012902

Vol. 1, No. 3, January 29, 2002

Politics

Kazakhstan has a new Prime Minister

US Assistant Secretary of State returns to Kazakhstan

Economy

The then Minister of Economy sees over USD 6 B in investment in 2002

Kazkommertsbank receives license to issue international cards

Kazakhstan Oil Association meets in Atyrau

Net gold and currency reserves rise in first half of January

POLITICS

Kazakhstan has a new Prime Minister

On January 28, 2002 President Nursultan Nazarbayev granted Prime Minister Kasymzhomart Tokaev's request to resign from his post. At the same day, Imangali Tasmagambetov, former Deputy Prime Minister, was nominated by the President and approved by the Parliament as new Head of the Kazakhstan Government.

According to the Kazakhstan Constitution, the entire Government was obliged to resign alongside Tokaev. All major appointments to the new Government must be made within the next 10 days.

In a statement released on January 28, Tokaev stated as a reason for his departure from the post that "the time has come for the arrival of new people with new ideas and approaches."

45-year old Imangali Tasmagambetov has served in a variety of Government capacities. He served as chairman of the State Committee on Youth Affairs (1991-3), Assistant to the President (1993-4), Deputy Prime Minister for cultural affairs (1995-7) and in other high Government posts. He worked as the first Assistant to the President prior his 1998 appointment as Atyrau oblast akim (governor). Most recently, Tasmagambetov had served as a Deputy Prime Minister in charge of social and ethnic policy since December 2000.

The new Prime Minister listed four top priorities for his cabinet in the near-term: the development of the oil and processing sectors; development of hydrocarbons transport, communications and financial sectors; the deepening of social reforms and the strengthening of cooperation within the framework of international institutions such as the Eurasian Economic Community (formerly the CIS Customs Union - Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

US Assistant Secretary of State returns to Kazakhstan

Last week within the framework of a tour on Central Asia US Assistant Secretary of State and former US Ambassador to Kazakhstan Elisabeth Jones met with the than Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Yerlan Idrisov in Astana. Two diplomats discussed Kazakhstan's proposal to provide depots and transit routes for delivering humanitarian cargoes to Afghanistan and send experts to help rebuild the country. Jones and Idrisov also talked about plans for joint action against armed Islamic militants, military cooperation and weapons non-proliferation activities, and exchanged views on bilateral energy cooperation and other economic ties

Jones, who now heads up the State Department Bureau for European and Eurasian Affairs, will focus on bolstering the United States' strengthening ties to Central Asia during her week-long stay in the region.

ECONOMY

The then Minister of Economy sees over USD 6 B in investment in 2002

Investments into the Kazakhstan economy are expected to top USD 6 B in 2002, the then Kazakhstan Minister of Economy and Trade Zhaksybek Kulekeev stated at last week's expanded governmental meeting. Of the total investments, the Government plans to allot about USD 1 B to investment projects, while the recently-established State Development Bank is expected to issue about USD 200 MM in credits.

The economy of the country benefited from some USD.3.616 B in foreign investment in 2001, about USD 1 B more than in 2000, Kulekeev noted.

Kazkommertsbank receives license to issue international cards

Kazakhstan's major commercial bank Kazkommertsbank has received a license from Europay to issue international chip cards, the bank announced in a statement on January 18. Kazkommertsbank is the first in the Central Asian region to issue Europay Mastercard and VISA microchip cards. The microchip in the Europay cards guarantees the highest level of security against fraud.

Kazakhstan Oil Association meets in Atyrau

The Kazakhstan Oil Association held its annual meeting last week in the offices of Agip Caspian Sea in Atyrau. The meeting, chaired by Agip Caspian Regional Director Claudio Cogliati brought together representatives from over 79 Kazakhstan and international oil companies operating in the republic.

The meeting included representatives from all the participants in Kazakhstan's largest projects: Karachaganak, Tengiz and Kashagan. Participants at the gathering discussed the management of the association as well as how to improve performance in Kazakhstan's oil sector.

Net gold and currency reserves rise in first half of January

Kazakhstan's net gold and foreign currency reserves rose by 0.2% in the first half of the month to total USD 3.755 B as of January 15, the National Bank announced on January 18. The reserves of Kazakhstan's National Fund, which invests revenues from oil projects in the republic, stood at USD 1.369 B on the reported date.

The National Bank's total international reserves, which includes the gold and forex reserves as well as the National Fund, rose by 2.5% in the first half of the month to total USD 3.55 B. At the same time, the state's gold assets increased in value by USD 16.2 MM during the reported period.

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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