INDEX

INTRODUCTION  

WHAT IS THE OSCE?

KAZAKHSTAN IN THE OSCE  

KANAT B. SAUDABAYEV, SECRETARY OF STATE - MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, CHAIRMAN IN OFFICE OF THE OSCE IN 2010

OUR PRIORITIES FOR THE OSCE IN 2010

OSCE AND THE GLOBAL POLITICS

INTERVIEW WITH KAZAKHSTAN’S FOREIGN MINISTER

OSCE2010.kz

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

KAZAKHSTAN’S DEVELOPMENT SINCE INDEPENDENCE

COUNTRY FACTS

DID YOU KNOW?

PRESS CONTACTS FOR KAZAKHSTAN

OUR MISSION TO THE OSCE

OSCE SPOKESPERSONS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

INTRODUCTION

Kazakhstan has taken on the Chairmanship of the OSCE at a time when the Organization is facing important challenges. Our priorities include strengthening the European security architecture, developing transit and transport potential within the OSCE region, addressing protracted conflicts, increasing OSCE’s contribution to stabilizing Afghanistan, and promoting tolerance. 

We will also pay close attention to issues related to arms control and to the proliferation of danger­ous materials and weapons of mass destruction. As a recognized leader in the nuclear non-proliferation field, Kazakhstan intends to make full use of its experience.

As an organization, we are also facing other important tasks: combating the new threats and challenges of the modern age, especially international terrorism, religious extremism and various forms of illicit trafficking and organized crime.

Under the OSCE’s human dimension, promoting tolerance and peaceful coexistence in diverse societies, as well as upholding fundamental democratic values and principles, will be among the main items on our agenda.

One of our biggest goals, however, is to organize an OSCE summit during 2010 to reinvigorate the Organization and reaffirm the Helsinki commitments.

It is Kazakhstan’s aim to ensure a Chairmanship characterized by efficiency, openness and accessibility. By contributing with fast, accessible and useful information, we will try to help you in your work as much as possible.

The main tool for this purpose is our Chairmanship website.  Besides the website, there is considerable expertise and experience to be found in the Kazakhstan Government Offices and Kazakhstan’s Delegation to the OSCE.  You are welcome to contact us and ask us questions.

Your work to convey what happens in the OSCE and to stimulate debate in member states and beyond is important for building security in Europe and Eurasia. We are happy to help you as best we can.

Roman Vassilenko

Chairman

Committee for International Information

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Partners for Co-operation

Afghanistan

Australia

Japan

Republic of Korea

Mongolia

Thailand

Algeria

Egypt

Israel

Jordan

Morocco

Tunisia

KAZAKHSTAN IN THE OSCE

In December 2007, the OSCE Ministerial Council in Madrid voted unanimously for Kazakhstan to take over the OSCE Chairmanship in Office in 2010.

Kazakhstan is the first post-Soviet, predominantly Asian and Muslim country to chair the Organization.

Kazakhstan joined the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on January 30, 1992.  On July 8, 1992 it signed the Helsinki Final Act of the CSCE, and on September 23, 1992, the Charter of Paris for a New Europe.

During the first years of its independence, the world community was interested in the constructive foreign policy followed by the newly independent country, which had turned out to be the possessor of the fourth largest nuclear arsenal. 

Mindful of this, the country made a conscious choice in favour of balanced approaches in its foreign and domestic policies, in which a pivotal role was assigned to the strategy of multilateral partnership and liberalization of the economy and society.

Kazakhstan perceived the invitation extended by the leading Western countries to join the CSCE as a step towards forming a new European security architecture based on equality and absence of dividing lines.

Having become a full member of the Conference, Kazakhstan took an active part in the processes of its further development, including its conversion into an international organization. 

President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan participated in the CSCE/OSCE Summits held in Helsinki (1992), Budapest (1994), Lisbon (1996) and Istanbul (1999). Each year, Kazakhstan is represented at the meetings of the OSCE Ministerial Council by its Foreign Minister. Kazakh parliamentarians take an active part in the work of the Organization’s Parliamentary Assembly.

In 1994, as a result of the Budapest Summit, the Conference was transformed into the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in order to put it on a firmer institutional footing.

In 1995, Kazakhstan established its Permanent Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna, which ensured the country’s direct participation in the OSCE.

Since 2008, in view of the forthcoming Chairmanship, there has been an independent Mission of Kazakhstan to the OSCE headed by Ambassador Kairat Abdrakhmanov.

In 1995, the OSCE established a regional Liaison Office in Central Asia in Tashkent. 1999, the OSCE Centre in Almaty was opened. It was renamed the OSCE Centre in Astana in 2007.   The Centre is now headed by Ambassador Alexandre Keltchewsky (France).

In recent years, Kazakhstan has carried out a number of major OSCE activities, including:

·         International conference on “Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in the OSCE: Challenges and Opportunities.” (Astana, 28 October, 2009);

·         The First Preparatory Conference for the 18^th Economic and Environmental Forum of the OSCE (Astana, 12-13 October 2009);

·         Additional seminar on tolerance and non-discrimination, held in Kazakhstan as Chairman of the Mediterranean Contact Group of the OSCE (Astana, 30 June 2009);

·         International conference on “The OSCE and the democratization processes in Central Asia.” (Almaty, 28 May, 2009);

·         Regional seminar on “Confidence Building Measures and Safety. 10 years after the Vienna Document 1999. Challenges and New Approaches in Central Asia and the Caucasus.” (Almaty, 26-27 May, 2009);

·         Seventeenth Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (Astana, 29 June-3 July 2008);

·         Regional workshop on confidence-building measures and regional co-operation on demining (Almaty, 26-27 March 2007);

·         Kazakhstan chaired the Third Review Conference of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (Vienna, 29 May-2 June 2006);

·         Regional Central Asian conference on combating trafficking in human beings - a regional response (Astana, 18-19 May 2006);

·         Tolerance Implementation Meeting on Promoting Inter-Cultural, Inter-Religious and Inter-Ethnic Understanding (Almaty, 12-13 June 2006).

Kanat B. Saudabayev, Secretary of State - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman in Office of the OSCE in 2010

Kanat Saudabayev was appointed Secretary of State – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the Decree of President Nursultan Nazarbayev on September 4, 2009.  One of the most important and immediate tasks for him as determined by the President is Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in the OSCE in 2010.

From 2007 to that appointment, he served as Kazakhstan’s Secretary of State, a top position in the presidential administration. As Secretary of State he has developed and continues to develop for the President proposals on main dimensions of domestic and foreign policies. He coordinates the activities of numerous bodies under the President, including the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan, commissions on human rights, the fight against corruption, state symbols, state awards, citizenship, as well as on educating personnel abroad under the Bolashak scholarship, among others.

From 2000 to 2007, Kanat Saudabayev served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to the United States of America, where he brought an important contribution to the strengthening of the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the USA in the spheres of security, economy and democratic development.

Before his appointment to the U.S., Kanat Saudabayev had a long career in the fields of government, diplomacy and the arts.  In 1999 and 2000, he served as the head of the Prime Minister’s Office with the rank of Cabinet member.

In the 1990s, he served as Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and to Turkey.  During 1994, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Saudabayev worked to implement the developing foreign policy of the young independent state. He was Kazakhstan’s signatory to NATO’s Partnership for Peace agreement.

In the fall of 1991, President Gorbachev appointed Kanat Saudabayev as the Soviet Ambassador to Turkey. As he was planning to take up his post, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Within months Kanat Saudabayev was on his way to Turkey again, but as the first Ambassador from an independent Kazakhstan to a foreign country.

Working in Moscow from September 1991 through May 1992 as the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic to the USSR, and then, after the Soviet Union collapsed, to the new Russian Federation, Kanat Saudabayev was a direct participant in and a witness to many crucial events of that time.

Before entering the diplomatic service, Kanat Saudabayev had a distinguished cultural career, serving as Kazakhstan’s Chairman of the State Committee of Culture with the rank of Minister, Chairman of the State Film Committee, and Deputy Culture Minister. 

Kanat Saudabayev holds degrees from the Leningrad Institute of Culture and the Academy of Public Sciences of the Central Committee of Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He has a PhD in Philosophy from the Kazakh State University and a PhD in Political Science from the Moscow State University. His service has been recognized by the Order of Otan (Fatherland), Kazakhstan’s highest state award, and the Order of Kurmet (Honour).

Kanat Saudabayev was born in the Almaty region in 1946.

OUR PRIORITIES FOR THE OSCE IN 2010

We have officially presented our priorities on 14 January 2010.  They cover the following main areas:

·         Strengthening the European security architecture, including through the support for the Corfu Process

·         Developing transit and transport potential

·         Afghanistan

·         Promoting tolerance and peaceful coexistence in diverse societies

·         Organizing an OSCE Summit

The Corfu Process

Afghanistan

Protracted conflicts

Arms control

We will also pay close attention to issues related to arms control and to the proliferation of danger­ous materials and weapons of mass destruction.  As a recognized leader in the non-proliferation field, Kazakhstan intends to make full use of its experience. Kazakhstan plans to present a new initiative to support broader international efforts to contain nuclear proliferation.  

Tolerance

Transit potential

OSCE AND THE GLOBAL POLITICS

By Nursultan Nazarbayev

As we approach the most active phase of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in such an influential international organization as the OSCE, I would like to touch upon a number of pressing issues which include the future of the organization, its place in the shifting world order, as well as a question of whether the OSCE in its present state would fit well in the dynamic realities of the 21^st century.

The future is being made today, and the OSCE is actively involved in the process. Theis group, which won’t allow you forget of its scale as it occupies the enormous area from Vancouver to Vladivostok, must deal with the most complex and urgent problems faced by the international community.

This is the way the Kazakh chairmanship of the OSCE sees things. We are keenly aware that one year is too little to address every aspect of the OSCE activities. We are not in favor of any kind of revolutions in the institution, but we are not going to act sluggishly as well.

As the head of a sovereign state, I view our chairmanship not only as a national project of strategic value and an evidence of the country’s increased international prestige. Rather I consider it as a chance to provide a new inspiration for the OSCE and give it a new impetus.

I would, therefore, like to remind my reader of the OSCE’s origins and the critical stages of its history. What are the reasons behind its obvious international success? What are the main lessons to be learnt from its past experiences? And finally, what can be done to revive and strengthen the “Helsinki spirit”?

CSCE as a global factor of détente

It was all the way back in 1973 when the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), involving 33 European countries, as well as the United States and Canada, started its way in Geneva and Helsinki. It was a turning point for the entire world, as the CSCE brought together the confronting states of the NATO and the Warsaw Treaty, joined by the neutral European states of the time.

In modern history, it was one of the most complex and critical periods, when tensions between the two opposing alliances reached their peak. The threat of the Cold War escalating into a "hot" one was quite tangible. Indeed, it took political courage on behalf of leaders of major world powers to avoid a nuclear apocalypse and make a step towards each other.

The Final Act signed in Helsinki in 1975 was the most important result of this work.

In my view, the CSCE marked a triple breakthrough in the geopolitics of the 20^th century. The first breakthrough concerned diminishing remarkably the threat of the Cold War’s escalation into a nuclear conflict. The second one was that it was the premier example of a successful institutionalized dialogue between the East and the West. Proving the possibility of meaningful cooperation between the two different ideologies and worldviews was the third.

One may reasonably claim that the CSCE, despite its geographic limits, has played a truly global role in what was then a bipolar world, as it contributed to simultaneous progress in all three areas (“dimensions”, or “baskets”) of its activities. Unfortunately, few political forums are capable of keeping the pace and maintaining the highest level of their impact on global processes. The CSCE-OSCE was no exception.

Let me make it straight: in 1975, they launched not only the “spirit”, but also a “brand” of the “Helsinki process”. Over the past decade, admittedly, this brand has significantly tarnished and lost a part of its attractiveness. The mission for contemporary politicians is not only to revive the brand, but to give it a new luster and energy.

OSCE during the breakup of the bipolar world

At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s the world was going through some epochal changes. The Soviet Union collapsed, the Warsaw Pact broke up, Germany reunited, and Yugoslavia disintegrated. The Commonwealth of Independent States was established with the direct participation of Kazakhstan.

In this complex and contradictory period, the CSCE played a stabilizing role, as it took some important steps to strengthen mutual confidence and security at the continent, and supported democratic and market reforms in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in the new nations of Eurasia. It was in 1990 when the Paris Charter for a New Europe and the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe were signed, along with a number of other strategically important documents.

In 1994, the CSCE transformed from a forum for political dialogue into a transnational institution, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Two years later, the renewed establishment adopted a “Declaration on a Common and Comprehensive Security Model for Europe for the 21^st century”, which highlighted the need to build a united, peaceful and democratic Europe, free of dividing lines.

It is obvious the OSCE has gradually reduced its attention to military-political issues. At the same time, it has substantially intensified the activities in advancing economic cooperation.

OSCE in contemporary geopolitical realities

The early years of the 21^st century were marked by a serious and profound transformation of the entire system of international relations. The vulnerability of national states in the face of extremism has contributed to intensifying multilateral cooperation in combating transnational threats to security.

Another challenge to international security have been the erosion of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty regime and swift expansion of the list of “threshold states”, ones who are close to obtaining nuclear weapons, or have already obtained them.

The OSCE area has had to deal with its own specific concerns, such as the changing military-political balance on the continent, protracted conflicts, complications surrounding the CFE Treaty, and many others.

Finally, the global financial crisis, which has engulfed virtually the entire world, proved the need for a coordinated effort by all states, including the OSCE members, to develop a new, more equitable, and predictable world order.

In this context, I wish to draw your attention to yet another important tendency that is a feature not so much of the OSCE, but more so of the overall development of global processes. Today we once again have a situation of inequality in solving problems that are equally important to all. Even the world’s leading powers are beginning to realize that this situation is destructive and rather unfair. In this regard, expanding G8 into G20 is a positive development, but not a decisive one.

My hope is that everyone would understand that the very logic of global development today requires strengthening the role of medium-sized states, which, in fact, constitute majority of nations in the modern world. In my opinion, the role of medium states should concern seeking adoption of global strategic decisions only on a consensual basis.

Today, the OSCE is one of the most significant assemblies in the world, covering a huge geographical and political space. The organization’s “Achilles heel”, however, is the fragmentation of the three segments of its area, and Eurasia’s insufficient engagement in upgrading the institution’s potential.

Over the past 35 years, a number of international organizations, and even sovereign states, had disappeared in the stream of history. Simultaneously, a host of new alliances and associations emerged. Europe’s political map has changed dramatically.

The OSCE must recognize that, and engage actively with the relatively young, yet quite influential and dynamic regional organizations in Eurasia. The development of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Collective Security Treaty Organization, and Eurasian Economic Community marks a completely different reality from the Soviet age. The emergence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization means the existence of a new mechanism that structures the geopolitical reality in a huge part of the OSCE area. A while ago Kazakhstan contributed to launching such an innovative project as the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, which is a prototype for an Asian collective security system. Based on the European experience, including the OSCE’s practice, the CICA dynamically moves towards institutionalizing its activities and has been gaining a growing acceptance in the world’s most populous continent.

Therefore, it would be in the interests of the OSCE to expand the positive engagement with other regional structures. Vigorous interaction with other regional projects can give the OSCE a new breath, open new horizons, and chart a new direction. If supported by other states, Astana could well become a reliable platform for this kind of inter-institutional and supra-regional dialogue.

Kazakh chairmanship in the OSCE: succession and innovation

I would like to underline that Kazakhstan takes the helm of OSCE as a proud successor of rich traditions. We definitely realize the core activities of the OSCE are grounded on the firmly established principles, standards and regulations. Kazakhstan will keep relying on them, because they indeed embody the organization’s spirit. In this respect, we will do all we can to ensure a proper succession of the Greek Chairmanship’s achievements.

I believe the Kazakh chairmanship in the OSCE can lay the ground for a new stage of relationship between the East and the West, and contribute to strengthening mutual trust on the continent. Having enjoyed meaningful partnerships and constructive relations with every nation both to the east and west of Vienna, Kazakhstan can become not only active, but also efficient mediator between the sides in a number of conflict situations.

I am also convinced the OSCE stands as an optimal platform for discussing the most complicated problems of international security. In this regard, we attach particular importance to the Corfu process, which can certainly boost our understanding of the comprehensive and indivisible security at the vast expanse of the OSCE.

In my opinion, the organization should not abandon an open and principled discussion of strategic initiatives, including the European Security Treaty.

Yet another global threat of our times is the problem of extremism, which in varying degrees endangers every OSCE member state. Therefore, debating the global security issues, the organization must address terrorism and extremism, which, like a cancer, gradually affect the entire global civilization.

In general, it is important to recognize a significant historical fact, namely that the OSCE has evolved from a continental assembly into an organization, which both due to the scale of area of its responsibility and specific branches of its work, has a truly transcontinental character, as it encompasses the nations of Europe, Asia, and North America.

So today, it would be more appropriate to speak about the Euro-Asian security rather than European. My point is that providing firm security in Europe, unless you deal with its Asian dimension, is just impossible.  Security in the contemporary world, including Europe, depends not only on potential threats of a massive military attack carried out by regular armies, but also the very real threats related to possible acts of terror and conflicts on the basis of ethnic and religious differences.

Security of our countries is inseparable from security of our neighbors, even if they do not belong to the OSCE. In this regard, the Kazakh chairmanship puts maximum efforts to addressing new security challenges in the OSCE area, and co-sponsors a number of important projects in combating terrorism and various illegal traffics, and strengthening border control.

As you might know, 43 out of 56 OSCE member states are in one way or another involved in military operations and economic reconstruction in Afghanistan. However, one should acknowledge that without the effective involvement of regional organizations solving the Afghan problem can turn into an even greater challenge for the West. The OSCE must find its own place in this process, a special role in this big undertaking, and in this sense, Afghanistan could become a bridge between various regional organizations.

Kazakhstan focuses its efforts on rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction of this troubled country and fully supports the activities of ISAF. At the same time, we remain convinced that Afghanistan’s problems have no military solutions.

Along with many other countries, we are genuinely interested in a stable and peaceful development of Afghanistan. Therefore, we intend to concentrate our efforts, primarily, on humanitarian projects there.

Despite the global financial crisis, we are allocating US$ 50 million toward educating one thousand Afghans in various civil occupations at Kazakh universities. We hope other OSCE member states would develop similar programs.

In this context, no one should underestimate the role of an important pan-Asian forum, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). Its objectives have much in common with those of the OSCE. Afghanistan is a full member of the CICA and participates in a number of its practical activities, for example, in tackling illegal drug trafficking, as well as confronting new challenges and threats.

Nowadays, when the entire world is dealing with the effects of global financial crisis and governments are shaping their own strategies for a post-crisis development, the issues of global economy and environment inevitably come to the forefront.

Many of the OSCE member states participate in numerous meetings with different formats, such as G8, G20, SCO and etc, where they actively discuss these issues of grave concern. Unfortunately, within the OSCE the problems of the global financial crisis have not been discussed properly, even at an optional level.

I am convinced that drawing more attention to the eco-dimension (economy and environment) of the OSCE activities can indeed create an added value for the organization. The Kazakh chairmanship is going to deal more with the issues of environmental security. Achieving positive results in this field is impossible unless we combine our resources and coordinate related efforts of the entire OSCE. I am referring not only to the Aral Sea and former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, but also to many other similar problems in Central Asia and Europe.

Expanding transport and communications potential of the OSCE occupies an important place among the priorities of the Kazakh chairmanship. Due to particular geographic, historical and economic conditions here, the Central Asian states possess a serious transit potential, which makes it possible for them to evolve into a stable and secure bridge between the West and the East. Transport, transit, and logistics are important issues in the “Path to Europe”, a special state program we adopted in Kazakhstan two years ago.

Kazakhstan undertakes serious efforts in accelerated development of the “Western China - Western Europe” transport corridor. Together with a number of other large-scale projects, this road can facilitate development of a renewed “Silk Road” of the 21^st century.

Human dimension issues have traditionally been a major concern for the OSCE. Kazakhstan will definitely pay close attention to these issues during the chairmanship. Real security within the OSCE area is impossible without due respect and protection of fundamental democratic rights and freedoms.

Our unconditional commitment to democratic values was manifested lately by the principal steps that Kazakhstan recently took to further improve its legislation on elections, political parties, media and local self-government.

Last year, in order to move forward in this sphere our government adopted the National Plan of Action on Human Rights for 2009-2012 and the Concept of Legal Policy for 2010-2020. A few weeks ago, I signed the law on gender equality. We also intend to intensify the fight against domestic violence and introduce substantial changes in the legislation on protecting child’s rights.

It is practically impossible to ignore the fact that throughout the OSCE area the issues on interethnic and interfaith relations come to the focus of public attention again and again. There is a serious challenge in confronting illegal labor migration and managing proper integration of immigrant communities in their host societies.

The conflict remains overlooked between the well-established European value systems and the culture of rapidly growing ethnic minorities. The problems arising in Asia are no less acute.

A whole group of newly independent states, which emerged in Eurasia at the turn of the millennia, from their onset looked forward to an adequate integration into the modern world. These young nations have made their choice in favor of the path to freedom and democracy.

I would, however, accentuate the need to distinguish clearly between political aspirations and civilizational models. It is obvious that the “unilateral world” and “universal civilization” are an archaic utopia now.

No one is allowed to ignore the lifestyle, traditions, culture and ethnic history of peoples in different regions of the world. Otherwise this leads to a fundamental crisis, based on social, cultural, religious rejection of the Western model of development. At the same time, it is equally fair to expect that the values of the Western civilization must be absolutely respected in other regions of the world, and especially by immigrant minorities in the West.

As the global financial crisis has demonstrated, we cannot let taking even the established economic stereotypes at face value. This also concerns political ideas, which are even more dynamic. I am deeply convinced that most of the world’s severest problems can be solved only through collective efforts, and only on the basis of consensus.

Kazakhstan, as a modern multiethnic and multireligious nation, is also committed to the ideas of intercultural and inter-civilizational dialogue. We are going to use the OSCE’s powerful potential to effectively address nationalism, religious intolerance, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

We are committed to implementing these objectives not only within the OSCE, but also during the upcoming Kazakh chairmanships in such organizations as the CICA, SCO, and Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Let me also remind my reader of our previous initiative of Kazakhstan of dedicating 2010 the International Year of Rapprochement of Cultures, which was approved by a special UN resolution last year.

Another task for the Kazakh chairmanship is to introduce our experience in maintaining interethnic and interreligious harmony to our partners in the OSCE. In this regard the high-level OSCE conference on tolerance and non-discrimination, which is due in Astana on June 29-30 this year, is to have a very positive impact. As a secular state with a predominantly Muslim population and, at the same time, a member of the OIC, Kazakhstan sees its mission in bringing rapprochement between the Muslim and Christian civilizations, and better understanding between the East and the West. In practical terms, such arrangement during our OSCE chairmanship would contribute to a strengthened dialogue between the OSCE and the OIC.

This year, Europe commemorates the 35^th anniversary of signing of the Helsinki Final Act, the 20^th anniversary of the Paris Charter for a New Europe, and the 65^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. I view this coincidence as deeply symbolic in nature and one imposing special obligations on the OSCE and the Kazakh chairmanship.

We believe the best way to give a proper assessment of these milestones, and catch the zeitgeist, is to convene an OSCE summit, which has been long overdue. In case the decision is finalized, our capital city of Astana is ready to provide the best Kazakh hospitality for such a prominent event.

To date, the last OSCE summit was held more than a decade ago, in Istanbul in 1999, although the institution’s regulations imply a summit should take place every two or three years. In this regard, we express our since gratitude to our partners in Russia, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Turkey, Serbia, Slovenia, Belarus, and other participating states of the OSCE, for their hearty support of the idea of convening the Astana summit.

Such an important forum demands the most meaningful and timely agenda. Our vision is that it should include shaping a common security architecture, advancing the Corfu process, and international assistance in rehabilitation of Afghanistan. In addition, Kazakhstan proposes to consider the issue of elaborating an action plan for promoting interethnic and interfaith accord in the OSCE area.

If successful, the OSCE summit can emerge as a powerful symbol of rebirth of the Spirit of Helsinki, now in the new historical conditions. The summit can give leaders of the OSCE member states a unique opportunity to “compare notes” and to identify key priorities for its evolution in the foreseeable future.

***

The Kazakhs have arrived at the OSCE chairmanship with a clear intention to find solutions for actual problems the institution faces. Kazakhstan has a realistic assessment of its capacities and resources. However, we are setting the most ambitious tasks for ourselves, and if we solve even a small share of them that could be of much use for the entire organization.

Astana looks forward to the success of its mission at the helm of OSCE in 2010. We realize the meaning of this is not limited by advancing one’s own national interests, but this encompasses leading the organization in such a way that it adapts most efficiently to the rapidly changing conditions of the 21^st century.

Kazakhstan considers it necessary to make a substantial progress in enhancing the international legal status of the OSCE and would continue coordinating the work on developing the relevant documents.

We are realists, and we are keenly aware the process of enhancing the OSCE is not confined to 2010. This is a long-term mission, and as an active member of the organization, Kazakhstan is ready for a meticulous and lengthy work toward the goal.

Kazakhstan calls on all OSCE member states to demonstrate their willingness to act in the common interest, toward achieving common goals and realizing priorities, which, once implemented, would strengthen the OSCE by increasing its credibility and raising its international status.

The OSCE must prove to the world that it was effective not only in the Cold War conditions, but remains a dynamically evolving structure, deeply integrated into the very core of modern world policies and economy.

Nursultan Nazarbayev is President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

(This article was first published in Izvestia newspaper in January 2010)

INTERVIEW WITH KAZAKHSTAN’S FOREIGN MINISTER

This interview was originally published in the OSCE Magazine, December 2009

Kazakhstan seeks to “breathe new life” into interaction among participating States [Dec 2009]

Kanat Saudabayev was appointed Kazakhstan’s Secretary of State - Minister for Foreign Affairs on 4 September 2009. Shortly after assuming his new functions, including spearheading the country’s prep­arations for its Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010, Minister Saudabayev answered wide-ranging ques­tions posed to him by OSCE Spokesperson Martin Nesirky. He described what the Chairmanship meant for Kazakhstan and its citizens and expressed confi­dence that its forthcoming regional and internation­al security initiatives would breathe new life into the interaction among the OSCE participating States.

Martin Nesirky: Kazakhstan will be the first Central Asian country and the first State from the former Soviet Union to chair the OSCE. What prompted your country to undertake this challenging mission?

Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev: The Chair­manship of the OSCE represents a logical next phase in the development of our young State. The OSCE and many of our partners in the Organization have played an important role in our achievements. During the 18 years of our country’s independence, we have managed to build a strong market-oriented economy, to ensure democratic development and to strength­en inter-ethnic and interreligious harmony.

From the very outset, Kazakhstan was an active participant and played a leading role in the pro­cesses aimed at ensuring security and integra­tion in the Eurasian region. To demonstrate our commitment to ensuring peace, shortly after our independence, we renounced the world’s fourth largest arsenal of nuclear weapons.

The OSCE has been playing a key role in maintaining the European security architecture and determining the nature of mutual relations among the various countries of Europe and the principles governing these relations. Time and again, the Organization has demonstrated its ability to bring “added value” to the security sphere. I am confident that the potential contri­bution of Kazakhstan towards regional stabil­ity, along with international security initiatives, will breathe new life into the interaction among OSCE participating States.

Those about to assume the OSCE Chairmanship hesitate to reveal too much about their priorities in advance, but could you indicate what you intend to focus on and why?

You are quite right: We will officially announce our priorities at the first meeting of the Perma­nent Council in January 2010. Until then, we all need to stand behind the efforts of the cur­rent Greek Chairmanship in carrying out its packed agenda.

At this early stage, however, I can definitely say that European security issues, the resolution of protracted conflicts and the stabilization of Afghanistan will be the focus of our efforts. We will also pay close attention to issues related to arms control and to the proliferation of danger­ous materials and weapons of mass destruction. As a recognized leader in the non-proliferation field, Kazakhstan intends to make full use of the practices it has developed.  

Kazakhstan attaches great importance to combating the new threats and challenges of the modern age, especially international terrorism, religious extremism and various forms of illicit trafficking and organised crime.  As you know, the participating States have approved the theme of the economic and environmental dimension in 2010, which is “promoting good governance at border crossings, improving the security of land transportation and facilitating international transport by road and rail in the OSCE region”.

In the human dimension, tolerance and related issues will be among the main items on our agenda. Based on our own positive experience in maintaining peace and harmony in a multi-ethnic and multi-faith society, and in promot­ing international interreligious dialogue within the framework of the Congresses of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, we plan to focus on the many aspects of this subject, including gender and human rights.

How do you plan to guide the Corfu Process that as launched under the Greek Chairmanship?

The Corfu Process is the logical response of the OSCE community to the rather difficult and at times traumatic events that have occurred in the OSCE area in recent years.  We will seek to maintain a dialogue on all aspects of pan-European security, which touches on all three dimensions and geographically encompasses not only the Euro-Atlantic area but also the vast Eurasian region.  The Corfu Process is in keeping with that approach. Its ultimate goal is to search for practical answers to specific questions.  It has not set any limitations in terms of duration or content.  We believe that the Corfu Process should be geared primarily towards topics that enjoy the most support and that have the greatest chances of being developed into concrete documents and programmes.  We are in the midst of a series of working meetings in Vienna, and if results emerge from these discussions, the Kazakh Chairmanship will have painstaking work ahead of it to implement any agreements that are reached.

In your opinion, how does the OSCE differ from other organizations? How would you characterize its main strengths and weaknesses?

The OSCE’s broad geographical coverage in its membership, its multilateral approach to stability and security, and the consensus principle employed in decision-making are features that add to our Organization’s uniqueness.  Having said that, we have not always, proved able to respond appropriately to situations of tension and conflict, despite the fact that the Orga­nisation was created as an early warning and any limitations in terms of duration or content.

I believe that this problem does not lie within the OSCE itself, but can be traced to the participating States’ lack of political will. In our search for compromise, we really should make maximum use of our unique platform for dialogue.

How can Kazakhstan influence the resolution of pro­tracted conflicts?

Unfortunately, most protracted conflicts in the OSCE area began in the territory of the Com­monwealth of Independent States (CIS). As you know, President Nursultan Nazarbayev has per­sonally played a part in ensuring a constructive dialogue between the parties to conflicts, both bilaterally and in various multilateral formats. Historically, Kazakhstan has enjoyed cordial rela­tions with all the CIS countries and is involved

in key investment projects in most of them. We do understand the arguments and problems of the parties and have always made an effort to take them into account, while making sure that we observe the fundamental norms of international law. This is precisely the approach we aim to take during our time at the helm of the OSCE.

At a practical level, we are planning to appoint a Personal Representative of the OSCE Chair-man-in-Office for conflicts, who will also chair or co-chair specialized negotiating bodies. We don’t wish to overestimate our capabilities, but we will definitely spare no effort in seeking to make some progress in this difficult area. We also plan to place emphasis on preventive diplo­macy.  The crisis in August of last year convinced us of the need to do that. 

The world is in the grip of a financial and economic crisis. Do you think that the OSCE has a role to play in addressing the crisis?

Although the OSCE is not a financial organiza­tion, it should play an active part in dealing with the consequences of the global crisis, especially in confronting its negative impact on the security situation in the OSCE region. For one thing, the Organization should identify the main areas in its mandate that are the most vulnerable to nega­tive changes in the security sphere — for exam­ple, the migration processes in the OSCE area.

Within the context of the global crisis, migrants represent the most vulnerable econom­ic sector in countries of both origin and destina­tion. They belong to the category of most vulner­able people, along with refugees and internally displaced persons. The OSCE should consider how its activities can help to assist all interested countries to raise the level of their social, eco­nomic and legal protection for these people.

As an important producer and exporter of energy, Kazakhstan is a major player in the global energy industry. How can its experience in this sector help the OSCE make a contribution towards increasing energy security?

The OSCE participating States do not have a common position regarding the Organization’s role in ensuring energy security. We know that the Western countries are most interested in strengthening energy security and the security of energy supplies, especially given the problems that arose concerning gas supplies in Europe last winter. We also know that many participating States would like to exploit the OSCE’s potential to ensure energy security in Europe.

Kazakhstan is a country with major hydro­carbon reserves. As a landlocked country, we are extremely interested in the export of raw materials to as many foreign markets as pos­sible, including European markets. However, present-day realities show that many exporters of oil and gas prefer to resolve energy supply issues on a bilateral basis — the setting of prices, development of routes, volumes, and other fac­tors — without the involvement of third coun­tries or parties. These countries believe that the OSCE does not have the necessary experience and mechanisms to effectively maintain and strengthen energy security. For this reason, it would be very wrong to embrace inflated expec­tations of what the OSCE can achieve in terms of ensuring real energy security.

We believe, however, that the OSCE could serve as a convenient forum for the demonstra­tion of political goodwill by the participating States, aimed at resolving energy security issues. Next year, as part of its activities in the second dimension, Kazakhstan will try to organize an exchange of views between OSCE States on this matter in the hopes of reaching a mutual understanding.

What new approaches can be adopted to promote gender balance within the Organization and in the entire OSCE area?

Ensuring equality between men and women is an integral part of our policy, both within the Organization and at the State level. This com­mitment, which is enshrined in the 1999 Char­ter for European Security, is key to strengthen­ing peace, prosperity and democracy in the OSCE region. In Kazakhstan, women account for 58 per cent of all civil servants and about 40 per cent of entrepreneurs. In seeking to create a competitive society, we will continue our efforts to ensure that the principle of gender equality remains deeply rooted in our country.

Naturally, we will do all we can to promote the policy of gender balance within the OSCE. Recently, we proposed to the participating States the themes for the OSCE’s human dimension events in 2010. The first one on our list is a supplementary meeting on the promotion of gender balance and the participation of women in political and public life, which is planned for 8 March, International Women’s Day.

Kazakhstan has said it will focus on the OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation. How do you picture the development of the OSCE’s external relations in 2010?

Kazakhstan is at the crossroads of the civiliza­tions of Europe and Asia. We link our future with both the East and the West. In the modern world, the system of security and co-operation must not be regarded as specifically “European” or “Asian”. Europe and Asia are closely tied to one another, geographically, politically and eco­nomically. These ties are particularly evident in Central Asia.

The OSCE’s mechanism for dialogue with its Asian Partners is unique. It is important for us to intensify our interaction by continuing our traditional joint events and identifying addition­al areas of co-operation to strengthen mutual security.

We very much look forward to continuing to assist Afghanistan in the reconstruction of its economy, in close co-operation with the local authorities and other members of the inter­national community, including the OSCE, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Economic Cooperation Organization.

We hope to intensify the dialogue between the OSCE and the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the League of Arab States. After all, Kazakhstan helped initiate the creation of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which is something like an OSCE in Asia. In 2010, at the third summit of the CICA heads of State and government, we are planning to organize an additional meeting for the OSCE Asian Partners, bearing in mind that they are all members of CICA, with the exception of Japan, which holds observer status.

Kazakhstan will also be the first country with a field mission to hold the Chairmanship. What role does the OSCE Centre in Astana play in Kazakhstan’s aspira­tions for reform?

The work of the OSCE Centre in Astana will greatly assist Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship. The Centre maintains good relations with government agencies and institutions of civil society and is implementing specific projects.

We support the OSCE Centre’s efforts in pro­moting confidence- and security-building in the region, improving border security and manage­ment, managing transboundary water resources, assisting the Government to improve the legisla­tive and institutional mechanisms for the devel­opment of civil society, combating money-laun­dering and countering corruption. I believe that the Centre’s activities ought to be guided by the needs of society and should also promote close regional co-operation.

I might add that we are dealing with various challenges on our own and are promoting liberal reforms. We are determined to continue on a path leading to a more developed and politi­cally engaged civil society and a mature political culture.

How has Kazakhstan been preparing for the Chairmanship?

Kazakhstan has been actively preparing for the Chairmanship in a responsible manner. A State commission on Chairmanship issues was set up under a presidential decree and has already been functioning. A Chairmanship task force has been hard at work in Astana. In Vienna, the work of the Chairmanship will be co-ordinated by the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the OSCE.

Over the past two years, courses, seminars and training sessions have taken place at the Secre­tariat and in the OSCE’s institutions in Vienna, Warsaw and The Hague, at the Centre for OSCE Research in Hamburg and in a number of Euro­pean capitals. We are grateful to the Secretariat and the participating States for their support in preparing us to assume this major responsibility.

What is the public image of the OSCE in Kazakhstan?

People in Kazakhstan perceive the OSCE as a highly respected international organization. Inter­est in it has grown considerably since our country was selected to assume the Chairmanship. Our citizens are enthusiastically studying various aspects of the OSCE’s work and actively discuss­ing the problems currently facing the Organiza­tion. It is no exaggeration to say that Kazakhstan’s opportunity to lead this influential body is giving rise to a feeling of pride among its citizens and a sense of involvement in the processes taking place in the Euro-Atlantic region. As President Nazarbayev has noted, the future Chairmanship is regarded as a strategic national project.

OSCE2010.kz

The official website, www.OSCE2010.kz, is one of the main communication tools of the Kazakh Chairmanship.  Our aim is to assist you by providing information that is accurate, timely and easily accessible.

The Media section offers practical and up-to-date information.  Both Kazakh and foreign journalists can consult a guide to accreditation for important events, as well as information about visas, transport to the meeting venues and accommodation.  If you wish to receive Presidency news into your e-mail, you can subscribe to the regular weekly newsletter.  News can also be sent to your mobile phone, if you subscribe to the Mobile Newsletter, which is a Kazakh Chairmanship innovation.  All photographs and audio and video recordings from important events are available in the archives, where they are sorted by month.  The section also contains important contact information for media representatives.

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

If you wish to attend any of the media events during the Kazakh Chairmanship of the OSCE, you need to apply for advance accreditation.

Accreditation to the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna

Journalists who want to acquire or renew accreditation to the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna are requested to fill out this form.   Then fax or email the form, along with a copy of a valid press card or a recent letter of assignment from your employer, to the OSCE Press and Public Information Section. Fax number: +43 1 514 36 6105. Email: press@osce.org 

After your application has been approved, you can collect your new badge at the desk on the fifth floor of the OSCE Hofburg Conference Centre (Heldenplatz entrance).  The press badge allows access to OSCE media events as well as to the cafeteria area of the Neuer Saal at the Hofburg upon invitation.  Holding an OSCE press badge assures you quick and easy access to the Hofburg.  Journalists who are not accredited to the OSCE may usually obtain temporary admission badges to the OSCE premises, space permitting. They must present a valid press card at the security desk.  The OSCE reserves the right to withdraw accreditation or temporary badges.

For further enquiries please contact: 

Email

OSCE Secretariat

Press and Public Information Section

Wallnerstrasse 6

1010 Vienna  Austria

Tel: +43 1 514 36 6180

Fax: +43 1 514 36 6105

Accreditation for events in Republic of Kazakhstan

All media representatives must be duly accredited well in advance for events that are held in Kazakhstan.

http://portal.mfa.kz/portal/page/portal/mfa/en/content/press/rules

Journalists are requested to submit their applications to:

Press Service

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Republic of Kazakhstan
Tel. +7 7172 72 01 47 (48)
Fax +7 7172 72 01 68

Email: pressa@mid.kz

KAZAKHSTAN’S DEVELOPMENT SINCE INDEPENDENCE

            Kazakhstan is the largest of the Central Asian countries. It is an ethnically diverse republic which gained independence on December 16, 1991. Roughly the size of Western Europe, Kazakhstan is surrounded by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Caspian Sea in the west.

            Kazakhstan has been at the crossroads of trade and empires for centuries along the ancient Silk Road.

            In the first few years after independence, Kazakhstan successfully rid itself of the fourth largest nuclear arsenal in the world and closed the world’s largest nuclear test site at Semipalatinsk, an unwanted legacy from the USSR.

            Kazakhstan has continued to show the way towards a nuclear weapons-free world by offering to host the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Nuclear Fuel Bank, a depository of nuclear fuel for civilian projects throughout the world.  Through its commitment to giving up nuclear weapons, as well as its experience in the field of nuclear energy, Kazakhstan has strong credentials for international leadership in this area.

            On October 30, 2009, the First Committee of the UN General Assembly (which oversees disarmament and security issues) approved by consensus a resolution put forward by Kazakhstan proclaiming August 29 ‘International Day against Nuclear Tests.’ 

            August 29 has a deep symbolic meaning for Kazakhstan and the world as this is the day when in 1949 the Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk test site in eastern Kazakhstan, and this is the day when in 1991 President Nursultan Nazarbayev shut down the test site by his decree, putting an end to more than 40 years of nuclear testing.

            Kazakhstan’s experience of interethnic and interfaith accord is one of the most successful within the CIS. The country is home to almost 3,200 mosques, churches, synagogues and other houses of prayer.

            People of 130 ethnic groups following the teachings of more than 40 religions live peacefully in the country. Historically Kazakhstan has always been a crossroads, a place of meeting and dialogue of various religions, cultures and civilizations of the East and West. The Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions has been Kazakhstan’s contribution to the global process of inter-cultural dialogue. The Congress is organized every three years. The first one took place in 2003. The 3rd Congress took place in Astana in July 2009.

            The Congress has become an effective part of the global dialogue among religions of the contemporary world. It has gained wide recognition from other major international forums such as the Alliance of Civilizations, the Community of Sant’Egidio, Asia House and the Tony Blair Foundation – all of which have expressed their intention to participate in its on-going work.

            Kazakhstan plays an important role in securing the stability in the Central Asian region and beyond. Kazakhstan initiated the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), whose members are 20 countries, such as Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Pakistan, and Russia. Its primary goal is to establish a comprehensive security system in Eurasia. Such a system never existed before. The CICA has already held two summits in Almaty, in 2002 and 2006, and is gearing up to the third meeting in the summer of 2010 in Turkey.

            During the last 18 years, under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the transition from a planned to a market economy has been successful. The geopolitics of Kazakhstan makes it a leading country in Central Asia, and its location makes it a natural bridge to Europe.

            In 2008 Kazakhstan’s GDP per capita rose to USD 8,350 compared to US$ 5,500 in 2006. By 2012 Kazakhstan plans to have increased its GDP per capita to US$ 13,000.

            Kazakhstan has hydrocarbon reserves estimated at 3.3 percent of world reserves, at 4.8 billion tons of oil and 6 to  8 trillion cubic metres of gas.  In 2008 oil production reached 70.7 million tons and net exports reached US$ 43.5 billion compared to US$ 28.1 billion in 2007.

            By 2015, these reserves (including the offshore Kashagan oil field, which is among the top five in the world) will make Kazakhstan an important oil producer. By 2015, Kazakhstan expects to be one of the top ten oil producers and exporters in the world.

            Kazakhstan’s economy is being diversified beyond dependence on these vast reserves with a strong emphasis on industrialization and banking sector.

            Abundant reserves of barium, lead, tungsten, silver and zinc exist, and the country boasts the second largest global reserve of chromium, the third largest of manganese as well as significant deposit of copper, gold, and iron.

            In 2009, Kazakhstan gathered a record grain harvest of about 22 million tons, and became one of the top five grain exporters in the world.

            Kazakhstan’s objective is to become one of the world’s most developed and competitive countries.

COUNTRY FACTS

Capital:                            Astana (population 673,400 as of 2009)

Population:                      16,196,000 (as of January 1, 2010). The population comprises 140 different ethnic groups, with a religious make-up that is 65% Islam and 30% Christian.

Location:                          North of Central Asia

Area:                                2.7 million sq km

Independence:                 December 16, 1991

National symbols:            Flag, Emblem and Anthem

Largest city:                     Almaty (population 1,365,100 as of 2009)

Form of Government:       A unitary state with a presidential form of government

Regions:                           16 administrative divisions: 14 oblasts (regions) and two cities of Astana and Almaty.

Neighbours:                     Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China; Azerbaijan and Iran through Caspian Sea.

Boundaries:                     Total 15, 313 km. Kazakhstan shares its borders (clockwise) with Russia (7,512 km), China (1,783 km), Kyrgyzstan (1,241 km), Uzbekistan (2,351 km), and Turkmenistan (426 km). Its Caspian Sea shoreline is 2,000 km long.

Comparative area:           ninth largest in the world, equivalent to the size of Western Europe; four times the size of Texas; five times the size France.

Climate:                           continental with cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid with uneven distribution of natural precipitation.

Constitution:                     Secular democracy. The Constitution was approved by referendum on August 30, 1995 and amended in 2007. It established secular democracy that values individual life, rights and freedoms, divided the Government between executive, legislative and judicial branches with a system of checks and balances. The 2007 amendments enlarged the powers of the Parliament, raised the role of political parties, thus transforming Kazakhstan from a presidential into a presidential-parliamentary republic.

Major languages:             Kazakh, Russian; English is promoted as the language of international communication

Life expectancy:              62 years (men), 72 years (women) (UN)

Literacy:                           99 %

GDP per capita:               USD 8,350 (as of 2008)

Monetary unit:                  1 Kazakh tenge =100 tiyn ($1=147.88 KZT (as of January 2010)

Main exports:                   Oil, uranium, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal

DID YOU KNOW?

• Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth largest country with an area of 2.7 million square kilometres, roughly five times the size of France, four times the size of Texas, and more than 100 times the size of Israel. 
• Kazakhstan is a truly Eurasian country, and while most of the country lies in Asia, five percent of its territory, roughly the size of Greece, is located in Europe. 
• Kazakhstan is home to people of more than 130 ethnic groups who follow the teachings of 46 different religions. 
• Apples and tulips orginate from and horses were first domesticated by the man on the territory of modern day Kazakhstan. 
• Astana is unique because it is a capital city right in the middle of the Eurasian continent. 
• Kazakhstan is home to the Baikonur space launching facility, from where the first cosmonaut travelled into space.
• Kazakhstan’s Altai Mountains and its magic Mount Belukha are considered to be the homeland of magic Shambala, the mystical Buddhist paradise. 
• Kazakhstan borders the Caspian Sea which is the world’s largest inland sea, famous for its caviar. 
• Kazakhstan is home to the Karagiye Depression at the Mangyshlak peninsula located 132 m below sea level, the lowest point in the world after the Dead Sea. 
• Genghis Khan’s mother hailed from a tribe which later became part of the Kazakh people. 
• Recent archaeological excavations give rise to speculation that Kazakhstan is also the homeland of the Amazons, the bold, brave women warriors described 2,500 years ago by Greek historian Herodotus.

PRESS CONTACTS FOR KAZAKHSTAN

Roman Y. Vassilenko

Chairman

Committee for International Information
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Republic of Kazakhstan
Tel. +7 7172 72 09 99
Fax +7 7172 72 01 68

Mobile +7 701 503 04 90

r.vassilenko (at) mid.kz

rvassilenko (at) gmail.com

Askar S. Abdrakhmanov

Spokesperson

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Republic of Kazakhstan
Tel. +7 7172 72 0551
Fax +7 7172 72 01 68

Mobile +7 777 250 2459

askar.abdrakhmanov (at) mfa.kz

Talgat M. Zhumagulov

First Secretary

Permanent Mission of Republic of Kazakhstan to the OSCE
Vienna, Austria

Tel. + 431 890 80 08 19
Fax + 431 890 80 08 20

Mobile +436 76 46 632 10

talgat (at) kazakhstan.at

talgatmarat (at) gmail.com

OUR MISSION TO THE OSCE

The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe was established in 1995 as part of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Austria – Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the International Organizations in Vienna.

In 2008, Kazakhstan opened a separate mission to the OSCE. This decision was taken because of the need to prepare for and to carry out the work of Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010, including its participation in the “Troika”.

The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the OSCE is Ambassador Kairat Abdrakhmanov. The Mission’s staff consists of 25 diplomats and administrative personnel.

Address:

35 Wipplinger Straße, floor 3, 1010 Vienna, Austria

Tel. +43 1 890 80 08-10
Fax: +43 1 890 80 08-20
kzosce (at) kazakhstan.at

Directions:

Located in the first district of Vienna (Innere Stadt) in a new office building at Wipplingerstrasse 35, opposite the historic Börse.  Next to the building are bus (1A, 3A, 40A) and tram (1, D) stops, and close by are the U-Bahn stations Schottentor (U2) and Schottenring (U2, U4).

OSCE SPOKESPERSONS

Virginie Coulloudon
Spokesperson
Tel: +43 1 514 36 6263
Mobile: +43 664 859 08 99
E-mail: virginie.coulloudon (at) osce.org

Susanna Lööf
Press and Public Information Officer
Tel: +43 1 514 36 6633
Mobile: +43 664 859 08 10
E-mail: susanna.loof (at) osce.org

Sonya Yee
Press and Public Information Officer
Tel: +43 1 514 36 6834
Mobile: +43 664 859 09 14 
E-mail: sonya.yee (at) osce.org

Tatyana Baeva
Press and Public Information Officer
Tel: +43 1 514 36 6780
Mobile: +43 664 884 74 874
E-mail: tatyana.baeva (at) osce.org

Media contacts in field operations here.

OSCE Media contacts in institutions here.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR 2010

Date                       Key events in the OSCE calendar for 2010

15-17 February        Visit by OSCE Chairperson, Secretary of State - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat Saudabayev to the countries of South Caucasus

18-19 February        Winter Meeting of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (Vienna)

26 February             OSCE Ball  (Vienna)

5 March                  High-level Meeting of the OSCE and the Council of Europe in the format of         

                              2+2 and 3+3 (Geneva)

15 March                2nd Preparatory Conference of the Economic and Environmental Forum

                             (Minsk)

Mid-March              Visit by OSCE Chairperson, Secretary of State - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat Saudabayev to the countries of South-Eastern Europe

18 April                   OSCE PA Bureau Meeting (Denmark)

20-21 April              Regional Meeting of Heads of Field Operations in South Eastern Europe    

                             (Sarajevo)

26-28 April              Human Dimension Seminar, (Warsaw)

5-6 May                  Regional Meeting of Heads of Field Operations in Central Asia, (Ashgabat)

13-14 May               Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum (Astana)

18-19  May              Annual conference of the Group for Cooperation with Asian partners, the

                              OSCE (Seoul)

24-26 May               Second Segment of the Economic and Environmental Forum (Prague)

May                        OSCE PA Economic Conference

May                        Visit by OSCE Chairperson, Secretary of State - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat Saudabayev to the countries of Central Asia

8 June                    Conference on the 20^th Anniversary of the Copenhagen Document (Denmark)

29-30  June             OSCE High-Level Conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination

                              (Astana)

June-July                Informal Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the OSCE (Almaty)

6-10 July                 Annual Session of the OSCE PA (Oslo)

6-7 July                   Regional Meeting of Heads of Field Operations in Eastern Europe (Kiev)

15-16 July               2^nd Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting (Vienna)

29 July                    Report by the Head of the OSCE Centre (Astana)

21-22 September     Regional Meeting of Heads of Field Operations in South Caucasus (Baku)

27 Sept- 8 Oct         Annual conference of the OSCE / ODIHR to assess the implementation of

                              commitments in the human dimension (Warsaw)

October                  Fall Session of the OSCE PA (Palermo)

October                  Mediterranean Conference

4-5 November          3rd Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting (Vienna)

1-2 December          18th OSCE Ministerial Council (Astana)