Kazakhstan
News Bulletin
Released weekly by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
January 15, 2003 Vol. 1, No.2
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In this issue:
Kazakhstan "concerned" with North Korea withdrawal from
Nonproliferation Treaty
Almaty fights pollution by promoting natural gas usage
National Commission on Sustainable Development to be established
GDP grows by 9.5 percent in 2002
Kazakhstan 2002 oil output rises to 950,000 barrels per day
"Say NEIGH to that"
Kazakhstan "concerned" with North Korea withdrawal from Nonproliferation Treaty
Kazakhstan is concerned with the intentions of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), the Foreign Ministry said in a January 9 statement.
"Kazakhstan believes the DPRK's withdrawal from the NPT will seriously damage security and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the Asian region and will significantly weaken the global security regime," the statement read.
"As a nation that voluntarily renounced the nuclear legacy of the USSR and contributed considerably to nuclear nonproliferation, Kazakhstan calls upon the DPRK's leadership to abide by international obligations and hopes a solution will be found through negotiations among all interested parties," the Ministry stated.
Almaty fights pollution by promoting natural gas usage
Responding to pressing
environmental problems of a large
metropolis, officials and business
leaders in Almaty identified
automobiles as the largest source
of pollution and turned to natural gas
as a means to fight it.
Minister of environment Aitkul
Samakova, Almaty Akim (Mayor)
Viktor Khrapunov and director
general of national gas transportation
company Kaztransgas Abai Sadykov launched last week a project designed to convert a significant portion of the city's huge car fleet to use gas as an alternative fuel. In a memorandum they signed, Kaztransgas undertook to build 15 natural gas stations in Almaty for a total cost of $9 million.
Situated in a beautiful settings of snowy mountain peaks and reminiscent of Denver in Colorado, Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city with the population of 1.5 million and its former capital, has long been plagued by pollution. In fact, pollution was one of the reasons cited for the transfer of capital to Astana in 1997, along with natural limits on further growth of the city.
National Commission on Sustainable Development to be established
Plans to incorporate environmental concerns into economic development strategy
Kazakhstan is to establish a new body, National Commission on Sustainable Development, with the mission to find ways to address environmental problems and to incorporate considerations of environmental security into national economic strategies. The decision was announced at the January 15 session of the country's Security Council, which includes the president, the prime minister, speakers of both houses of Parliament and certain ministers.
Kazakhstan still reels from the debilitating legacy of the two major experiments conducted upon its people by the Soviet Union, - those of Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, where almost 500 nuclear explosions were carried out, and of the Aral Sea that has shrunk to less than one third of its size due to ill-devised irrigation policies. The concerns with these areas, as well as with the expansion in oil and gas exploration and development have recently led to the increased urgency of addressing the environmental problems.
"More than 20 billion tons of waste have accumulated in the country, of which more than 5 billion tons is the toxic waste," said Security Council secretary Omarkhan Oksikbayev at the news conference after the meeting. "Active development of the Caspian shelf also leads to worsening ecological conditions posing a threat to Caspian's biological resources. Subsurface users often violate contractual obligations in terms of compliance with the environmental legislation," he noted.
Speaking on the same occasion, Environment Minister Aitkul Samakova said the Government is to toughen environmental requirements. "Kazakhmys [the country's largest copper producer] accounts for 20% of all harmful emissions, while Ispat-Karmet [among the world's largest steel mills] accounts for 15%," she said.
GDP grows by 9.5 percent in 2002
According to preliminary data, Kazakhstan's economy grew by 9.5 percent in 2002, which is 2.5% higher than the government's original projections, Industry and Trade Minister Mazhit Yessenbayev told a business forum in Astana on January 11. He said inflation was within the target range, which is 6.6 percent.
This growth comes on top of 13.2% expansion in 2002 and 9.8% in 2001. Local and international experts accredit the continuing strong showing of the economy both to the Government's bold reforms in key economic areas, and to the favorable situation on commodities markets.
"Serious reforms have been carried out in Kazakhstan in the past years in the area of monetary-credit and taxation-budget policy, pensions and residential utilities," Mr. Yessenbayev said.
The Government isn't going to "rest on the laurels", the minister continued, and plans to pursue efforts to diversify the economy. With that in mind Kazakhstan intends to actively implement an industrial policy and produce and market internationally goods with high added value.
Earlier this year, the Government announced its projections for the GDP growth for 2003 at 6 percent. Inflation is expected to reach 5.9 percent.
Kazakhstan 2002 oil output rises to 950,000 barrels per day
100 new Caspian offshore blocks to be auctioned later in 2003
Kazakhstan registered oil and gas condensate output increase to 47.2 million tonnes (nearly 950,000 barrels per day, or bpd) in 2002, the National Statistics Agency said on January 13.
The agency said production in 2001 was 40.1 million tonnes (around 800,000 bpd).
The next decade will see Kazakhstan propelled into the ranks of the world's largest oil producers. Specifically, output from the country's three major fields, including offshore Kashagan and onshore Tengiz and Karachaganak, is set to push total production to 80 million tonnes per year (1.6 million bpd) by 2010, rising to 150 million tonnes (3.0 million bpd) by 2015, Energy Minister Vladimir Shkolnik said late last year.
These fields are developed by international consortia that include U.S.-based ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips, with investments ranging in billions of dollars. Smaller American companies are also present.
Eighty percent of the total of $21 billion in foreign direct investment into Kazakhstan in 11 years of independence went into the oil and gas industry. American companies account for roughly one third of the total investment.
Later this year, the Government of Kazakhstan is planning to auction off around 100 new offshore blocks for exploration in the Caspian Sea, which will draw additional resources and technologies.
"Say neigh to that"
Nadia White, the state editor for the Star-Tribune of Casper, Wyoming, shares her impressions of Kazakhstan's traditions in a recent article.
"Let me confess right up front: My vegetarian habits are on hold.
Take that one more step: I spent most of November eating horse meat, drinking mare's milk and marveling at the social niceties involved in serving baked sheep's head.
I am just back from Kazakhstan, where machismo is measured by how much meat one can eat and hospitality in how much a guest is fed. Suffice it to say, the Kazakhs are extraordinary hosts and I am eating more macho than I used to.
During a month in the Central Asian nation, numerous table-filling feasts were spread before me. A spyglass across time, they recall the days when a guest who arrived at a nomad's yurt would have traveled very, very far, across the steppe, with little in the way of clothing or fine food.
Often, I was given a velvety tunic or overcoat decorated with traditional swirled ram's horn designs in gold braid and beads and seated near the head of a long dining table.
Salads took the form of grated beets and carrots blended with light sour cream, walnuts and shaved horse meat.
Appetizers were thinly sliced horse meat sausage, sheep intestines and cheeses.
There were many other side dishes served, but the centerpiece of the meal was a huge platter or two of the national dish, besparmak.
Besparmak is huge chunks of horse meat, boiled on the bone and served with a broth on top of wide doughy noodles. The word means "five fingers" and it is still OK to just reach out and grab a chunk of meat and noodle and pop it into your mouth.
Horse meat tastes, well, like meat. I liked it. It was a little sweeter than lamb or beef, and had a very nice texture. It wasn't gristly or tough or stringing. But it was horse. It made a big difference to me that some horses are raised to be eaten and some are raised to be ridden.
Gastronomically, I thought the shift from eating mostly vegetables to eating mostly meat would be tough on the gut. It wasn't. I attribute this to the addition of a great deal of cognac to my diet. That, and the leisurely pace, aided digestion. Many a feast was topped off with a truly wonderful round of songs.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
(Compiled from own sources and various agencies' reports)
Contact persons: Roman Vassilenko, Aibek Nurbalin
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, 115, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
