In this issue:
Kazakhstan to Send Medical Troops to Iraq, President Bush Praises Move
Central Asian Rapid Reaction Force to Be Set Up
Eurasian Journalists, Officials Seek Ways to Ensure Better Media
Economy Grows 10% in Q1
Kazakhstan Seeks Twofold Increase in Small Business Share in GDP
Kazakhstan to Send Medical Troops to Iraq, President Bush Praises Move
The leadership of Kazakhstan "made a political decision to send a group of military medics to Iraq as part of the coalition's stabilization forces", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement on April 25. The decision was made in response to the request from the international coalition conducting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"Kazakhstan shares the responsibility of the international community in strengthening regional and global security and will not stand aside from the processes of post-conflict restoration in Iraq," the statement read. The country is "ready to closely interact with the United States of America in the peaceful settlement of Iraq," it added.
President George W. Bush sent a letter to President Nursultan Nazarbayev praising Kazakhstan's decision, the Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement on April 28. The American leader also positively assessed current status and prospects of bilateral Kazakhstan-U.S. cooperation, including in the energy sphere, and expressed hope for further interaction in the democratization sphere, the Ministry noted. U.S. Ambassador Larry Napper delivered the letter to Foreign Minister Kassymzhomart Tokayev earlier the same day.
Under the constitution, President Nazarbayev is to request the parliamentary approval for sending the republic's specialists to Iraq.
Kazakhstan has supported the coalition efforts to disarm Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Speaking at an international conference in Almaty last week, President Nazarbayev discarded the notion of the religious undertones in deposing Saddam Hussein's regime and said his "regime, and not Islam, was the problem that threatened the security of the region." Nazarbayev went on to say that "the unequivocal success of the antiterrorist coalition in Afghanistan, the regime change in Iraq should promote the reduction of tensions not only in Central Asia and the Middle East, but globally."
Kazakhstan has cooperated closely with the international coalition in Operation Enduring Freedom by providing free overflight rights for coalition aircraft and a major airport for the U.S. forces and by expanding military-to-military ties and intelligence sharing.
Central Asian Rapid Reaction Force to Be Set Up
President Nursultan Nazarbayev joined his counterparts from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Belarus on April 28 for a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Dushanbe to discuss ways to enhance regional security in light of the continuing threat of instability in Central Asia.
The leaders agreed to set up a joint military command to oversee a rapid reaction force. Under the plan, the headquarters, to be up and running by January 1, 2004, will be based in Kyrgyzstan. The force is expected to number 6,000 and be based out of Kant air base close to Bishkek, according to moscowtimes.ru.
President Nazarbayev called the decisions, which also involve agreement to have these countries' military cadets study in their respective academies, a "turning point" in the organization's history.
Several former Soviet republics signed the original treaty in 1992 to ensure their security in the new and uncertain geopolitical environment.
Eurasian Journalists, Officials Seek Ways to Ensure Better Media
More than 200 journalists and officials from 45 countries as diverse as the United States, Britain, Qatar, Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, met in Almaty last week for a three-day conference to discuss current trends in global journalism, the development of online journalism, and ways to ensure better conditions for media in the newly independent states.
The most vibrant debates took place on the last issue on the agenda and centered on legal framework for the media, level of professionalism and responsibility of journalists, and means to ensure strong economic basis for running successful independent media.
Chair of the conference organizing committee Dariga Nazarbayeva admitted what she said were "problems with legal incompetence."
"The society and authorities are not prepared to face criticism," she said, adding, however, "it is never too late to learn to live in new conditions." She also noted that "journalism in Kazakhstan has great potential and has already grown in recent years."
Speaking at the conference, President Nazarbayev noted that the situation with the media is not ideal, but said the country is moving toward a freer society.
"Democracy is our goal and not the beginning of the road," he said. "Up until now, our foremost priority was to preserve and strengthen our independence."
"One needs to renounce the illusions that a poor and socially unstable society could have sustained a model of liberal and pluralistic media," he noted. "In order to evade negative scenarios, a country needs to strengthen foundations for free media such as multiparty political systems, strong and numerous NGOs, economic conditions for independent media and liberal law on the media."
Earlier in April, the President announced a new liberalization program for Kazakhstan in such areas as the modernization of the system of state management, improvement of the election system, strengthening the civil society institutions, ensuring freedom and responsibilities of the media, and the improvements in the work of law enforcement and judicial bodies.
Economy Grows 10% in Q1
Kazakhstan's economy grew by 10 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2003, the Prime Minister announced at an April 29 Cabinet session. The announcement came on the heels of this month's revision of Government's expectations for GDP growth in this year upwards from 6.5 percent to 8 percent.
"The gross domestic product expanded by about 10 percent in the first quarter," Prime Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov said. "I believe this dynamics will go on up until the year end."
The growth in industry, agriculture and construction sustain high level of economy-wide expansion. But there's an understanding that the Government needs to take actions to ensure a wider spread of economic development.
"We don't have euphoria," said Kairat Kelimbetov, Minister of Economy and Budget Planning. "We see that while extracting industries grew by 13.4 percent, processing industries expanded by only 6.5 percent. This speaks of our country's growing dependence on oil. Hence, the Government is working to diversify the economy."
Earlier in April, President Nazarbayev announced the new industrial and innovation program for the next several years with emphasis on high-tech industries and high-end products.
Kazakhstan Seeks Twofold Increase in Small Business Share in GDP
Although small business accounts for 17 percent of Kazakhstan's GDP, a respectable figure by regional standards, this proportion should be raised to 30 percent, Industry and Trade Minister Mazhit Yessenbayev told the nation-wide small business seminar in Karaganda on April 29.
"Though compared to other CIS countries we do look much better [in terms of small business ratio in the GDP], we have a task to increase this ratio up to 30 percent in the medium term," he said at the gathering. The meeting discussed the role of the small business in solving social problems.
Yessenbayev noted that while 465,000 small businesses are registered in Kazakhstan employing 1.2 million people, of this number only 51 percent are active. He said the Government would seek to address two areas of concern to ensure that small businesses grow across the country. First, it would work to redress regional differences in the spread of small businesses, the majority of which are centered in Astana and Almaty, the current and the former capital, and in Karaganda and South Kazakhstan regions. Secondly, it would encourage small businesses to move away from the spheres of commerce and services, in which they are still mostly involved, to production.
Late last year, Kazakhstan and the U.S. also launched the $16.5-million Houston Initiative seeking to promote the bilateral partnerships between small and medium-sized businesses in non-oil sectors through the program of low interest loans and guarantees.
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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
