Kazakhstan
News Bulletin
Released weekly by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
March 12, 2003 Vol. 1, No.13
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In this issue:
Government Moves Forward With Ambitious Innovation Plan
Kazakhstan, U.S. to Promote Energy Partnership
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Suit against Kazakhstan's Uranium Firm
Journalists, Officials Discuss Draft Media Law
Government Moves Forward With Ambitious Innovation Plan
Kazakhstan's economy is to be diversified and new high value-added industries to be developed under the new industrial plan that was discussed at the March 11 Government meeting in Astana. The State Industrial and Innovation Development Program, as the plan is called, provides a blueprint for creating a modern high-tech, knowledge-based, service-oriented economy and tripling the GDP by the year 2015.
The program, developed by several ministries during a year, sets several stages for the development and outlines necessary legislative and other conditions to be met. Besides the existing financing mechanisms, such as the National Fund, where more than $2 billion have accumulated over a two-year period, and the National Development Bank, the ministers would also seek to promote business development through the establishment of an export guarantee corporation and an investment fund.
"The program's main difference
from the previous ones is that it is
directed at a productive cooperation
with the private businesses," Prime
Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov
said.
"If we are copying someone
else's model, focusing on the low-
tech industries, we will always be
behind," Deputy Prime Minister
Karim Massimov told The Washington
Times last November. "We think it is
in the nature of the post-industrial
economy that even a country like Mr. Massimov presents the new industrial plan
Kazakhstan can be an excellent to the Government
partner for the United States on very high-end projects," he said.
Kazakhstan hopes to use its vast oil and gas reserves as a base to diversify into promising high-tech sectors, including software production, biotechnology and aerospace. Experts expect private investment as part of the program to be $80 billion.
The Government will fine tune the plan and send it to the President for approval.
Kazakhstan, U.S. to Promote Energy Partnership
President Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed ways to promote energy partnership with the United States at a meeting with Ambassador Steven Mann, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State on Caspian energy, in Astana on March 10. The discussion centered on the U.S. companies' participation in further exploration activities in Kazakhstan and on the export routes for the country's oil, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. The U.S. diplomat held similar talks with Foreign Minister Kassymzhomart Tokayev in Almaty on Monday.
The talks "one more time confirm the strength of connections between Kazakhstan and the United States on issues of energy partnership," Mann said after the meetings. He noted that the governments of the two countries both agree that they "need to further support the investment."
Mann declared that "every month, every year we see new discoveries that allow us to suggest that with further exploration oil reserves at the Kazakh fields will grow."
In addition to the giant Kashagan field with potential reserves of up to 13 billion barrels, Kazakhstan is expected to open for exploration up to 120 new offshore blocks in its Caspian sector in 2003. American companies, already accounting for one third of the total investment into Kazakhstan since 1991, are expected to take part in the new works.
Elsewhere, executives of Kazmunaigaz national oil company met with their Azeri counterparts in Almaty March 10 to discuss Kazakhstan's participation in the Baku-Ceyhan line. "Kazakhstan is interested in this route because we have enormous oil reserves and will be a major exporter," Kazmunaigaz executive director Kairgeldy Kabyldin said.
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Suit against Kazakhstan's Uranium Firm
The U.S. Supreme Court on February 25 threw out a $1billion suit by a Canadian group against Kazatomprom, one of the world's 10 leading uranium producers, the Kazakh firm said March 5.
Canada's World Wide Minerals (WWM) had its suit against Kazatomprom rejected by a lower court and appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which turned it down, interfax.com reported.
Kazatomprom said that WWM "committed serious offenses against Kazakh legislation and failed to fulfill its commitments under agreements with Kazakhstan." Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan's monopoly uranium export and import operator, produces 5% of the world's uranium. It brought its uranium output to 2,850 tons in 2002, from 794 tons in 1998.
Journalists, Officials Discuss Draft Media Law
Leaders of the Congress of Journalists of Kazakhstan and officials of the Ministry of culture and information met in Astana March 12 to discuss the new media law that will be aimed at improving the working conditions for the reporters. The meeting came as part of the ongoing process of consultations within the working group established last month, after the Government unveiled its bill at the 2nd Congress of Journalists in February 2003. So far the group introduced more than 50 amendments.
"We took the Ministry's draft as a working project, but there are also things that have been proposed by Adil Soz [NGO promoting the rule of law], and Ak Zhol political party," said Aidar Zhumabayev, chairman of the Association of TV and Radio Broadcasters of Kazakhstan. "In our draft, we propose to solve problems in their entirety, to introduce amendments into the Civil and Criminal codes, into Licensing Law so that the new law will have encompassed all the areas of media activity."
Some of the proposed amendments would exonerate the media from liability for spreading wrongful information if they quote exactly from the news agencies or press services, and would shorten the time frame for suing the media on the grounds of protecting the honor and dignity.
As of November 1, 2002 Kazakhstan had 1,754 mass media outlets, the country's Culture and Information Minister Mukhtar Kul-Mukhammed said recently. More than 80% of media outlets in Kazakhstan are non-governmental. Public associations own 159 media outlets, eleven publications belong to political parties and movements, and religious associations own ten.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(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
