In this issue:
First Kazakh Soldier Killed in Iraq, Four Wounded
Nazarbayev, Putin Discuss Border Delimitation, Cooperation in Energy, Security
Kazakh Crackdown on Human Trafficking Continues
Romeo and Juliet Played Out on Kazakh Steppes
Kazakhstan’s Gold, Forex Reserves Grow 67.5% in 2004
Where is…? --- ... qaida? (The sentence structure puts interrogatives at the end)
the nearest bus stop --- Zhakyn zherdegi avtobus ayaldamasy qaida?
taxi stand --- Taksi toragy
train station --- Temir zhol vokzaly
airport --- Auezhai
First Kazakh Soldier Killed in Iraq, Four Wounded
Captain Kairat Kudabayev of the Kazakh military contingent in Iraq was killed in an explosion on January 9. The explosion also wounded four other contingent members, and was the the first fatality for the contingent since its deployment in 2003. The same explosion also killed seven Ukrainian soldiers and wounded seven more.
An explosives demolition team made up of Kazakhs and Ukrainians were
called in by the police authorities of the city of as-Suwaira in the province
of Wasit to remove and destroy a major munitions cache.
The team removed 35 aerial bombs and other explosives found in the
town to a demolition field on the outskirts and were preparing to destroy
them when some of the ordnance detonated.
The Defense Ministry of Kazakhstan expressed condolences to the
family of Captain Kudabayev, and announced the Captain will be
awarded the Order of Aibyn (Valor) posthumously and his family will
receive financial assistance. His body was flown to Kazakhstan for
funeral services. The Captain, from Astana, leaves behind a pregnant
wife and a young daughter.
Donald H. Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, sent a letter to Army Gen. Mukhtar Altynbayev, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Defense, writing: “I have just learned of the death of one of your brave soldiers during explosive ordnance disposal in Iraq, and I am deeply saddened. Please accept our condolences on his sacrifice, which is of great importance to the cause of freedom.”
The four wounded Kazakh soldiers wore body armor during the explosion and suffered injuries to extremities. They are being treated at a Coalition hospital in Baghdad. One soldier has already been released, and the other three are recovering quickly.
Kazakh army engineers have been in Iraq since August 2003, and in that time have destroyed more than 3 million pieces of ordnance. To date, there have been three groups of 27 engineers rotated in and out of Iraq. Army General Altynbayev confirmed the fourth group of Kazakh engineers is “getting prepared to leave for Iraq” to replace the contingent already there.
Nazarbayev, Putin Discuss Border Delimitation,
Cooperation in Energy and Security Areas
President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with visiting President Vladimir Putin of Russia in Almaty on January 12 to discuss border delimitation and bilateral cooperation in trade, energy and security areas. Topics for discussion also included the two countries’ participation in various international organizations such as the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Single Economic Space.
The two countries have almost finished delimiting their 7,500 kilometer border, one of the longest in the world. President Nazarbayev explained that the bilateral treaty finalizing the delimitation, to be signed in Moscow next week, deals only with “delimitation, and not demarcation,” in accordance with international norms. “There will be no plowed frontier strips, and the border will stay open for free movement of our citizens,” he said.
President Putin noted “the high level of relations between Kazakhstan and Russia” and expressed satisfaction with how relations are developing. The year 2004 was the Year of Russia in Kazakhstan, while 2003 was Kazakhstan’s Year in Russia. Activities included hundreds of events such as trade shows and concerts promoting ties between the two neighbors.
Kazakhstan’s President praised trade ties between the two countries, noting that in 2004 bilateral trade grew almost 50 percent reaching US$7 billion. This figure amounts to 25 percent of Kazakhstan’s overall foreign trade and confirms Russia’s position as Kazakhstan’s biggest trading partner.
The two presidents also discussed prospects for greater cooperation in the energy sector, including future joint development of three offshore fields in the Caspian Sea, transportation of gas from Karachaganak gas condensate field to Orenburg in Russia for reprocessing and the expansion of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline.
President Nazarbayev said “a package agreement is being prepared” which would open the way for the exploration of Kurmangazy, Tsentral’noe and Khvalynskoye fields in the Caspian which are situated in border areas of the two countries and which will be developed jointly. The President also called shipping gas from Karachaganak to Orenburg “a very promising project for both sides.”
Kazakhstan’s President also noted the expansion of the CPC pipeline from its current annual capacity of 28 million metric tons to 67 million metric tons “is a serious work, which currently is somewhat stalled”. He said the implementation of this project is “profitable for both Russia and Kazakhstan.” President Putin offered to discuss the issue of CPC expansion “in a multiparty format and in a comprehensive way.” The CPC pipeline is the first purpose-built pipeline designed to export Kazakhstan’s oil to the world market. It is a consortium including governments of Russia, Kazakhstan and Oman with 24, 19 and 7 percent respectively, and eight private oil companies with U.S. based ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil as the biggest private shareholders.
Earlier this week, Ian McDonald, the CPC General Director, said “the CPC system is already being exploited in excess of technical project capacity for Caspian oil… We expect the overall volume of oil shipped through CPC in 2005 will reach 32 million tons. Our shareholders forecast considerable growth of oil production in the next two years and that means the CPC should get down to a step by step expansion of the system.” He was quoted in a news release distributed by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Moscow.
Kazakh Crackdown on Human Trafficking Continues
Kazakhstan destroyed five human trafficking networks, launching 13 criminal cases in 2004, according to Deputy Minister of Justice Ubaidulla Stamkulov
In an announcement on January 13, he said the number of criminal cases was double that of 2003. Three cases ended with guilty sentences for six people all leading to prison terms. Among those convicted are citizens of Kazakhstan who lured young girls, shipped them abroad and forced them into prostitution.
He also announced law enforcement agencies are keeping a close watch over private employment agencies whose numbers grow annually. As of January 1, there were 77 private agencies. In 2004, about 40,000 people applied to these organizations seeking jobs. Of this number, 1,083 Kazakhs found employment in South Korea, 526 in Russia and eight in Turkey. Two private agencies had their licenses revoked for violations of the law.
Romeo and Juliet Played Out on Kazakh Steppes
A pair of adventurous U.S. Peace Corps volunteers and local Kazakh students have staged Shakespeare’s masterpiece “Romeo and Juliet” in English in the western Kazakhstan village of Chapaevo on January 11.
Amber Weiss from Ohio, the PC volunteer who has worked as a secondary English education teacher at a local school in Chapaevo since June 2004, came up with the idea to stage the play in English. Teachers from three schools then participated in staging. Michael Marks, another PC volunteer from California, and Akmaral Batyrgaliyeva, a student with the local gymnasium, played Romeo and Juliet.
The occasion marked one of the first known performances of Shakespeare’s play in the original language in Kazakhstan and was enthusiastically received by its audience.
Kazakhstan’s Gold, Forex Reserves Grow 67.5% in 2004
Kazakhstan’s National Bank has announced that the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves, including the National Bank’s gross reserves and resources accumulated by the National Fund, increased by 67.5 percent in 2004, reaching US$14.345 billion.
According to preliminary estimates, the National Fund’s assets, where excess taxes from oil and gas producing companies are accumulated, reached US$5.065 billion at the end of 2004. National Bank Chairman Anvar Saidenov, speaking to Khabar TV on January 10, said the Fund’s assets are divided into two parts. US$600 million are allocated to the stabilizing portfolio which is to be used in case of budget shortfalls and which is currently invested in liquid instruments, mostly the U.S. Treasury notes. The rest is directed into the ever growing savings portfolio and invested in long term financial instruments.
A year ago, Kazakhstan’s gold and foreign exchange reserves stood at US$8.565 billion, including US$3.6 billion in the National Fund.
The National Bank’s net gold and foreign exchange reserves grew 11.4 percent in December 2004, reaching $9.277 billion by the yearend.
Things to Watch:
- The Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan marks its golden anniversary this year. Baikonur was the launch site for the first space satellite, Sputnik, and the followed by the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin.
- Melodies and Songs of the Kazakh Steppes, the first ever concert of Kazakh traditional and world classical music in the United States of America, will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2005. A follow up concert will be held at Carnegie Hall in New York on February 3, 2005. For more information please click here.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and agency reports)
Contact person: Roman Vassilenko
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036
Tel.: 202 232 5488, ext. 104, Fax: 202 232 5845
