Wednesday, january 17, 2017 inside nation healthcare minister reports on new infrastructure development plan A2

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2017

EURASIA&WORLD

EXTERNAL

NEWS IN BRIEF

Kairat Abdrakhmanov

Foreign ministry beefs up economic 

presence in Asia, FM tells parliament

By Aigerim Seisembayeva

ASTANA – Kazakh Foreign 

Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov 

recently briefed participants at a 

government hour at Kazakhstan’s 

Mazhilis (lower house of Parlia-

ment) on the country’s foreign pol-

icy in Asia, saying the foreign min-

istry has strengthened its economic 

component in the region.

Speaking at the end of December 

2017, Abdrakhmanov noted Asia’s 

growing political and economic 

role in world affairs and predicted 

that role would grow further.

“In this regard, developing 

friendly relations and fruitful 

economic cooperation with Asian 

countries, big and small, corre-

sponds to our national interests. 

… As they say, ‘when the wind 

blows, you build not a fence, but 

a mill.’ It is a capacious market, 

which by 2030 will exceed 42 

percent of the world’s GDP (gross 

domestic product),” he said. “Ka-

zakhstan’s trade turnover with 

Asian countries grew 23 percent 

in January-September 2017 com-

pared to the same period last year. 

In monetary terms, it amounted to 

$13.3 billion.”

On strengthening the ministry’s 

economic component in Asia, he 

said that investment advisors have 

been placed in China, South Korea, 

Japan, India, Iran and several other 

countries and that institutes of cus-

toms attachés have been created 

with the employees of the State 

Revenue Committee of Kazakh-

stan’s Finance Ministry in Turkey, 

China and South Korea.

Abdrakhmanov also noted Ka-

zakh Invest, the country’s one-

stop-shop institution for attracting 

and supporting foreign investors, 

has  established  offices  in  Dubai, 

Istanbul, Beijing and is about to 

open one in Tehran. Kazakhstan’s 

Honorary Consuls are present in 70 

countries, he said.

He also specifically pointed out 

China’s growing geopolitical influ-

ence, powerful economic potential 

and wide financial and technologi-

cal capabilities.

“Having invested $14 billion in 

ten years, Beijing has become one 

of the main foreign investors in 

Kazakhstan’s economy,” he said, 

noting the two states approved 51 

joint industrial projects worth $26 

billion, five of which have already 

been implemented ($158 million).

Abdrakhmanov also briefed par-

liament members on Kazakhstan’s 

relations with Japan and South Ko-

rea, noting the joint statement on 

strategic partnership signed during 

President Nazarbayev’s 2016 trip 

to Tokyo, as well as the Joint Dec-

laration on Further Deepening of 

Strategic Partnership and 18 agree-

ments worth $640 million signed 

during Nazarbayev’s visit to the 

Republic of Korea in 2016.

He also stressed that Mongolia 

plays an important role in Kazakh-

stan’s foreign policy due to the Ka-

zakh diaspora living there.

In the South Asian vector, Ab-

drakhmanov spoke about Kazakh-

stan’s interest in India’s potential in 

information technologies, transport 

and logistics, and in friendly rela-

tions with Pakistan.

As for the South East Asia, Ab-

drakhmanov particularly dwelled 

upon the transport and logistic ties 

with Vietnam.

“After the establishment of a 

free trade zone between the Eura-

sian Economic Union (EAEU) 

and Vietnam in 2016, mutual trade 

between Kazakhstan and Vietnam 

amounted to $366 million in nine 

months of 2017, which exceeds bi-

lateral trade with all other ASEAN 

[Association of Southeast Asian 

Nations] countries. In February 

2017, Kazakhstan transported 720 

tonnes of wheat to Vietnam for the 

first  time  in  history  through  the 

new transport corridor in Lianyun-

gang,” he said.

Abdrakhmanov also stated ne-

gotiations on the creation of a free 

trade zone between the EAEU and 

Singapore with a potential of $3.9 

billion have started this year.

He also dwelled upon Kazakh-

stan’s relations with the countries 

of the Middle East.

Speaking about Turkey, the min-

ister noted common historical roots 

and cultural values, as well as the 

New Synergy 2017-2020 project.

He also focused on Kazakhstan’s 

cooperation with Iran in the eco-

nomic and transit spheres, a com-

mitment to restoring Afghanistan, 

trade and agricultural engagement 

with Saudi Arabia, Emirati invest-

ments and relations with Israel.

The foreign minister spoke in 

more detail about the Astana Pro-

cess and its contribution to bring-

ing lasting peace to Syria, the 

P5+1 talks on the Iranian nuclear 

deal, the CICA, the Organisation 

of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the 

Shanghai Cooperation Organisa-

tion (SCO) and the Turkic Council.

Concluding his speech, Abdra-

khmanov highlighted the inter-

parliamentary engagement that is 

thriving both in bilateral format and 

within international organisations.

Vice-Speaker of the Mazhilis 

Vladimir Bozhko also told the 

meeting that the ministry’s Asia 

efforts are important in the year of 

the 25th anniversary of President 

Nursultan Nazarbayev’s initiative 

on creating the Conference on In-

teraction and Confidence Building 

Measures in Asia (CICA) and on 

the eve of Kazakhstan’s January 

2018 chairmanship at the UN Se-

curity Council.

Kazakhstan attracted more than 

$15 billion in foreign direct invest-

ment  in  the  first  nine  months  of 

2017. Kazakh Minister of National 

Economy Timur Suleimenov not-

ed the volume of investments grew 

5.3 percent compared to the same 

period in 2016. Investments from 

the Eurasian Economic Union 

member states – Armenia, Belarus, 

Kyrgyzstan and Russia – increased 

40.8 percent, totalling $935.1 mil-

lion and accounting for 5.9 percent 

of the total amount of investments. 

Suleimenov said the growth dem-

onstrates the presence of favour-

able conditions for doing business 

in Kazakhstan. 

Ambassador of Kazakhstan to 

Switzerland Zhanar Aitzhanova 

took part in the annual reception 

given by the Pope of the Roman 

Catholic Church on New Year’s 

Eve, during which the Kazakh dip-

lomat conveyed warm greetings 

and wishes from Kazakh President 

Nursultan Nazarbayev to Pope 

Francis and expressed gratitude for 

the Vatican’s active participation 

in EXPO 2017, held this summer 

in Astana, and for its consistent 

support. Aitzhanova also noted the 

Vatican’s comprehensive backing 

of Kazakhstan’s global initiatives 

promoting tolerance, peace and 

accord. As part of the event, Aitzh-

anov also met with the Vatican 

Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro 

Parolin and Secretary for Relations 

with States within the Holy See’s 

Secretariat of State Paul Richard 

Gallagher.

A new book about great Kazakh 

poet and founder of Kazakh writ-

ten literature Abai Kunanbayev 

was published in Baku, Azerbai-

jan, Kazakh TV reports. The book 

examines similarities and differ-

ences between Kazakh and Azer-

baijani literature through the lens 

of the poet’s famous works and 

aphorisms, which are also featured 

in the work. One of the researchers 

on the project, Perikhanym Sol-

tangyzy, believes Kunanbayev’s 

literature is diverse, rich and cross-

es cultures. According to her, Ku-

nanbayev is a “poet not only of the 

Kazakh people, but also the Azer-

baijani people.” 

Trade between Kazakhstan 

and the U.S., one of the nation’s 

key strategic partners, exceed-

ed $1,300 billion during the 10 

months of 2017, reported Khabar 

TV. Economic ties between the 

two countries have grown through-

out the years, with the U.S. invest-

ing nearly $30 billion since 2005 

primarily in the energy, transport 

and communication and mining 

sectors. U.S. capital backs more 

than 500 enterprises in Kazakh-

stan, including 140 joint projects 

with Kazakhstan. 

Kazakhstan’s work as a non-

permanent member of the United 

Nations Security Council, begun 

last year, could serve as an exam-

ple, according to representatives 

of the Indonesian UN mission that 

is bidding for a seat on the council 

for 2019-2020, reported Kazakh 

TV. The Indonesian diplomats 

noted Kazakhstan’s effective per-

formance at the UN. Permanent 

Representative of Indonesia to the 

UN Dian Triansyah Djani believes 

Kazakhstan plays an important 

role in the body and puts forward 

acute issues on the agenda, serving 

a “useful example” for them in the 

future. 

Kazakhstan plans to increase gas 

exports to China to 10 billion cu-

bic metres per year, as agreed by 

Kazakhstan’s national gas and oil 

company KazMunayGas and Chi-

nese National Oil and Gas Corpo-

ration in line with the agreement 

reached at the level of the heads 

of states. The sides stressed the 

need to further develop gas trans-

port infrastructure and to mod-

ernise and expand the capacity of 

currently operating gas pipelines. 

KazMunayGas Vice President 

Kairat Sharipbayev noted the stra-

tegic importance of gas exports to 

China and assured the readiness of 

the nation’s gas transport system 

to expand the export volumes. He 

said Chinese Belt and Road Initia-

tive and Kazakhstan’s Nurly Zhol 

programme facilitate the progress 

in joint projects.

Kazakhstan launches UNSC presidency with 

January programme, new flag raising ceremony 

By Almasbek Zhumadilov 

NEW YORK – For the first time 

in its history, Kazakhstan will as-

sume the presidency of the United 

Nations Security Council in Janu-

ary as a non-permanent Security 

Council member for 2017-2018.

According to the country’s Min-

istry of Foreign Affairs, the pri-

orities of Kazakhstan’s non-perma-

nent membership were outlined in 

President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s 

policy address to the UNSC called 

“Kazakhstan’s Concept and Vision 

for Sustaining Global Partnerships 

for a Secure, Just and Prosperous 

World.”  The document points out 

following priorities:

– achieving a world free of nu-

clear weapons;

– eliminating the threat of a glob-

al war and settling local conflicts;

– promoting the interests of Cen-

tral Asia while strengthening re-

gional security and cooperation;

– countering terrorism;

– peace and security in Africa;

– ensuring an inextricable link 

between security and sustainable 

development; and

– adapting the Security Council 

and the entire UN system to the 

threats and challenges of the 21st 

century.

The presidency coordinates the 

UNSC’s activities and ensures con-

tinuity within the council’s daily 

work with the assistance of the UN 

Secretariat. Kazakhstan will make 

statements on behalf of the council 

in consultation with other members 

of the UNSC, as well as release 

press statements following discus-

sions within informal consultations 

and whenever the Security Council 

reaches agreement on the text of a 

document.

The presidency of the UN Se-

curity  Council  has  a  significant 

international status, as the Security 

Council can make decisions regard-

ing coercive measures, economic 

sanctions and collective military 

action. According to the UN Char-

ter, the Security Council bears the 

primary responsibility for main-

taining peace and international se-

curity, and all UN member states 

are obliged to help in implementing 

its decisions.

Kazakhstan began its month-long 

mission as UN Security Council 

President Jan. 1 presenting the coun-

cil’s January activity programme 

and organising a member-state 

working breakfast hosted by the UN 

Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan 

to discuss the plan.

The work plan was approved by 

the council and later presented to 

member states in a separate brief-

ing by Permanent Representative 

of Kazakhstan Ambassador Kairat 

Umarov.

The delegations participating in 

the meeting congratulated Kazakh-

stan on its council presidency and 

wished the country success, the 

country’s Foreign Minister said in a 

press release.

Russian Permanent Representa-

tive to the United Nations Vasily 

Nebenzya said: “Knowing Kazakh-

stan perfectly as no other member 

of the council,” taking into account 

the historical factor and traditionally 

close relations, the Russian side “is 

confident in the success of the work 

of the Kazakh delegation as the 

President of the council.”

The Russian diplomat also an-

nounced the participation of Foreign 

Minister Sergey Lavrov in the coun-

cil’s  high-level  briefing  with  the 

participation of Kazakh President 

Nursultan Nazarbayev on the topic 

“Non-proliferation of weapons of 

mass destruction: confidence-build-

ing measures” on Jan. 18.

U.S. Ambassador Nikky Haley 

and other ambassadors on the coun-

cil noted Kazakhstan’s focus in the 

January work programme on non-

proliferation  through  confidence-

building measures and the inclusion 

of the ministerial-level debates on 

Central Asia and Afghanistan. Other 

countries noted the agenda included 

building a regional partnership in 

Afghanistan and Central Asia as a 

model for the interdependence of se-

curity and development.

The UN held for the first time at 

the initiative of Kazakhstan a sol-

emn  ceremony  to  raise  the  flags 

of the six newly elected UNSC 

non-permanent members – Cote 

d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ku-

wait, the Netherlands, Peru and 

Poland. Peruvian Foreign Minister 

Ricardo Luna and other member 

state, UN agency and NGO repre-

sentatives and the media attended.

Some delegations noted the 

event was a symbolic beginning of 

the Kazakh UNSC presidency and 

the launching of a new tradition at 

the UN.

The initiative is now considered 

part of the legacy of Kazakhstan’s 

UNSC presidency and Permanent 

Representative of Equatorial Guinea 

said his country would repeat the 

ceremony during its UNSC presi-

dency next year.

Umarov  held  the  traditional  first 

day press conference, noting ele-

ments of the January work plan 

and Kazakhstan’s priority as UNSC 

president.

Umarov fielded questions concern-

ing Kazakhstan’s hosting of a high-

level event in the field of non-prolif-

eration  through  confidence-building 

measures with the participation of 

the Kazakh President, the situation 

around North Korea, Iran, Palestine 

and the status of Jerusalem and My-

anmar. The press also asked about 

Syria, the humanitarian situation in 

Yemen, climate change and Kazakh 

initiatives for green technology.

Press representatives included 

Al-Arabiya, Huffington Post, Asso-

ciated Press, Agence France Press, 

CBS, FOX News, Nikkei, Mainichi, 

Fiji TV, Tokyo Shimbun and NHK.

In addition to the UNSC thematic 

debates on non-proliferation and 

confidence-building  measures,  the 

council will hold a ministerial-level 

debate on the threats to international 

peace and security on Jan. 19 focus-

ing on “Building a Regional Part-

nership in Afghanistan and Central 

Asia as a Model to Link Security 

and Development.” It is expected 

that foreign ministers of Central 

Asian countries and Afghanistan, 

as well as heads of foreign policy 

establishments of the UNSC mem-

ber states, will attend it.

The UNSC’s quarterly open de-

bate will be organised on Jan. 25 to 

discuss “the situation in the Mid-

dle East, including the Palestinian 

question,” which will focus on the 

Israeli-Palestinian  conflict.  Perma-

nent representatives of UN member 

states will attend it.

As conducted every year, the 

Kazakhstan presidency in January 

will also host open and closed dis-

cussions of the council on the situ-

ations in Syria, Libya, the Demo-

cratic Republic of the Congo, the 

Central African Republic, the re-

gion of Darfur, West Africa and 

Sahel, South Sudan, Mali, Soma-

lia, Cyprus and Colombia.

Several resolutions and presiden-

tial statements are scheduled to be 

adopted.

UN official outlines expectations for Kazakhstan’s UNSC presidency

By Elya Altynsarina

ASTANA – Assistant Secretary-

General for Political Affairs of the 

United Nations Miroslav Jenca held 

a webinar with Kazakh journalists 

in Astana Jan. 11 to discuss the role 

of Kazakhstan as a non-permanent 

member and president of the UN 

Security Council. 

Jenca said the presidency has a 

prominent role for the functioning 

of the council, as the president calls 

its meetings, approves the provi-

sional agenda, and represents it in 

its capacity as an organ of the Unit-

ed Nations. According to the provi-

sional agenda, there will be several 

important meetings, including on 

issues of nuclear non-proliferation 

and  confidence-building  measures 

with the participation of the Presi-

dent of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Naz-

arbayev, and a discussion concern-

ing Central Asia and Afghanistan. 

Alongside being the first non-per-

manent member of the council from 

Central Asia, Kazakhstan is contrib-

uting to the peaceful resolution of 

the situation in Syria. Jenca believes 

that today the country is using its 

track record of a peacemaker that 

has been built over many years on 

initiatives of peace and stability in 

Central Asia and nuclear disarma-

ment, to mediate in critical issues.

“It is now clear that the situation 

in Afghanistan cannot be solved by 

military means only – we have to 

focus on building the regional coop-

eration and infrastructure projects”, 

the speaker said.

He recalled his experience of giv-

ing lectures at Almaty universities 

to students from Afghanistan during 

his term at the United Nations Re-

gional Centre for Preventive Diplo-

macy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) 

and pointed to the Kazakh practice 

of giving scholarships to Afghan 

youth as a concrete example of 

supporting the development of Af-

ghanistan. 

The procedures of the council 

provide that the Secretary-General, 

all states and organs of the United 

Nations communicate to bring the 

item to the UNSC agenda. Consid-

ering the complexity of items on 

the agenda, as well as Kazakhstan’s 

ambitious initiatives, the presidency 

presents a leadership challenge for 

its holder, Jenca said. But sharing 

his insight from participating in the 

council’s work, he commended the 

skilfulness of Kazakh diplomats in 

performing their duties.

“Members of both the council and 

the General Assembly highly appre-

ciate the work of Kazakhstan,” the 

diplomat said. 

Talking of the work procedures of 

the council, its monthly programme 

is prepared well in advance. It in-

cludes topics scheduled beforehand 

according to the council resolutions, 

such as the situation in the Middle 

East, as well as the issues put on the 

table as things develop. An example 

can be the developments and the re-

cent talks between the two Koreas 

which prompted a meeting of the 

Security Council. 

The council’s agenda reflects the 

situation in the world, Jenca said. It 

is no coincidence that the issue of 

nuclear disarmament, an important 

topic, has been brought up for dis-

cussion by a country which, among 

the few, voluntarily renounced its 

nuclear weapons and closed the test 

site, he noted. 

Today, we see the nuclear tensions 

growing, making the risk of prolifer-

ation much higher. The UN official 

explained. The decision of President 

Nazarbayev to personally attend the 

UNSC meeting dedicated to non-

proliferation of weapons of mass de-

struction demonstrates the country’s 

commitment to the issue, Jenca said. 

Comparing to quite a traditional 

issue of nuclear non-proliferation, 

the upcoming discussions on Cen-

tral Asia and Afghanistan is a rela-

tively new topic for the Security 

Council. Although the council has 

been previously working on Af-

ghanistan, Kazakhstan’s emphasis 

on tying the situation in Afghani-

stan to Central Asia opens up a new 

sight to the issue. Jenca expects that 

this discussion will focus on secu-

rity  and  conflict  prevention  in  the 

greater region. 

“Kazakhstan is active in other 

fields  of  the  UN  work,  including 

the achievement of Sustainable 

Development Goals (SDGs), and 

assisting the UN through measures 

of preventive diplomacy,” he said. 

The country has also contributed 

to creating the UNRCCA Office in 

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in 2007, 

thereby underlining the preventive 

diplomacy as its foreign policy tool 

and priority. 

In this regard, the views of Sec-

retary General Antonio Guterres 

to  measures  of  conflict  prevention 

align with those of Kazakhstan. It 

might be another reason for positive 

expectations from Kazakhstan’s 

UNSC membership and presidency.  

UN Security Council high-level 

debate on “Non-proliferation of 

weapons of mass destruction: confi-

dence-building measures” is sched-

uled on Jan. 19 with the participa-

tion of President Nazarbayev and 

UN Secretary-General Guterres. 

Other heads of state and top officials 

of the UNSC member states are ex-

pected to attend, too. According to 

Jenca, UN is interested in observing 

the  confidence-building  practices 

particularly in Asia as Kazakhstan 

already has experience advancing 

the Conference on Interaction and 

Confidence  Building  Measures  in 

Asia (CICA).

Miroslav Jenca of Slovakia as-

sumed the position of Assistant Sec-

retary-General for Political Affairs 

on May 1, 2015, and is responsible, 

among other things, for overseeing 

the divisions in the Department of 

Political Affairs dealing with the 

Americas,  Asia  and  the  Pacific, 

Europe and the Middle East and 

West Asia, as well as the Decolo-

nisation Unit and the Division for 

Palestinian Rights. He has served 

as the Special Representative of the 

Secretary-General and Head of the 

United Nations Regional Centre 

for Preventive Diplomacy for Cen-

tral Asia (UNRCCA) in Ashgabat, 

Turkmenistan, since 2008.

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