32

,081

.844

,971

.01,

637.

21,

079.

429

5.6

754.

314

.7

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

*

Sho

es, e

xclu

ding

spo

rt an

d pr

otec

tive

shoe

s, ‘0

00 p

airs

809.

372

4.3

784.

778

0.7

1,10

7.5

1,21

3.1

1,21

8.0

Woo

den

win

dow

s an

d fra

mes

, gla

ss d

oors

and

fram

es a

nd th

resh

olds

,‘0

00 s

q m

373.

648

0.1

595

571.

668

0.1

672.

265

4.2

Woo

den

built

-up

cons

truct

ion

stru

ctur

es, t

onne

s60

203

702

343

653

643

266

Pap

er a

nd c

ardb

oard

cor

ruga

ted

perfo

rate

d or

unp

erfo

rate

d, in

role

s or

she

ets,

to

nnes

17,1

7123

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29,1

0231

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38,0

0535

,853

79,8

54

Pap

er o

r cor

ruga

ted

card

boar

d bo

xes

and

bags

, kg

32,8

67,7

713,

6870

,302

48,4

54,5

5161

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6,81

35,0

2460

,061

,105

57,9

74,6

80C

oke

and

sem

icok

e m

ade

of c

oal,

ligni

te o

r pea

t; re

tort

coal

, ‘00

0 to

nnes

2,63

1.0

2,65

9.3

2,49

1.9

2,62

7.5

2,92

5.0

2,68

7.7

2,71

6.8

Mot

or fu

el (p

etro

l, in

clud

ing

jet f

uel),

‘000

tonn

es1,

841.

41,

927.

52,

359.

22,

345.

32,

633.

32,

505.

22,

613.

2K

eros

ene,

incl

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g je

t fue

l of k

eros

ene

type

(tem

pura

ture

of d

estil

latio

n of

150

-300

deg

rees

Cen

tigra

de),

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tonn

es30

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294.

324

8.7

313.

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637

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Gas

oils

(die

sel f

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754.

12,

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63,

704.

73,

887.

54,

294.

54,

375.

14,

268.

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el o

il, ‘0

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nnes

3,06

9.3

2,70

8.4

3,54

9.9

3,33

3.1

2,58

3.8

3,20

3.8

3,25

5.6

Pho

spho

rus,

tonn

es61

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81,0

4283

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66,2

6770

,187

80,3

4435

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Min

eral

or c

hem

ical

nitr

ic fe

rtilis

ers,

exc

ludi

ng fe

rtilis

ers

in p

elle

ts,

form

s or

sim

ilar p

acka

ging

wei

ghtin

g no

mor

e th

an 1

0 kg

, ‘00

0 to

nnes

27.8

95.1

22.8

54.1

221.

820

4.8

205,

399.

0

Min

eral

or c

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pho

spoh

rous

ferti

liser

s, e

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ding

ferti

liser

s in

pel

lets

, fo

rms

or s

imila

r pac

kagi

ng w

eigh

ting

no m

ore

than

10

kg, ‘

000

tonn

es11

2.5

85.0

81.2

51.9

38.6

46.9

45,0

92.0

Pha

rmac

eutic

al p

repa

ratio

ns, t

hous

and

teng

e4,

025,

072

4,73

1,52

76,

364,

272

8,14

8,06

110

,177

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8,40

1,40

010

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Bot

tles,

jars

, fl a

sks

and

othe

r gla

ss c

onta

iner

s, e

xclu

ding

am

poul

s; c

orck

s,

lead

s an

d ot

her g

lass

clo

sing

item

s, ‘0

00 p

iece

s20

1,81

7.3

197,

349.

922

8,93

1.9

246,

195.

623

8,15

7.8

186,

825.

91,

374,

955.

0

Cer

amic

bur

nt c

onst

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bric

ks, e

xclu

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bric

ks m

ade

of s

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c st

one

fl our

or

dia

tom

ite d

irts,

‘000

cu

m37

8.7

465.

268

1.3

717.

599

1.6

695.

259

8.5

Cem

ent,

‘000

tonn

es2,

581.

13,

662

4,18

1.2

4,88

0.2

5,69

8.6

5,83

7.3

5,99

8.2

Lim

e, to

nnes

786,

073

858,

990

993,

544

988,

094

1,02

3,17

890

5,91

780

3,58

0S

ilica

te a

nd s

lag

bric

ks, t

onne

s54

5,66

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4,44

31,

052,

873

1,21

4,03

91,

183,

476

1,05

2,08

591

8,64

2C

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cons

truct

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read

y-bu

ilt fr

ames

, ton

nes

1,54

8,73

21,

994,

671

2,36

5,98

42,

906,

969

1,33

1,61

31,

096,

549

911,

919

Raw

ste

el, t

onne

s5,

069,

401

5,37

1,69

84,

476,

642

4,24

4,52

14,

784,

105

4,24

3,58

24,

146,

810

Ferr

oallo

ys, t

onne

s1,

401,

136

1,44

7,30

71,

530,

064

1,61

4,31

71,

702,

784

1,59

0,51

91,

468,

912

Flat

rolle

d pr

oduc

ts, t

onne

s3,

837,

781

4,03

9,70

93,

104,

724

2,99

9,61

03,

440,

708

2,82

6,20

22,

980,

293

Tin

plat

e an

d ro

lled

shee

ts c

oate

d w

ith ti

n, to

nnes

267,

035

292,

276

222,

744

169,

564

209,

683

174,

098

201,

167

Raw

and

sem

irefi n

ed s

ilver

or i

n po

wde

r, kg

827,

377

7,73

2,96

18,

832,

103

806,

083

722,

927

645,

627

678,

226

Refi

ned

silv

er, k

g80

4,87

470

7,44

381

2,09

579

6,23

470

7,95

462

8,76

367

3,59

8R

aw a

nd s

emire

fi ned

gol

d or

in p

owde

r, kg

19,2

6619

,261

17,8

7521

,824

22,5

6420

,825

22,5

25

Tabl

e co

ntin

uatio

n

334 335

Kazakhstan today


2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

*

Refi

ned

gol

d kg

9,90

69,

576

9,77

49,

011

8,15

78,

205

10,3

36R

aw a

llum

iniu

m: a

lum

ina,

tonn

es1,

419,

761

1,46

7,96

61,

505,

415

1,51

4,74

91,

555,

859

1,71

3,81

81,

734,

965

Raw

lead

, ton

nes

133,

178

157,

016

135,

446

115,

974

117,

641

105,

766

87,8

29R

aw z

inc,

tonn

es29

4,56

631

6,73

135

7,09

036

4,82

135

8,22

636

5,57

232

8,83

4R

efi n

ed c

oppe

r in

bloc

ks, e

xclu

ding

sin

tere

d, ro

lled,

ext

rude

d or

bla

cksm

ithed

, to

nnes

432,

511

445,

268

418,

356

427,

723

406,

091

398,

411

368,

133

Cen

trifu

gal p

umps

for fl

uid

s; o

ther

pum

ps; fl

uid

lifte

rs, p

iece

s3,

271

4,01

17,

115

5,75

87,

773

10,2

5312

,900

Oil

and

gas

proc

essi

ng e

quip

men

t, th

ousa

nd te

nge

215,

053

460,

154

535,

246

365,

910

132,

750

148,

445

397,

581

Aut

omat

ed w

ashi

ng m

achi

nes

with

cap

acity

of

no m

ore

than

10

kg o

f dr

y w

ashi

ng, p

iece

s20

,148

49,7

5572

,827

101,

811

126,

720

68,1

7571

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Tele

visi

on s

ets,

pie

ces

503,

339

553,

619

345,

975

410,

155

322,

518

326,

374

2868

07Ta

pe re

cord

ers

and

othe

r voi

ce-r

ecor

ding

equ

ipm

ent,

piec

es77

,322

60,6

1655

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46,1

1811

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-10

1C

ars,

pie

ces

2,62

83,

206

2,26

82,

945

6,31

13,

271

1,24

5Lo

rrie

s, p

iece

s10

332

144

1,52

32,

043

1,01

335

3

* pr

elim

inar

y da

ta in

Jan

uary

-Dec

embe

r 200

9

Tabl

e co

ntin

uatio

n

Gro

ss o

utpu

t of a

gric

ultu

ral p

rodu

cts b

y al

l ent

ities

in c

urre

nt p

rices

, mill

ion

teng

e20

0320

0420

0520

0620

0720

0820

09To

tal

Kaz

akhs

tan

615,

368.

569

8,83

2.9

763,

843.

485

3,31

2.9

1,12

1,77

3.6

1,38

4,18

8.4

1,62

0,28

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Akm

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Obl

ast

69,9

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79,3

47.2

82,0

07.8

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7,97

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ktob

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blas

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5,98

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821

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6,96

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Eas

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ast

58,1

73.2

70,0

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18.5

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90.4

98,5

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110,

205.

414

6,95

2.6

Zham

byl O

blas

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azak

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arag

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ast

29,7

15.1

36,7

22.7

35,5

33.3

43,0

95.3

54,8

22.2

75,3

87.4

80,2

14.3

Kos

tana

i Obl

ast

84,6

43.7

92,1

81.0

108,

742.

913

0,25

5.4

188,

866.

323

7,91

5.0

241,

618.

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yzyl

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ast

13,2

96.5

16,1

07.5

16,8

48.7

18,3

76.1

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Man

gist

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348.

61,

627.

92,

385.

02,

633.

52,

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9P

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orth

Kaz

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68,3

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th K

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669.

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94,

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71,

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92,

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93,

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83,

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01,

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farm

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akhs

tan

355,

717.

439

1,24

9.1

400,

217.

943

2,49

1.6

630,

795.

776

1,11

7.2

920,

152.

7A

kmol

a O

blas

t48

,223

.054

,139

.452

,848

.457

,588

.894

,050

.592

,724

.716

1,21

9.5

Akt

obe

Obl

ast

9,70

1.3

9,75

5.0

6,52

4.9

5,22

5.9

12,7

52.8

29,8

26.4

18,4

53.0

Alm

aty

Obl

ast

41,5

59.4

50,1

28.0

52,0

72.3

55,5

91.4

73,8

79.2

88,0

55.9

109,

418.

6A

tyra

u O

blas

t1,

300.

91,

386.

41,

732.

01,

974.

63,

112.

84,

543.

32,

823.

3E

ast K

azak

hsta

n O

blas

t27

,263

.532

,477

.330

,607

.42,

713.

837

,740

.437

,817

.359

,579

.7Zh

amby

l Obl

ast

22,7

56.5

25,8

57.8

26,1

88.3

23,1

93.4

34,1

54.2

30,0

13.4

47,4

94.4

Wes

t Kaz

akhs

tan

Obl

ast

11,6

32.9

10,7

99.9

5,66

0.5

7,34

5.1

12,2

60.6

26,2

16.2

9,84

7.0

Kar

agan

da O

blas

t12

,958

.516

,302

.810

,785

.213

,167

.019

,432

.330

,111

.630

,098

.5K

osta

nai O

blas

t47

,285

.548

,018

.556

,292

.970

,647

.411

5,75

5.3

147,

433.

014

4,64

0.0

Kyz

ylor

da O

blas

t8,

383.

910

,494

.910

,308

.510

,855

.415

,486

.318

,697

.221

,248

.4M

angi

stau

Obl

ast

67.9

143.

260

4.5

694.

327

8.0

1,19

6.4

382.

8

336 337

Kazakhstan today


2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Pav

loda

r Obl

ast

11,3

01.0

15,8

34.8

15,3

92.3

15,5

24.2

24,1

90.1

21,1

89.1

42,0

49.8

Nor

th K

azak

hsta

n O

blas

t46

,779

.660

,363

.265

,422

.876

,836

.910

9,38

1.4

153,

622.

018

4,24

6.8

Sou

th K

azak

hsta

n O

blas

t63

,115

.750

,740

.759

,589

.158

,781

.068

,738

.169

,153

.186

,641

.6A

stan

a2,

110.

03,

175.

54,

469.

45,

286.

06,

919.

57,

446.

91,

094.

4A

lmat

y1,

277.

81,

631.

71,

719.

41,

866.

42,

664.

23,

070.

791

5.0

Ani

mal

hus

band

ryK

azak

hsta

n25

9,65

1.1

307,

583.

836

3,62

5.5

420,

821.

349

0,97

7.9

623,

071.

270

0,12

7.2

Akm

ola

Obl

ast

21,6

77.2

25,2

07.8

29,1

59.4

32,4

43.2

36,9

54.7

45,2

49.1

50,8

31.6

Akt

obe

Obl

ast

14,7

91.8

17,2

46.8

20,8

37.6

24,1

62.9

27,9

47.8

36,2

59.5

42,7

99.7

Alm

aty

Obl

ast

39,0

49.5

45,5

04.8

53,3

62.5

63,3

63.3

72,1

02.9

95,0

41.9

110,

386.

0A

tyra

u O

blas

t5,

662.

86,

581.

17,

713.

38,

914.

210

,200

.112

,642

.414

,752

.7E

ast K

azak

hsta

n O

blas

t30

,909

.737

,542

.844

,511

.152

,376

.660

,763

.972

,388

.187

,372

.9Zh

amby

l Obl

ast

13,6

98.5

16,6

07.9

19,5

49.1

22,6

38.9

26,1

77.7

33,1

88.6

36,8

81.9

Wes

t Kaz

akhs

tan

Obl

ast

12,5

35.3

14,5

35.6

17,2

56.7

19,7

04.7

22,4

68.8

31,7

48.8

32,2

93.6

Kar

agan

da O

blas

t16

,756

.620

,419

.924

,748

.129

,928

.335

,389

.945

,275

.850

,115

.7K

osta

nai O

blas

t37

,358

.244

,162

.552

,450

.059

,608

.073

,111

.090

,482

.096

,978

.0K

yzyl

orda

Obl

ast

4,91

2.6

5,61

2.6

6,54

0.2

7,52

0.7

8,65

9.8

11,0

21.2

11,8

67.0

Man

gist

au O

blas

t1,

280.

71,

484.

71,

780.

51,

939.

22,

592.

33,

085.

92,

857.

2P

avlo

dar O

blas

t14

,348

.417

,662

.220

,876

.423

,513

.325

,997

.532

,564

.836

,842

.0N

orth

Kaz

akhs

tan

Obl

ast

21,5

98.1

24,7

72.4

28,5

56.2

32,1

10.5

38,0

90.1

48,6

12.9

54,0

93.4

Sou

th K

azak

hsta

n O

blas

t24

,581

.229

,681

.235

,629

.842

,077

.149

,931

.364

,963

.171

,527

.8A

stan

a24

6.3

238.

429

3.1

155.

915

7.5

155.

818

4.0

Alm

aty

244.

232

3.1

361.

536

4.5

432.

639

1.3

343.

7

Tabl

e co

ntin

uatio

n

Indi

cato

rs o

f Kaz

akhs

tan’

s for

eign

trad

em

illio

n do

llars

Con

tinen

ts, c

ount

ries

and

grou

pof

cou

ntrie

s20

0220

0320

0420

0520

0620

0720

0820

09

Tota

l, of

whi

ch:

16,2

54.3

21,3

35.4

32,8

77.5

45,2

01.3

61,9

27.2

80,5

11.7

109,

072.

671

,604

.4

CIS

5,23

7.6

6,91

2.9

10,2

15.1

12,2

00.6

16,6

37.5

22,5

64.6

28,5

75.2

18,8

49.0

Oth

er c

ount

ries

11,0

16.7

14,4

22.5

22,6

62.4

33,0

0045

,289

.757

,947

.280

,497

.352

,755

.4

Eur

ope

4,85

1.1

6,63

5.0

14,6

71.2

21,7

23.6

30,5

39.0

35,6

36.0

51,3

97.6

32,0

66.1

EU

cou

ntrie

s3,

109.

64,

041.

810

,492

.415

,287

.122

,790

.127

,529

.539

,135

.228

,817

.3

Non

-EU

cou

ntrie

s 1,

741.

52,

593.

24,

178.

86,

436.

57,

748.

98,

106.

512

,262

.33,

248.

8

Asi

a3,

095.

04,

112.

85,

684.

67,

771.

312

,033

.718

,775

.624

,313

.116

,137

.9

Am

eric

a2,

991.

93,

598.

02,

219.

43,

389.

02,

508.

93,

065.

63,

894.

14,

323.

2

Afri

ca66

.855

.061

.871

.415

8.8

396.

081

5.0

171.

0

Aus

tralia

and

Oce

ania

11.9

21.6

25.3

45.2

49.3

73.9

77.7

57.3

Sour

ce: F

orei

gn tr

ade

stat

istic

s of t

he K

azak

h M

inis

try

of F

inan

ce’s

Cus

tom

s Con

trol C

omm

ittee

338 339

Kazakhstan today


Mai

n in

dica

tors

of s

mal

l ent

repr

eneu

rshi

p

Year

Num

ber o

f ent

ities

Num

ber o

f em

ploy

ees,

thou

sand

pe

ople

Prod

uctio

n, m

illio

n te

nge

lega

l en

titie

sin

divi

dual

en

trepr

eneu

rsfa

rms

lega

l en

titie

sin

divi

dual

en

trepr

eneu

rsfa

rms

lega

l en

titie

sin

divi

dual

en

trepr

eneu

rsfa

rms

1999

30,1

72…

…34

0.7

……

……

…20

0033

,778

…76

,373

385.

0…

265.

5…

…87

,567

2001

39,5

9011

9,03

895

,460

428.

834

5.6

311

294,

844

…13

3,47

520

0242

,516

169,

781

111,

434

467.

435

1.4

357.

332

4,03

378

,387

146,

288

2003

46,1

9421

5,11

612

1,72

248

2.5

438.

137

8.7

457,

949

107,

218

165,

056

2004

51,3

3924

7,68

814

8,01

152

4.6

474.

540

5.8

809,

626

155,

031

178,

007

2005

50,6

1229

7,23

415

6,97

853

3.8

571.

650

4.7

844,

632

222,

993

166,

956

2006

47,7

5635

8,58

316

3,72

155

7.9

622.

750

4.3

1,03

3,43

830

2,71

518

5,39

520

0755

,865

415,

709

169,

326

585.

973

3.5

542.

81,

327,

126

473,

648

265,

500

2008

58,4

8047

5,84

116

9,48

146

4.6

828.

946

1.8

1,15

2,07

143

7,31

331

6,08

3

Mai

n in

dica

tors

of t

he d

evel

opm

ent o

f the

tran

spor

t sph

ere

Frei

ght t

raffi

c by

all

mea

ns o

f tra

nspo

rtbi

llion

tonn

e-km

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Janu

ary-

Nove

mbe

r 20

09To

tal

258.

428

3.1

296.

332

8.5

350.

536

9.7

305.

1of

whi

ch:

railw

ays

147.

716

3.5

171.

919

1.2

200.

821

4.9

177.

5ot

her g

roun

d40

.243

.947

.153

.861

.563

.557

.4riv

er0.

070.

080.

090.

040.

050.

0656

.9ai

r, m

illio

n to

nne-

km92

.966

.996

.769

.988

.169

.459

pipe

lines

70.4

75.6

77.1

83.3

87.8

90.3

68.7

nava

l0.

30.

81.

3

Pass

enge

r tr

affi c

by

all m

eans

of t

rans

port

mill

ion

pass

enge

r-km

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Janu

ary-

Nov

embe

r 20

09To

tal

94,8

0610

0,30

510

7,60

011

8,82

412

4,36

612

7,45

511

7,23

4.1

of w

hich

:ra

ilway

s10

,686

11,8

4912

,136

13,6

7014

,587

14,7

1913

,311

coac

hes

and

buse

s55

,676

59,2

9163

,831

70,4

2972

,224

73,9

0072

,116

.3ta

xi25

,148

25,9

5027

,820

30,4

3631

,655

32,9

7826

,601

.5tro

lleyb

uses

288

248

221

192

146

108

92.4

tram

s35

332

932

731

029

625

522

9.3

river

0.9

0.5

0.5

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.5

air

2,65

42,

638

3,26

53,

787

5,45

75,

495

4,88

2

340 341

Kazakhstan today


Length of transport lines routes000 km

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

railways 14.6 15.1 15.0 15.1 15.1 15.1

roads 89.0 90.0 90.8 91.6 93.1 93.6

of which, paved 83.6 84.1 82.8 83.7 84.0 84.1

trolleybus, in two-way calculation 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

tram, in two-way calculation 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1

river and naval 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.1

Rolling stocks000 pieces

2003 2004 2005* 2006* 2007* 2008*

All transport means 1,471.5 1,532.3 1,752.6 2,131.9 2,625.7 3,080.1

of which:

cars 1,148.7 1,204.1 1,405.3 1,745.0 2,183.1 2,576.6

private cars 1,095.5 1,145.5 1,306.8 1,635.9 2,051.4 2,415.9

coaches and buses 61.4 62.9 65.7 75.0 83.4 89.2

including private coaches and buses 35.8 37.2 35.3 42.3 48.0 52.0

lorries 223.1 224.9 281.5 311.8 359.2 414.3

private lorries 133.4 134.1 143.4 165.5 204.2 246.7

trams 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2

trolleybuses 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3

river vessels 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1

* According to the Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs’ data

Mai

n in

dica

tors

of t

he la

bour

mar

ket

Thou

sand

peo

ple

Indi

cato

rs 2

003

200

4 2

005

200

6 2

007

2008

2009

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

year

Q1

Q2

Q3

Labo

ur fo

rce

7,65

7.3

7,84

0.6

7,90

1.7

8,02

8.9

8,22

8.3

8,33

6.8

8,42

5.6

8,46

6.0

8,42

1.4

8,41

5.0

8,41

3.5

8,46

4.8

8,49

0.9

Wor

kfor

ce

6,98

5.2

7,18

1.8

7,26

1.0

7,40

3.5

7,63

1.1

7,76

2.9

7,86

8.4

7,92

5.4

7,86

2.1

7,85

7.2

7,83

0.4

7,89

6.6

7,95

5.2

Hire

d em

ploy

ees

4,22

9.6

4,46

9.9

4,64

0.5

4,77

6.6

4,97

3.5

5,13

8.3

5,18

6.0

5,23

7.6

5,22

9.9

5,19

9.4

5,19

9.1

5,20

9.7

5,26

6.4

Sel

f-em

ploy

ed2,

755.

62,

711.

92,

620.

42,

626.

92,

657.

62,

624.

72,

682.

42,

687.

82,

632.

22,

657.

82,

631.

42,

687.

02,

688.

8

Une

mpl

oyed

67

2.1

658.

864

0.7

625.

459

7.2

573.

855

7.2

540.

655

9.3

557.

858

3.1

568.

153

5.7

The

unem

ploy

men

t ra

te,%

8.8

8.4

8.1

7.8

7.3

6.9

6.6

6.4

6.6

6.6

6.9

6.7

6.3

Econ

omic

de

pend

ents

3,27

8.6

3,38

3.4

3,47

6.9

3,49

3.9

3,46

3.2

3,48

5.5

3,40

1.9

3,36

4.3

3,41

0.5

3,41

6.2

3,54

8.8

3,49

7.7

3,46

8.7

342 343

Kazakhstan today


Dep

osits

ope

ned

by th

e po

pula

tion

in K

azak

hsta

n’s b

anks

End-

perio

d, m

illio

n te

nge

T

otal

Non

-fi xe

d de

posi

tsC

ondi

tiona

l dep

osits

Fixe

d-te

rm d

epos

itsIn

the

natio

nal

curr

ency

In fo

reig

n cu

rren

cyIn

the

natio

nal

curr

ency

In fo

reig

n cu

rren

cyIn

the

natio

nal

curr

ency

In fo

reig

n cu

rren

cy

2005

596,

848

69,3

8434

,024

1,04

432

424

1,80

625

0,26

7

2006

1,03

4,15

712

1,14

242

,049

2,35

454

056

6,11

730

1,95

4

2007

1,44

7,85

015

5,59

737

,561

3,44

347

174

4,08

850

6,69

0

2008

1,50

0,00

516

3,41

135

,323

2,62

987

170

5,89

159

1,88

1

2009

1,93

6,31

118

3,72

711

2,51

22,

159

1,02

565

5,13

298

1,75

7

Loa

ns to

the

econ

omy

End-

perio

d, m

illio

n te

nge

T

otal

Cur

renc

yD

urat

ion

Entit

y

In th

e na

tiona

l cu

rren

cyIn

fore

ign

curr

ency

Sho

rt-te

rmLo

ng-te

rmN

on-b

anki

ng

lega

l ent

ities

Indi

vidu

als

2005

2,59

2,09

01,

255,

882

1,33

6,20

886

9,13

61,

722,

953

1,92

3,27

166

8,81

9

2006

4,69

0,99

82,

421,

943

2,26

9,05

51,

256,

652

3,43

4,34

53,

156,

922

1,53

4,07

6

2007

7,25

8,36

94,

158,

399

3,09

9,97

01,

457,

607

5,80

0,76

34,

681,

174

2,57

7,19

5

2008

7,46

0,28

14,

162,

074

3,29

8,20

71,

520,

477

5,93

9,80

45,

122,

516

2,33

7,76

6

2009

7,64

4,07

23,

944,

318

3,69

9,75

41,

213,

473

6,43

0,59

95,

417,

897

2,22

6,17

5

Sou

rce:

ww

w.n

atio

nalb

ank.

kz

Indi

cato

rs o

f tou

rism

peop

le

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Janu

ary-

June

Janu

ary-

Dec

embe

rJanu

ary-

June

Janu

ary-

Dec

embe

rJa

nuar

y-Ju

neJa

nuar

y-D

ecem

berJa

nuar

y-Ju

neJa

nuar

y-D

ecem

berJa

nuar

y-Ju

neJa

nuar

y-D

ecem

berJa

nuar

y-Ju

neJa

nuar

y-D

ecem

ber

Janu

ary-

June

Janu

ary-

Sept

embe

rIn

boun

d23

,180

44,9

9013

,617

31,3

6717

,225

39,8

7227

,306

56,2

0329

,443

62,1

1718

,523

37,9

3717

,654

24,6

21O

utbo

und

31,3

7194

,692

59,6

3015

4,88

579

,049

210,

692

100,

820

255,

626

111,

766

286,

691

116,

119

261,

070

72,0

9114

4,03

3D

omes

tic41

,121

89,3

3233

,910

106,

486

78,1

1418

4,37

980

,342

209,

143

91,3

4519

3,12

263

,363

174,

940

42,3

8294

,453

Num

ber o

f tra

vel a

gent

s68

571

370

675

175

684

686

092

185

31,

007

1,02

91,

163

1,12

21,

162

344 345

Kazakhstan today


Indi

cato

rs o

f the

dev

elop

men

t of t

he c

ultu

ral s

pher

e

Thea

tres

Libr

arie

sM

useu

ms

Zoos

Clu

b-ty

pe c

ultu

ral

esta

blis

hmen

tsC

inem

a or

gani

satio

nsC

once

rt

orga

nisa

tions

Rec

reat

iona

l pa

rks

total

attendance, thousand people

total

membership, thousand people

total


total


total

number of events held, thousand people

number of amateur troupes

number of people involved in amateur troupes

total

cinemas

mobile cinemas


total

number of concerts held


total

cultural events

1999

431,

577.

42,

533

2,63

0.8

881,

866.

03

211.

81,

519

62.7

5,76

178

,034

7868

477

900.

0-

--

--

2000

491,

376.

53,

558

3,35

7.3

147

3,18

1.6

327

9.0

1,70

381

.26,

768

84,6

6773

4754

980

5.2

--

--

-20

0144

1,32

1.1

3,22

03,

988.

510

33,

261.

04

235.

340

386

.66,

737

90,6

1157

3730

681

5.9

--

-36

1,00

920

0247

1,56

4.6

3,31

23,

778.

912

13,

965.

54

280.

91,

891

121.

87,

838

104,

534

6868

146

2,85

5.4

905,

204

2,31

8.5

482,

506

2003

481,

482.

53,

462

3,86

0.5

143

3,80

0.9

439

8.1

2,04

215

6.3

9,46

512

1,55

082

6721

63,

489.

772

6,51

91,

642.

641

1,57

420

0448

1,70

7.3

3,53

93,

953.

117

23,

515.

54

428.

82,

259

166.

39,

420

125,

234

9373

266

4,10

0.5

626,

321

1,80

5.3

421,

029

2005

511,

795.

03,

664

4,03

7.7

187

3,52

5.4

448

1.6

2,40

918

8.8

9,52

112

9,32

112

086

246

4,32

7.3

666,

906

2,33

8.5

501,

987

2006

531,

835.

73,

848

4,15

3.8

185

4,22

0.8

457

2.8

2,60

020

3.1

10,0

6113

4,64

219

476

301

5,69

6.1

616,

796

2,58

9.5

531,

935

2007

551,

826.

93,

935

4,23

9.3

195

4,54

3.0

458

9.1

2,82

422

2.1

10,9

3614

6,33

814

977

301

6,41

4.1

677,

100

2,74

6.4

632,

127

2008

571,

929.

94,

071

4,36

6.0

198

4,59

5.5

467

0.5

3,05

023

8.4

11,8

0415

9,85

213

677

298

7,02

3.4

737,

464

2,95

4.7

662,

201

Env

iron

men

tal p

rote

ctio

n

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Cur

rent

spe

ndin

g on

en

viro

nmen

tal p

rote

ctio

n,

mill

ion

teng

e10

,992

.513

,288

.716

,704

.917

,780

.818

,555

.324

,664

.028

,682

.143

,558

.256

,320

.158

,725

.591

,288

.3

Num

ber o

f im

mob

ile s

ourc

es

of p

ollu

tion

55,9

1354

,753

58,3

5667

,530

74,0

7384

,878

96,7

2510

8,57

612

3,03

713

7,71

215

2,82

0

Air

pollu

tion

from

imm

obile

so

urce

s, ‘0

00 to

nnes

2,32

7.7

2,30

8.6

2,42

9.4

2,58

2.6

2,52

9.3

2,88

4.3

3,01

6.5

2,96

8.8

2,92

1.1

2,91

5.0

2,64

3.1

Air

pollu

tion

from

imm

obile

so

urce

s, p

er c

apita

, kg

……

163

174

170

193

201

196

191

188

168

Pol

luta

nts

rend

ered

ha

rmle

ss, ‘

000

tonn

es16

,766

.516

,498

.717

,292

.218

,139

.417

,681

.418

,849

.721

,329

.321

,656

.423

,116

.523

,802

.424

,262

.0

Rec

ycle

d po

lluta

nts,

‘000

to

nnes

3,62

1.1

1,74

4.4

4,31

3.2

4,46

9.2

1,91

0.4

3,93

2.8

4,42

3.0

5,22

3.4

4,94

7.3

5,31

6.3

6,16

1.5

Sol

id p

ollu

tant

s, ‘0

00 to

nnes

687.

464

1.1

668.

567

2.3

673.

472

9.6

752.

971

3.7

721.

371

7.6

688.

7

Flui

d an

d ga

seou

s po

lluta

nts,

‘0

00 to

nnes

1,64

0.3

1,66

7.5

1,76

0.9

1,91

0.3

1,85

5.9

2,15

4.7

2,26

3.6

2,25

5.1

2,19

9.8

2,19

7.4

1,95

4.3

Toxi

c pr

oduc

tion

was

te, ‘

000

tonn

es83

,911

.892

,042

.310

2,46

4.1

130,

031.

013

7,08

1.9

141,

945.

714

6,11

6.8

228,

243.

126

3,97

1.2

281,

768.

745

3,37

3.0

Use

of t

oxic

was

te a

t en

terp

rises

, ‘00

0 to

nnes

12,5

58.3

12,1

58.8

16,6

34.7

23,6

99.0

34,8

29.3

29,0

66.6

24,6

19.7

13,8

25.0

42,1

81.4

24,8

98.5

48,3

60.4

346 347

Kazakhstan today


Mai

n de

mog

raph

ic in

dica

tors

The

size

of p

opul

atio

nen

d-pe

riod,

thou

sand

peo

ple

Janu

ary

Febr

uary

Mar

chA

pril

May

June

July

Aug

ust

Sep

tem

ber

Oct

ober

Nov

embe

rD

ecem

ber

2007

15,4

09.2

15,4

22.9

15,4

37.6

15,4

54.1

15,4

70.8

15,4

84.9

15,5

00.8

15,5

14.7

15,5

27.7

15,5

43.0

15,5

56.8

15,5

65.6

2008

15,5

81.6

15,5

99.4

15,6

20.6

15,6

39.9

15,6

58.3

15,6

76.9

15,6

96.3

15,7

13.2

15,7

30.5

15,7

50.1

1576

6.1

15,7

78.2

2009

15,7

97.3

15,8

15.0

15,8

28.1

15,8

48.0

15,8

65.0

15,8

80.6

15,9

02.9

15,9

22.8

15,9

42.3

15,9

65.6

15,9

81.9

Num

ber

of b

irth

spe

ople

Janu

ary

Janu

ary-

Febr

uary

Janu

ary-

Mar

chJa

nuar

y-A

pril

Janu

ary-

May

Janu

ary-

June

Janu

ary-

July

Janu

ary-

Aug

ust

Janu

ary-

Sep

tem

ber

Janu

ary-

Oct

ober

Janu

ary-

Nov

embe

rJa

nuar

y-D

ecem

ber

2007

29,4

5254

,377

77,8

0210

5,75

213

3,46

915

9,11

318

8,78

521

5,21

423

9,55

426

9,24

029

6,92

731

6,82

220

0831

,508

60,7

9686

,921

117,

985

147,

560

176,

702

210,

717

241,

741

270,

255

305,

357

334,

486

359,

300

2009

33,2

1961

,951

86,8

7011

9,85

414

8,56

217

5,65

621

0,60

424

1,32

027

0,32

830

4,84

233

2,10

8

Num

ber

of d

eath

spe

ople

Janu

ary

Janu

ary-

Febr

uary

Janu

ary-

Mar

chJa

nuar

y-A

pril

Janu

ary-

May

Janu

ary-

June

Janu

ary-

July

Janu

ary-

Aug

ust

Janu

ary-

Sep

tem

ber

Janu

ary-

Oct

ober

Janu

ary-

Nov

embe

rJa

nuar

y-D

ecem

ber

2007

16,4

9829

,936

43,0

3156

,828

70,2

2882

,583

96,8

4510

9,59

212

0,97

413

5,18

814

8,35

515

8,93

120

0816

,033

29,4

9842

,198

56,3

6669

,242

81,2

9294

,750

106,

811

117,

598

131,

599

143,

341

155,

065

2009

13,8

5925

,356

36,1

1849

,294

60,8

1571

,987

85,1

5096

,086

106,

798

119,

546

131,

356

Nat

ural

gro

wth

peop

leJa

nuar

yJa

nuar

y-Fe

brua

ryJa

nuar

y-M

arch

Janu

ary-

Apr

ilJa

nuar

y-M

ayJa

nuar

y-Ju

neJa

nuar

y-Ju

lyJa

nuar

y-A

ugus

tJa

nuar

y-S

epte

mbe

rJa

nuar

y-O

ctob

erJa

nuar

y-N

ovem

ber

Janu

ary-

Dec

embe

r20

0712

,954

24,4

4134

,771

48,9

2463

,241

76,5

3091

,940

105,

622

118,

580

134,

052

148,

572

157,

891

2008

15,4

7531

,298

44,7

2361

,619

78,3

1895

,410

115,

967

134,

930

152,

657

173,

758

191,

145

204,

235

2009

19,3

6036

,595

50,7

5270

,560

87,7

4710

3,66

912

5,45

414

5,23

416

3,53

018

5,29

620

0,75

2

Num

ber

of m

arri

ages

Janu

ary

Janu

ary-

Febr

uary

Janu

ary-

Mar

chJa

nuar

y-A

pril

Janu

ary-

May

Janu

ary-

June

Janu

ary-

July

Janu

ary-

Aug

ust

Janu

ary-

Sep

tem

ber

Janu

ary-

Oct

ober

Janu

ary-

Nov

embe

rJa

nuar

y-D

ecem

ber

2007

8,81

817

,982

28,2

7740

,474

47,6

7759

,505

75,7

4493

,660

107,

495

121,

314

134,

997

146,

380

2008

8,21

98,

725

26,9

4937

,894

45,2

1456

,575

69,4

6787

,730

98,4

8311

3,12

112

5,13

213

5,28

020

098,

966

18,0

2827

,203

39,2

0846

,529

57,2

9172

,025

88,4

4110

1,09

311

7,72

512

9,84

7

Num

ber

of d

ivor

ces

Janu

ary

Janu

ary-

Febr

uary

Janu

ary-

Mar

chJa

nuar

y-A

pril

Janu

ary-

May

Janu

ary-

June

Janu

ary-

July

Janu

ary-

Aug

ust

Janu

ary-

Sep

tem

ber

Janu

ary-

Oct

ober

Janu

ary-

Nov

embe

rJa

nuar

y-D

ecem

ber

2007

3,26

96,

075

8,87

312

,162

15,2

3918

,230

21,8

0425

,169

27,8

6831

,073

33,9

5236

,108

2008

2,78

35,

662

8,12

311

,427

14,1

2417

,007

20,5

4223

,644

26,6

7330

,150

33,1

8135

,852

2009

2,91

45,

958

8,89

212

,805

15,8

7319

,046

22,9

7826

,289

29,5

5233

,159

36,2

77

Ext

erna

l mig

ratio

npe

ople

Janu

ary

Janu

ary-

Febr

uary

Janu

ary-

Mar

chJa

nuar

y-A

pril

Janu

ary-

May

Janu

ary-

June

Janu

ary-

July

Janu

ary-

Aug

ust

Janu

ary-

Sep

tem

ber

Janu

ary-

Oct

ober

Janu

ary-

Nov

embe

rJa

nuar

y-D

ecem

ber

Net

mig

ratio

n20

071,

612

3,87

25,

957

8,26

810

,675

11,4

5411

,972

12,2

2212

,188

12,1

0411

,355

10,8

7820

0852

42,

422

4,38

16,

790

8,47

79,

940

8,81

96,

722

6,30

24,

842

3,49

62,

419

2009

-224

248

838

900

798

483

946

1,07

72,

316

3,85

64,

665

Imm

igra

tion

2007

3,76

28,

014

12,4

5317

,530

23,4

2128

,111

33,1

5538

,699

43,3

5947

,596

50,8

7853

,309

2008

2,60

56,

592

10,5

2515

,323

19,8

3324

,626

28,3

1432

,241

36,8

5240

,668

44,3

4047

,657

2009

2,46

55,

253

8,26

511

,277

14,6

3618

,202

21,7

8925

,277

29,3

9633

,730

36,9

65Em

igra

tion

2007

2,15

04,

142

6,49

69,

262

12,7

4616

,657

21,1

8326

,477

31,1

7135

,492

39,5

2342

,431

2008

2,08

14,

170

6,14

48,

533

11,3

5614

,686

19,4

9525

,519

30,5

5035

,826

40,8

4445

,238

2009

2,68

95,

005

7,42

710

,377

13,8

3817

,719

20,8

4324

,200

27,0

8029

,874

32,3

00

348 349

Kazakhstan today


CIS

cou

ntri

espe

ople

Janu

ary

Janu

ary-

Febr

uary

Janu

ary-

Mar

chJa

nuar

y-A

pril

Janu

ary-

May

Janu

ary-

June

Janu

ary-

July

Janu

ary-

Aug

ust

Janu

ary-

Sep

tem

ber

Janu

ary-

Oct

ober

Janu

ary-

Nov

embe

rJa

nuar

y-D

ecem

ber

Imm

igra

tion

2007

2,85

46,

400

10,0

4713

,913

18,9

4222

,752

26,9

5531

,543

34,8

8538

,293

40,8

7542

,747

2008

2,16

25,

241

7,70

310

,605

13,2

6516

,247

18,8

3421

,529

24,3

9426

,735

29,2

1431

,463

2009

1,69

73,

835

6,17

68,

403

11,0

4713

,745

16,3

2619

,309

22,5

0326

,195

28,8

07Em

igra

tion

2007

1,92

03,

722

5,89

08,

433

11,6

7215

,339

19,5

8224

,597

29,0

1133

,089

36,9

8239

,758

2008

1,97

83,

913

5,77

07,

997

10,6

5613

,819

18,3

5724

,117

28,8

9033

,896

38,6

5942

,862

2009

2,53

04,

726

6,97

99,

681

12,9

8216

,657

19,5

7922

,722

25,3

5827

,968

30,2

21

Oth

er c

ount

ries

peop

le

Janu

ary

Janu

ary-

Febr

uary

Janu

ary-

Mar

chJa

nuar

y-A

pril

Janu

ary-

May

Janu

ary-

June

Janu

ary-

July

Janu

ary-

Aug

ust

Janu

ary-

Sep

tem

ber

Janu

ary-

Oct

ober

Janu

ary-

Nov

embe

rJa

nuar

y-D

ecem

ber

Imm

igra

tion

2007

908

1,61

42,

406

3,61

74,

479

5,35

96,

200

7,15

68,

474

9,30

310

,003

10,5

6220

0844

31,

351

2,82

24,

718

6,56

88,

379

9,48

010

,712

12,4

5813

,933

15,1

2616

,194

2009

768

1,41

82,

089

2,87

43,

589

4,45

75,

463

5,96

86,

893

7,53

58,

158

Emig

ratio

n20

0723

042

060

682

91,

074

1,31

81,

601

1,88

02,

160

2,40

32,

541

2,67

320

0810

325

737

453

670

086

71,

138

1,40

21,

660

1,93

02,

185

2,37

620

0915

927

944

869

685

61,

062

1,26

41,

478

1,72

21,

906

2,07

9

Hea

lthca

re

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Num

ber o

f all

doct

ors,

thou

sand

peo

ple

50.6

4951

.353

.754

.654

.855

.557

.359

.458

.9

Num

ber o

f nur

ses,

thou

sand

peo

ple

110.

410

6.6

109.

411

3.4

115

117

119.

612

5.2

130

131.

7

Num

ber o

f hos

pita

ls91

793

898

11,

005

1,02

91,

042

1,06

31,

086

1,05

51,

041

Num

ber o

f hos

pita

l bed

s, th

ousa

nd10

8.2

106.

911

0.2

111.

911

4.8

116.

611

7.6

119

119.

612

0.8

Num

ber o

f hos

pita

l bed

s fo

r chi

ldre

n,

thou

sand

18.9

18.6

18.4

18.4

20.3

19.4

2020

19.6

20.4

350 351

Kazakhstan today


Perm

anen

t pre

-sch

ool o

rgan

isat

ions

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Num

ber o

f per

man

ent p

re-s

choo

l org

anis

atio

ns1,

102

1,08

91,

103

1,09

51,

106

1,12

01,

179

1,32

71,

500

1,69

2

Num

ber o

f chi

ldre

n in

per

man

ent p

re-s

choo

l or

gani

satio

ns12

4,40

113

3,21

714

0,35

014

7,48

915

6,54

216

8,76

118

5,36

820

7,79

823

2,92

525

7,05

3

Cov

erag

e of

chi

ldre

n in

per

man

ent p

re-s

choo

l or

gani

satio

ns (n

umbe

r of c

hild

ren

per 1

00 p

lace

s)81

.084

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.189

.894

.599

.010

2.6

105.

310

8.0

110.

7

Num

ber o

f ped

agog

ical

per

sonn

el in

per

man

ent p

re-

scho

ol o

rgan

isat

ions

*14

,370

16,0

4816

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17,4

0017

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19,0

4620

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22,8

6924

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27,2

77

* E

xclu

ding

med

ical

per

sonn

el

Day

and

eve

ning

seco

ndar

y sc

hool

s

1998

/99

1999

/00

2000

/01

2001

/02

2002

/03

2003

/04

2004

/05

2005

/06

2006

/07

2007

/08

2008

/09

2009

/10

Num

ber o

f day

sec

onda

ry s

choo

ls8,

284

8,29

08,

309

8,40

88,

334

8,25

48,

221

8,15

78,

055

7,95

87,

859

7,81

1

Num

ber o

f pup

ils in

day

sec

onda

ry

scho

ols,

thou

sand

peo

ple

3,11

5.2

3,11

7.8

3,24

7.4

3,08

5.0

3,11

5.0

3,04

4.7

2,93

5.9

2,82

4.6

2,71

5.9

2,62

7.4

2,56

1.6

2,53

4.0

Num

ber o

f ped

agog

ical

sta

ff in

day

se

cond

ary

scho

ols

250,

300

262,

242

276,

343

273,

736

279,

326

285,

854

286,

934

286,

345

282,

924

279,

098

276,

850

282,

254

Num

ber o

f eve

ning

sec

onda

ry

scho

ols

3731

4448

4766

7576

7679

Num

ber o

f pup

ils in

eve

ning

se

cond

ary

scho

ols,

thou

sand

pe

ople

26.1

24.3

25.5

24.6

24.5

27.0

26.2

26.3

24.1

24.0

352 353

Kazakhstan today


Information about authors

M.A. Abisheva – PhD in Political Sciences, head of a department, the Security Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan

A.M. Borangaliyev – researcher, the economic research department, the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

A.U. Ibragimova – economist

R.Yu. Izimov – researcher, the foreign policy department, the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

K.D. Isayev – adviser to the director of the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

T.A. Kozyrev – PhD in Philological Sciences, senior researcher, the socio-political research department, the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

S.K. Kushkumbayev – Doctor of Political Sciences, chief research-er, the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

M.T. Laumulin – Doctor of Political Sciences, chief researcher, the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

S.S. Lukpanova – PhD in History

A.A. Morozov – head of the socio-political research department, the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

A.K. Nazarbetova – researcher, the socio-political research depart-ment, the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

M.Ye. Nurgaliyev – PhD in History

A.Zh. Rakhimzhanova – PhD in Economics, head of the economic research department, the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

G.G. Rakhmatulina – PhD in Economics, senior analyst, Agency on Investment Profi tability Research

Ye.T. Seilekhanov – Doctor of Political Sciences

V.N. Sitenko – counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Austria

B.K. Sultanov – Doctor of History, director of the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

L.A. Timofeyenko – researcher, the foreign policy department, the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

354 355

Kazakhstan today


Information about the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under

the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KazISS) was established on 16 June 1993 by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The main mission of the KazISS is providing the activity of the President of Kazakhstan and governing bodies of the country with scientifi c and analytical data.

The KazISS has become a high professional scientifi c-analyti-cal centre. At present, six doctors of sciences, twelve candidates of sciences, specialists in political sciences, historians, economists and sociologists work there.

During the period of the KazISS activity, its experts have published more than 150 books on international relations, problems of global and regional security. The Institute is publishing four scientifi c and analytical magazines: Kogam zhane Dauir (in Kazakh), Kazakhstan-Spektr, Analytic (in Russian), and Central Asia’s Affairs (in English). Kogam zhane Dauir, Kazakhstan-Spektr and Analytic are included in the list of scientifi c publications of the Committee for Control in the Sphere of Education and Science of the Kazakh Ministry of Education and Science for publishing primary scientifi c results of dissertations.

The KazISS has a website that offers information in three lan-guages – Kazakh, Russian and English. About 184,859 users visit the KazISS website annually, and the greater part of them are foreign citizens.

The KazISS annually conducts a great number of international scientifi c conferences, seminars and round table discussions. For-eign experts are interested in the KazISS conferences which have been conducted annually since 2003 and are devoted to problems of security and cooperation in Central Asia. Not only experts from

Kazakhstan and the Central Asian countries, but also scientists from Russia, China, Germany, France, India, Turkey, Pakistan, Japan and other countries attend the KazISS scientifi c forums.

Students of the leading Kazakh universities and foreign experts undergo practical trainings and internship at the KazISS.

At present, the Institute provides all necessary conditions for pro-fessional and scientifi c growth of its staff, e.g. for defense of Master’s and Ph.D. theses.

For more information about the KazISS please call or visit us at the following address:

87 B Dostyk Avenue050010, Almaty Republic of Kazakhstan Tel: +7 (727) 264-34-04 Fax.: +7 (727) 264-49-95 E-mail: offi [email protected] http://www.kisi.kz

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Kazakhstan today

Scientifi c publication

KAZAKHSTAN TODAY

Monograph

Designer A.K. SadvakasovPage maker A.A. Zhumagaliyeva

Translation and editing by Tandem Ltd.

In the book authors used materials of the www.akorda.kz, www.astana.kz, www.inform.kz and www.yvision.kz websites and the archives of the KontinenT magazine

Signed for publishing: 25.04.2010. Format: 60х90 1/16.Offset paper. Offset printing. Paper size 22.25

Circulation 2,000

The Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studiesunder the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

87 B Dostyk Avenue, Almaty, 050010

Printed in the Ye V Volkova IP publishing house, Almaty

304354 E918A Sultanov b k Kazakhstan Today

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