In this issue:
Astana Moves Ahead with Assistance to Bishkek
Central Asian Issues Focus of Think Tanks
Rep. Radanovich Applauds Kazakhstan’s Non-nuclear Choice
Kazakhstan’s Vinokourov Wins Liege-Bastogne-Liege Race
How do we travel? --- Nemen baramyz?
By bus, by airplane, or by train? --- Avtobus pen be, ushak pen be, alde otarbamen baramyz ba?
Astana Moves Ahead with Assistance to Bishkek
Recent days brought a number of high level meetings between top Kazakh and Kyrgyz officials who worked together to assist the Kyrgyz economy, disrupted by March’s upheavals.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev met acting Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in Almaty, April 22, and reacted positively to his guest’s requests for assistance.
Following that meeting, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov and Foreign Minister Kassymzhomart Tokaev met Roza Otunbayeva, acting Kyrgyz Foreign Minister, in Astana on April 28. They discussed ways of expanding economic cooperation between the two countries.
They agreed to develop a comprehensive program of near term measures which could include setting up joint ventures in various industries, including energy, and granting Kyrgyzstan most favored trade regime with appropriate changes in tariffs. The program is expected to be worked out in detail at a special session of the inter-governmental commission due shortly.
During a meeting with Ms. Otunbayeva, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister said: “Our countries are geopolitically interlinked, and the efficient development of the Kazakh economy is based on stable development of neighboring economies.” The PM
noted President Nazarbayev’s instructions to help
Kyrgyzstan, saying “we will do everything possible
to make sure Kazakhstan’s presence in your
republic is efficient and tangible.”
Kazakhstan already is a major investor in
Kyrgyzstan with sizable interests in banking,
communications and tourism industries.
At a joint news conference following his meeting
with Ms. Otunbayeva, Foreign Minister Tokaev
stressed “Kazakhstan is interested, as never
before, in restoring Kyrgyzstan’s stability and
expanding relations between our two countries.”
Ms. Otunbayeva thanked the Kazakh
Government for the humanitarian assistance
already being sent to Kyrgyzstan, including
10,000 tons of diesel fuel and one thousand tons
of grain, saying: “The dialogue between our two
countries becomes more dynamic, and we will
strive to strengthen it further.”
In addition to growing government contacts, the
business communities of the two countries will
have a chance to explore opportunities for
cooperation at an upcoming business forum.
Central Asian Issues Focus of Think Tanks
Experts from the New York based National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) and from a number of Kazakh think tanks met in Almaty this week to discuss challenges facing Kazakhstan and Central Asia, including sustainable economic development, extremism, illegal labor migration, drug trafficking and problems of water and electricity supply. They called for greater economic integration of the region as the best way to solve these problems.
Michael Rywkin, an expert with NCAFP and Professor Emeritus of the City University of New York, said Kazakhstan as the most economically developed country in the region has potential to lead it in economic development. Rywkin said: “It is quite logical for Kazakh enterprises to invest in neighboring countries, the same way the U.S. invests in factories in Mexico.”
Bektas Mukhamedzhanov, Director General of the Kazakhstan based International Institute of Modern Politics, said: “Kazakhstan is primarily open for economic integration. With economic integration in place, we can talk about the next steps.”
Nikolai Kuzmin, from the Perspectiva Foundation for Political Research in Kazakhstan, believes the countries of Central Asia have many common traits, but are currently moving in different economic and political directions.
The Kazakh experts concluded that for success in meeting the challenges in the region, the countries need to move toward greater economic integration. Such integration should be supported by security cooperation, and ultimately, by a political union in Central Asia. President Nazarbayev has often promoted the idea of political union in his public speeches.
Rep. Radanovich Applauds Kazakhstan’s Non-nuclear Choice
Representative George Radanovich (R-CA) has praised Kazakhstan’s non-nuclear choice in a speech in the U.S. House of Representatives on April 27, marking the 10th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s freedom from nuclear weapons.
In his speech, Rep. Radanovich congratulated “the President and the people of Kazakhstan on the 10th anniversary of the removal of the last nuclear weapons from their territory within the framework of the Cooperative Threat Reduction program.”
He said: “I applaud Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s leadership and courage. Today, we can state with great confidence that the decision of Kazakhstan’s leader to renounce the world’s fourth largest arsenal of deadly nuclear weapons was made not only in the interest of mankind, but that it has changed the course of world history. As we all know, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and international terrorism remain major threats to the world in this new century. It is frightful to imagine a scenario where terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda could have gained access to Kazakhstan’s nuclear arsenal.”
The congressman noted “the growing relations of the strategic partnership” between the United States and Kazakhstan, saying: “American people will never forget the support of the President and people of Kazakhstan at the difficult time following 9/11. I would also like to express my gratitude to Kazakh military engineers who have so far destroyed more than 3 million pieces of ordnance in Iraq, and saved the lives of many Iraqis and those of our brave soldiers.”
He concluded: “With a great deal of optimism, I look forward to the years ahead as the partnership between Kazakhstan and the United States strengthens to benefit the people of both nations and the world at large.”
With Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) introducing a Senate resolution commemorating Kazakhstan’s nuclear weapons free decade earlier this week, members from both houses of the U.S. Congress have spoken on the importance of Kazakhstan’s disarmament choice and the need for the two countries to continue working together.
Kazakhstan’s Vinokourov Wins Liege-Bastogne-Liege Race
Kazakhstan’s Alexandre Vinokourov won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege cycle race on April 24, edging out Jens Voigt of Germany in a sprint finish.
Vinokourov, third in last year’s race, finished the 162-mile classic in 6 hours, 29.09 minutes, giving his T-Mobile team its first points in this year’s ProTour.
Vinokourov and Voigt broke from the pack after 32 miles and battled each other for the last 3 miles. Michael Boogerd of the Netherlands was third.
Liege-Bastogne-Liege was first run in 1892. It is one of the five biggest one-day races, with Milan-San Remo, the Ronde of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the season-ending Tour of Lombardy.
In 2003, Vinokourov was third in the Tour de France losing to Lance Armstrong of the United States and Jan Ullrich of Germany.
Things to Watch:
- Asia Society to hold its International Business Conference in Almaty on June 14-16, 2005 focusing on Kazakhstan’s potential to play a leading role in economic development of Central Asia and beyond.
- The Fifth Kazakhstan International Tourism Fair, KITF-2005, opened in Almaty on April 28 featuring more than 200 companies from across Europe, Asia and Africa.
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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
