Astana Calling #264

ASTANA CALLING / ISSUE 264 /1

President NazarbayevVisits the UKDuring a working visit to the UK (July 25-28), President Nazarbayev met with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

President NazarbayevVisits Cambridge UniversityPresident Nazarbayev addressed an audience of teaching staff and students at Cambridge University on July 26.

A bi-weeKly oNliNe PUbliCAtioN of the

MiNistry of foreigN AffAirs of the rePUbliC of KAzAKhstANCallingastana issUe No 264

friDAy, 3 AUgUst 2012www.MfA.Kz

Kazakhstan and China target growth in bilateral trade

team Kazakhstan’s golden Performances at olympics

Kazakhstan National Day at eXPo 2012

Also in the News

things to

watch


President NazarbayevVisits the UK

During a working visit to the UK (July 25-28), President Nazarbayev met with British Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss bi-lateral relations and co-operation between Kazakhstan and the UK.The UK and Kazakhstan have strong political and economic rela-tions. The UK regards Kazakhstan as a strategic partner in Central Asia and the two countries have a wide-ranging dialogue covering issues such as energy security, economic growth, democratization and human rights as well as security sector reform.Over 500 British companies operate in Kazakhstan, and the UK is the third most important foreign investor after the U.S. and the Netherlands with over $20 billion invested since 1993. Bilateral trade in 2011 was worth $1.9 billion. British companies are invested across a wider range of sectors in Kazakhstan from the mining and processing industries to health and education.The President also met with the Lord Mayor of the City of London, David Wootton.The City of London Corporation is the elected body that governs London’s business district known as the “Square Mile”. One of its key functions is to support the UK’s financial services sector. The Lord Mayor, who is elected on an annual basis, has led business delegations to Kazakhstan on several occasions in the past few years.The President also attended a reception at Buckingham Palace on July 27 hosted by Queen Elizabeth II for Heads of State and Gov-ernment who are in London for the Olympic Games.Guests at the palace included U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, Bra-zilian President Dilma Rousseff, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, Russian Prime Min-

ster Dmitry Medvedev and German President Joachim Gauck. The President also met with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss Kazakhstan’s social modernization program, and held bilateral talks with the President of Switzerland, Eveline Wid-mer-Schlumpf.

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David Cameron (L) and Nursultan Nazarbayev (R) agreed that British investors would participate more actively in Kazakhstan’s programme of industrialization.

The UK is the third most important foreign investor after the U.S. and the Netherlands with over $20 billion invested since 1993.


President NazarbayevVisits Cambridge University

President Nazarbayev addressed an audience of teaching staff and students at Cambridge University on July 26 and launched the Central Asian Innovation Fund, a project designed to promote the innovation potential of the Central Asian region. He also an-nounced the creation of the Al-Farabi scholarship program for stu-dents at British universities to conduct research on Central Asia.Cambridge University was one of President Nazarbayev’s first stops on his visit to the UK, underlining the importance of educa-tion in the President’s vision for Kazakhstan. “It is a great honor for me to visit one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Cambridge has fostered eminent minds such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and many other prominent figures and Nobel lau-reates,” President Nazarbayev said in his opening remarks to the Cambridge University audience.The President talked about the economic and political challeng-es facing the world in the 20th and 21st centuries, recalling how Kazakhstan had started state building from scratch in 1991 while conducting deep reforms to move from a planned economy to a market-based system. He noted the government’s priority focus today on improving the system of governance to ensure the coun-ty’s long-term social and economic development. The President explained that Kazakhstan was one of the first countries in the post-Soviet space to join the European Higher Education Area when it became part of the Bologna Process in 2010. Since 1993, over 8,000 young Kazakhstanis have studied abroad in the world’s best universities thanks to the Bolashak scholarship program.Over 4,000 young Kazakhstanis have studied at UK universities. The Kazakh-British Technical University is another example of cooperation in higher education. It has been operating in Almaty since 2001 training the next generation of scientific and technical experts.The President said that Kazakhstan was ready to broaden co-operation with Cambridge University, particularly in the area of

new technologies, renewable energy and ecology. He referred to the positive example of co-operation between Kazatomprom and Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory.Cambridge University is already working with Kazakhstan in a number of areas, including development of a School of Gradu-ate Education at Nazarbayev University and projects to mitigate the effects of earthquakes. The University’s Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is also developing a programme of Central Asian language and cultural studies with a focus on the Kazakh language.

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team Kazakhstan’s golden Performances at olympics

Cyclist Alexander Vinokourov and weightlifter Zulfiya Chinshanlo won Kazakhstan’s two first gold medals at the London Olympics. 38-year old Vinokourov’s outstanding performance in the 249.5 km men’s road race earned Team Kazakhstan its first gold medal on the opening day of the Games. 19-year old Zulfiya Chishanlo from Almaty won the team’s second gold with her world record-breaking achievement in the women’s weightlifting on Day Two. Kazakhstan’s third gold went to 26-year old Maiya Maneza on July 31 in the women’s 63kg class weightlifting, who beat her long-standing Russian rival Svetlana Tsarukaeva. Vinokourov’s gold comes after he has fought hard to make his way back to the top of international cycling. In 2007 he failed a blood test during the Tour de France and was banned from the circuit for two years. He returned to competitive cycling and was back

“Kazakhstan is ready to broaden co-operation with Cambridge University, particularly in the area of new technologies, renewable energy and ecology.”− Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s official delegation at the Old Schools building of the University of Cambridge.


on the Tour de France by 2011. His return was short-lived after he fell during the race and suffered a broken leg. After winning gold in London, Vinokurov announced his retirement from competi-tive cycling, bringing to an end a distinguished career that began in 1997. He won a silver medal in the men’s road race at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.Zulfiya Chishanlo and Maiya Maneza were born and raised in China and emigrated to Kazakhstan in 2008. They took Kazakh-stan nationality and have competed since then for their adoptive country. Both athletes not only won gold medals but also set new world records.As of 1 August, Team Kazakhstan was 7th in the overall ranking, ahead of hosts Team GB at 20th place and just behind South Korea.

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Kazakhstan and China target growth in bilateral trade

Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic Development Timur Zhaksy-lykov opened the sixth round of the China – Kazakhstan Subcommit-tee on Trade and Economic Cooperation on July 28 in Astana.Kazakhstan and China have agreed to increase their bilateral trade turnover in the next three years to $40 billion, nearly dou-bling current trade levels.

Zhaksylykov said that the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and China in the last five months of 2012 amounted to $8.7 billion, nearly 30% up on the same period last year.Trade relations between Kazakhstan and China have developed fast over the past 20 years. Around 20% of Kazakhstan’s oil and

After winning gold in London, Vinokurov announced his retirement from competitive cycling, bringing to an end a distinguished career that began in 1997.

Team Kazakhstan at the London Olympics Opening Ceremony on July 27.

Timur Zhaksylykov, Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic Development of Kazakhstan.


gas exports now go to China as well as significant volumes of met-als such as aluminium, iron, steel and zinc. China accounts for close to 18 percent of Kazakhstan’s total revenues.China exports to Kazakhstan a range of equipment, including bulldozers, computers, railway carriages and telephones.Chinese companies are involved in the financing and construction of the Kazakhstan – China oil and gas pipeline and the Moinak hy-droelectric plant as well as the upgrading of the Atyrau oil refinery. Chinese Deputy Minister of Trade Jiang Yaoping has asked Kazakh-stan to look into simplifying visa procedures for Chinese workers coming to Kazakhstan. 6,000 Chinese workers and specialists are expected to come to Kazakhstan over the next two years to work on major infrastructure projects, including the Beyneu-Shymkent pipeline in southern Kazakhstan.

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Kazakhstan National Day at eXPo 2012

The EXPO 2012 exhibition currently underway in the South Ko-rean city of Yeosu held a national day dedicated to Kazakhstan on July 28. Kazakhstan’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Bakhytzhan Sagyntayev and EXPO 2012 Commissioner General Lee Djun Hee opened the day with speeches underlining the importance of the bilateral relationship between Kazakhstan and South Korea. “The theme for EXPO 2012, “The Living Ocean and Coast”, is directly relevant to the “FUTURE Energy” theme proposed by Kazakhstan for EXPO 2017,” Minister Sagyntayev said. “For our country, participating in EXPO 2012 is hugely significant. This is an important place where people from different countries have the opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss methods and proj-ects for resolving problems related to conserving water resources. Here we also have the chance to tell the whole world about Asta-na’s bid to host EXPO 2017,” the Minister said.Kazakhstan’s pavilion at EXPO 2012 showcases the Government of Kazakhstan’s efforts to re-generate the Aral Sea and its sur-rounding region. The pavilion also hosts a display of environmen-tal protection programs in the Caspian Sea and coastal areas.Visitors have the opportunity to a virtual walk in Astana and the proposed area for EXPO 2017.The National Day celebrations began with a flag raising ceremony as the national anthem was played. The festivities included a tour of the pavilion and a gala concert on Ocean Plaza featuring musi-

cal and dance performances by artists from Kazakhstan. 104 countries from Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa are rep-resented at EXPO 2012 as well as ten international organizations, including the UN and the OECD.

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Also in the News:

• On July 27 the National Bank of Kazakhstan issued the ‘Baykonur’ and ‘Suinbay’ commemorative coins. The two-tone ‘Baykonur’ is the second coin to be issued in the continuing ‘Heritage of the Republic’ series and has been made using tantalum. Meanwhile, the gold ‘Suinbay’, which is worth 500 tenge, is a continuation of the ‘Portraits on Banknotes’ series.

• On Friday July 27 the ‘Chokan Valikhanov’ yacht was moored in Aktau (the administrative centre for the Mangistau Region of Kazakhstan), in the hotel ‘Samal’ harbor, next to the Presi-

“The trade turnover between Kazakhstan and China in the last five months of 2012 amounted to $8.7 billion, nearly 30% up on the same period last year.”− Timur Zhaksylykov, Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic Development of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s pavilion at EXPO 2012 showcases the Government of Kazakhstan’s efforts to re-generate the Aral Sea and its surrounding region.

The official logo of Astana’s bid to host Expo-2017.


dent’s residency. It was carrying the participants of Kazakhstan’s first maritime round-the-world expedition; ‘Terra Vita’. During their five-year travels the crew – captain Alexander Lavrinov, first mate Vitaliy Melnikov, navigating officer Almas Mynbayev and yachtsmen Konstantin Rudenko and Mikhail Tarabanovsk – sailed the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and visited ports in over 30 countries.

• An Embassy of Kazakhstan has opened in Brest, Belarus. With the establishment of the United Economic Space of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, it has become essential to set up a fully-fledged, diplomatic embassy on the western border of the Cus-toms Union. The embassy’s main task is to enhance trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

• From July 31 to August 1, 2012, further meetings of the Special

Working Group and the Senior Officials Committee of the Con-ference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) were held in Astana. Representatives of 24 CICA Member States took part. The draft declaration for the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs that will be held on Sep-tember 12 in Astana was reviewed.

• The World Bank and Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Health will work together on joint projects in the area of healthcare as part of Ka-zakhstan’s social modernization programme.

• Kazakhstan’s foreign trade missions have earned it approximate-ly $60 million. Over the past three years, ‘Kaznex Invest’ has conducted around 15 trade missions in which businesspeople were given the opportunity to present their products to foreign business representatives and hold consultations with directors of state departments.

• According to the Kazakh Ministry of Oil and Gas, oil producing companies extracted 39.7 million tonnes of oil, including gas con-densate, in the first half of last year. Preliminary statistics show that oil exports amounted to 34 million tonnes. 7.2 million tonnes of refined oil were produced in Kazakhstan’s oil refineries.

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things to watch:

• The fourth meeting of Trade Ministers of Landlocked Develop-ing Countries will take place in Almaty in September. Nikolay Pomoshchnikov, the Head of the Sub-regional Office for North and Central Asia of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, said that the preparation and adoption of the new Almaty Program of Action for landlocked countries will open up new opportunities to harness Kazakhstan’ profit-able transit potential.

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Astana Calling #264