In this issue:
Democracy Building and Trade Top Agenda of Massimov’s Visit to U.S.
Astana Keen to Promote Small and Medium Sized Businesses
Gov’t to Create Free Economic Zone in Cotton Producing South
American Style “Reality TV” Reaches Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan: A Warm Welcome Awaits Business Travelers
Family:
Son --- bala (also means boy), daughter --- kyz (also means girl), cousin --- zhiyen, grandmother --- azhe [ah-ZHAY], grandfather --- ata, aunt --- tate [tah-TYEH], uncle --- koke.
Democracy Building and Trade Top
Agenda of Massimov’s Visit to U.S.
Karim Massimov, Assistant to the President of Kazakhstan for foreign and economic issues, is visiting the United States for talks with top government officials, members of Congress and NGOs on ways to promote greater Kazakhstan-U.S. cooperation in democracy building and trade.
Mr. Massimov’s itinerary
includes meetings at the
State Department, Senate
and House of Representatives,
as well as such NGOs such
as the National Endowment
for Democracy, International
Republican Institute, National
Democratic Institute, and
Freedom House. The
schedule also includes round
table discussions at leading
think tanks in Washington,
DC, and New York, focusing
on President Nazarbayev’s
reform agenda proposed in
his February 2005 address
to the nation. In that address
the President called for a
greater involvement of
Western experts in helping
Kazakhstan move toward
greater democracy and prosperity.
In speeches to the Carnegie Endowment and the Nixon Center in Washington this week, Mr. Massimov said Kazakhstan has achieved significant economic progress and is expecting to use that as the foundation to move further toward democracy. The U.S. has played an important role in both of these developments, Mr. Massimov said, and can play an equally important role in the future of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan’s GDP per capita has grown from US$700 in 1991 to a record US$3,000 this year, dwarfing similar indicators in Central Asia, twice as high as in Ukraine and almost on a par with Russia or Turkey, he noted. Kazakhstan has attracted more than US$30 billion in foreign direct investment. U.S. firms are the largest investors with US$10 billion. Kazakhstan believes “it is very important to further expand our cooperation with U.S. companies,” Mr. Massimov said.
Oil production is going to remain one of the economy’s major sectors. This year, Kazakhstan will export 1 million barrels of oil per day. By 2010 this figure is expected to be 2 million and by 2015 it will reach 3 million barrels per day.
The Government is keen, however, to develop other sectors of the economy, Mr. Massimov explained. It seeks to diversify the economy through the creation of clusters in areas where the country can be competitive and the development of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Today, SMEs generate 20 percent of Kazakhstan’s GDP, but the goal is to increase that number to 50 or 60 percent. “Fostering the middle class is a guarantee of further democratic development of Kazakhstan and is a major priority for the country,” he said.
Also high on the Kazakh agenda is the creation of e-Government. This will introduce computerized communications between citizens and government officials, and reduce the need for face to face interaction which should lessen corruption problems. Mr. Massimov noted the system, which requires high speed Internet connection and the e-signature law which is already on the books, is expected to be operational by the end of the year in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital. Almaty, the former capital, and Atyrau, the “oil capital” in the west of the country are expected to benefit from this service at the same time.
Another important priority is turning Kazakhstan into a tri-lingual country as called for by the President. Right now, Kazakh and Russian are the two most commonly used languages, but there is an impetus is to teach children “the third language, English, which goes a long way to ensuring Kazakhstan’s international competitiveness,” Mr. Massimov noted.
Kazakhstan’s agenda on the political front includes strengthening the role of Parliament and promoting an independent judiciary through the introduction of jury trials.
Just a week ago, the President signed a decree making it obligatory for appointees to ministerial and ambassadorial positions to be vetted by respective parliamentary committees before their appointment. “While this may sound commonplace in the United States, for Kazakhstan it is an important development,” Mr. Massimov stressed.
Another goal will be a free and fair presidential election, Mr. Massimov said, adding “President Nazarbayev’s popularity within the country is so high at this stage that free and fair elections are in his interest.” He said the country would welcome international organizations to monitor the election.
Mr. Massimov also stressed Kazakhstan’s support for the U.S. in the fight against terrorism, in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In Iraq, the KAZBAT troops have been destroying ordnance since 2003. “We are proud that we are fighting together for the future of democracy,” presidential aide Massimov stressed.
In the next week, he is expected to have further meetings in Washington and New York.
Astana Keen to Promote Small and Medium Sized Businesses
Umirzak Shukeyev, the Akim (Mayor) of Astana, said Kazakhstan’s future economic development depends on expansion of small and medium sized businesses and that makes promoting such businesses a political priority.
Speaking at a gathering of entrepreneurs and employers in Astana, Mayor Shukeyev described a quickly growing SME sector in Astana as an important factor in the city’s future prosperity.
In a city of a half a million, there were almost 29,000 small businesses in 2004, employing 69,000 people and producing 65 billion tenge (US$1=130 tenge) worth of goods and services, or 30 percent of Astana’s gross regional product. Tax revenues from the SMEs into Astana’s budget doubled year on year, reaching 1.5 billion tenge.
Mayor Shukeyev mentioned the growing construction sector in Astana as another crucial economic factor and said the city is selling land, the hottest commodity in town, through transparent public auctions. Last year, land developers paid the city one billion tenge for property they bought.
Gov’t to Create Free Economic Zone in Cotton Producing South
Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov said Kazakhstan’s Government is determined to create a free economic zone as part of the cotton producing cluster in the southern region of Shymkent.
The Government is keen to expand cotton processing in the region which today mostly exports raw cotton at small margins compared to what fabrics and garments offer.
On a May 13 visit to Shymkent, PM Akhmetov said “the Government, at the instruction of the President, will offer unprecedented benefits to companies wanting to produce processed goods in this region. It will make no difference whether the investors are Kazakhs or foreigners.”
A special law creating the free economic zone will be sent to the Parliament soon, the PM said. He hopes it will be passed quickly. The goal is to have the zone operational on January 1, 2006.
Currently, only two facilities process cotton in the South Kazakhstan region. They can only process seven percent of the crop produced in the region.
American Style “Reality TV” Reaches Kazakhstan
Seven pairs of daring Kazakhs will travel through six European countries with no money or hotel reservations in what promises to be the costliest and largest reality TV show produced in Kazakhstan. The first contestant to reach a destination will get the prize of an elite apartment in Almaty, the country’s largest city.
The new reality show, Intrusion, scheduled to air in Kazakhstan in September this year, requires each contestant to be accompanied by a TV crew and be under 24-hour video surveillance. The show will be taped by First Channel Eurasia, with the support of Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry and Eurovision. BankTuranAlem, one of Kazakhstan’s largest private banks, sponsors the show.
More than 5,000 prospective contestants sought to compete in the show. Fifty made it to the final which will take place May 14. Of those 50, a jury will select seven pairs who will have a chance to compete and see and enjoy some of the new places they will visit. To make sure they, and later the viewers, have even more fun, the contestants will not be given either watches or calendars, and they will not be able to communicate with each other along the way.
KAZAKHSTAN: A Warm Welcome Awaits Business Travelers
Following is a brief business introduction to Kazakhstan prepared by TIME and distributed by CNN on May 13, 2005. We thought we should share it with our readers as it provides some interesting pieces of advice adding flavor to doing business in Kazakhstan.
(TIME) -- Bridging Europe and Asia, Kazakhstan has a complex cultural identity, which blends Mongol, Russian and Turkish influences.
The country has an almost equal percentage of Kazakh and ethnic Russian citizens, though more than 100 ethnic groups are represented here. Most people speak either Russian or Kazakh, or both.
English is not widely spoken and translators are usually a must. Be sensitive to the fact that local culture combines Islamic and specific Kazakh traditions, with Russian Orthodox and Western influences.
Business cards, written in both Russian and English, are widely used and associates should be addressed by their first and patronymic names, as in Russia.
Local business contacts may be able to introduce you to the relevant decision-making officials. The pace of business can be slow and it may take more than one visit to successfully conclude a deal.
Kazakhs are warm and hospitable people, who enjoy getting to know their business counterparts socially.
Typically, foreign delegates might be invited to drink tea at an associate's home, visit a communal sauna or attend a formal dinner in a restaurant.
Kazakh society is intensely hierarchical and seating arrangements at business dinners will be dictated by rank.
Vodka and cognac are drunk at social occasions and frequent toasts are customary. Kazakh negotiators are tenacious arguers and discussions may become extremely animated.
Do not openly contradict senior counterparts, as this would be considered disrespectful.
Once trust has been established, key decisions are often made informally and a handshake can carry greater weight than a written contract.
Copyright © 2005 Time Inc.
Things to Watch:
- President Nursultan Nazarbayev will pay a state visit to Azerbaijan on May 24 and 25. The visit’s program includes signing a number of bilateral economic agreements. Along with presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, President Nazarbayev will attend the filling up ceremony for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in Baku on May 25.
- Team Kazakhstan has battled its way to the top 12 at the World Ice Hockey Championships in Austria, but failed to advance to the quarterfinals. Being among the world’s 12 best teams, however, assures Kazakhstan a place at next year’s championship without the need to qualify further. Team Kazakhstan has also assured its place at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, next February.
________________________________________________________________________________
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
