ASTANA CALLING

A bi-weekly online publication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Friday, September 3, 2010

Issue # 87

New Political Season Opens as Parliament Starts Its Fourth Annual Session

Kazakhstan’s Parliament has returned to work on Wednesday, September 1, after a summer break, for what is the fourth year out of five for this convocation of the national legislature. President Nursultan Nazarbayev symbolically opened the new political season by addressing the lawmakers at a joint session of both houses of Parliament (Mazhilis and Senate) in Astana, as the Constitution requires him to do.

Speaking from the parliamentary rostrum, Nazarbayev summarized key results of the first half of the year and outlined further objectives and challenges in implementing the strategic goals.

President said the results of the previous session have demonstrated the constructive interaction between the law-making and executive authorities. Nearly two weeks ago Nazarbayev tasked the Government with elaborating and introducing for Parliament’s consideration a number of bills designed to liberalise the legislative base in Kazakhstan.

He reiterated his commitment to the case on Wednesday by emphasising the need to make some decisive steps towards humanisation of penal policy in the country. At the moment, he said, the Government is already finishing its work over bills on law enforcement agencies and humanisation of public prosecution activity, which will soon be submitted to Parliament for consideration, the Kazakh leader said adding that he expected deputies to support those.

“Kazakhstan’s legal base has been improved through the introduction of new legislative acts aimed at reforming the country’s law enforcement system, and strengthening control over crime and corruption. Additionally, legal standards regulating financial and economic relations, along with budget, tax, and tariff policy have been brought up to date. A large part of the new legislative base is destined to support certain categories of citizens, provide free medical treatment, and stimulate energy efficiency and sustainable use of water resources,” Nazarbayev stressed. more...

Kazakh Economy Set to Grow 3-4 Percent Annually Till 2015

Kazakhstan’s rate of economic growth is anticipated to amount to 4.1% by 2015, announced Kazakh Minister of Economic Development and Trade Zhanar Aitzhanova at a government meeting on August 31. At that meeting, the Cabinet approved the draft Forecast of social and economic development for 2011-2015, a draft of the revised budget for the next three years, and the bill “On guaranteed transfer from the National Fund for 2011-2013”.

Zhanar Aitzhanova briefed the session participants on domestic economy’s future development.

The latest macroeconomic forecast for the upcoming four years seems to be optimistic, and is prepared with due regard to the trends of the world economy, the situation on world commodity markets, as well as prospects for the development of sectors of Kazakh economy in the first half of this year.

“The GDP growth will amount to 3.1% in 2011, 3.3% - in 2012, 3.5% - in 2013 and reach 4.1% by 2015,” Aitzhanova told the ministers.

According to the forecast, the implementation of industrial projects and an increase in external demand for Kazakh exports will help the industry grow by 3.6% in 2011 and 3.9% in 2012.

The expansion rate in the manufacturing sector will also increase significantly by 3.4% in 2011 and 7.2% by 2015. Annual growth in gross agricultural output in 2011-2015 is expected at 4.3%, reaching 4.8% in 2015.  

Aitzhanova noted the output expansion in industry and agriculture is expected to boost the volume of transport services and trade.

“The average growth of transport services is forecast to amount to 3.7%, while the trade volume in the upcoming five years will increase by 5.4%,” she said adding that economic recovery is expected to directly impact on indices in the social sphere. more...

Kazakhstan Is Committed to Its Proposal of Hosting Nuclear Fuel Bank

In view of growing demand for nuclear energy and inherent risks associated with the expansion of nuclear technologies, Kazakhstan has repeatedly expressed willingness to host an international nuclear fuel bank on its territory which would provide fissile material for peaceful energy use in nations that demonstrate responsibility in their peaceful nuclear programmes but for whatever political reasons are unable to procure uranium on international markets.

Having a stable political environment and developed uranium industry, Kazakhstan sets itself up as a worthy candidate for the host nation of such a facility. Its voluntary renunciation of the fourth largest nuclear and missile arsenal indicates that the country has no militaristic intentions.

The proposed fuel bank would act as the last resort source of supply of nuclear fuel for peaceful power reactors in nations unable to buy such fuel internationally. If and when the fuel bank is set up, the IAEA, which would manage the bank, would clearly set the rules of distribution of uranium upfront.

The idea behind the fuel bank, first put forward in 2006 by Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington, DC-based NGO led by former Senator Sam Nunn and Ted Turner, is to assure countries of a supply of uranium fuel for their peaceful nuclear programmes, provided they comply with IAEA regulations and are not able to buy fuel on international markets for whatever reasons. The Vienna-based IAEA would have total control of the Kazakh site, in addition to owning the nuclear materials stored there. more...

Promoting Ethnic Integration through Education

Kazakhstan’s government managed to create a well-balanced system of public education capable of accommodating the linguistic diversity of the multiethnic society by making medium-of-instruction options available for parents.

Today, the mandatory school education in Kazakhstan that, according to the 2009 UNDP report, enjoys a 99.6 percent literacy rate is offered in nine languages: Kazakh, Russian, Uzbek, Uighur, Tajik, Turkish, Ukrainian, German and English.

The network of general secondary education establishments incorporates 3,817 Kazakh language schools, 1,648 Russian language schools, 61 Uzbek language schools, 14 Uighur language schools, 2 Tajik language schools, 6 English language schools, one Turkish language school and one Ukrainian language school.

In addition, 2,152 schools offer education in two or more languages. Such secondary education system ensures that 75.2 percent of ethnic Uzbeks, 49.8 percent of ethnic Tajiks and 34.3 percent of ethnic Uighurs have an opportunity to receive schooling in their mother-tongue. It also demonstrates wide recognition among policy makers that languages are not just tools of communication but a vehicle of cultures, valuable as collective human accomplishments and, for many people, a central and defining feature of identity.

According to a recent article published by Fergana news agency and written by Igor Savin, a respected Kazakh ethnologist and leader of a “Dialogue” nongovernmental organization, one of the best examples of the language and culture maintenance policy pursued in Kazakhstan is the support of schools where the Uzbek language is used as the main medium of instruction, mainly in the South Kazakhstan region.

The number of ethnic Uzbeks living in Kazakhstan today is estimated at 470,000 people (3% of the total population). more...

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