SPECIAL ISSUE:
"We Cannot Renounce Multidimensional Foreign Policy"
Kassymzhomart Tokaev,
Secretary of State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan
In the interview with Izvestia-Kazakhstan newspaper (#76 (621), April 28, 2003, given excerpted), Mr. Tokaev talks about his views on the new world order after the war against Iraq and Kazakhstan's foreign policy in the new circumstances. He comments on Kazakhstan's business dealings with the U.S. and the West, as well as China, and the ongoing democratic reforms inside the country.
Mr. Tokaev has been the Secretary of State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan since January 2002. Prior to that, he served as Prime Minister for 2.5 years, and before that he was the Foreign Minister for 5 years. He is the author of several books on foreign policy, including most recently of "Overcoming", a personal and conversational account of the coming of age of
Kazakhstan's young diplomacy.
Q: Would you agree that after March 20 and the U.S.
attack on Iraq without the UN Security Council
resolution the world history entered into a new era?
Don't you think that "the right of one" will be used
in the future to solve important issues in the
international politics without the majority support?
Tokaev: The victory of the anti-Iraq coalition laid
the foundation of a new world order, in which the
United States will dominate. This is a reality, and it
needs to be reckoned with. The issue of whether or not
there was a UN resolution is disputable. For the past
decade quite a few resolutions were adopted. The
provisions of some of them envisage the use of force
against Iraq.
It is very important that the Security Council did
not reach a stage where the veto powers might have
been used. If they were, the UN would have been in an
even more awkward situation than now. At the same time
it is a pity that this universal organization failed
to find an acceptable solution to the Iraqi problem.
This leads to conclusion about the need to reform the
United Nations.
Still, there is no alternative to the UN. It still
represents the entire palette of views and positions
existent in the international community. Kazakhstan,
as a country of regional scope, must support the UN,
thus speaking for building a multipolar world.
Q: Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the
world has basically become unipolar. Russia on its own
no longer has the influence it had in the Soviet
times. Other republics have even less ground to claim
a special role in the modern world order. The entire
world, except perhaps the U.S., is turning its hopes
toward China that has the potential to become one of
the poles. Do you believe China will be able to use
this historic chance?
Tokaev: China also stands for the multipolar world.
Li Zhaoxing, the Chinese Foreign Minister, said this
clearly during his recent visit to Kazakhstan. One can
draw a conclusion then that this country does not
claim a special position in the world. Yet, this is
true for now. For China has been developing very
rapidly for the past decade. It has already quadrupled
its GDP, and the party's last congress set yet another
ambitious goal to raise the GDP by another quarter
by 2020. If the Chinese are successful in that, and
there are all the prerequisites for that, the
geopolitical situation will change dramatically.
As far as I am aware, the Chinese leaders
themselves admit U.S. leadership in terms of economy.
They keep repeating that China is still a poor
country. This explains the "calm" behavior of this
country during the Iraq conflict. China, as it is
known, has expressed its opposition to the U.S.
military actions, but did not take part in
anti-American alliances. At the same time it is
important to realize that China is a special country
which is strong due to its statehood and people. Usual
criteria, such as GDP per capita ratio, do not fit
China. Patriarch of the world's diplomacy Henry
Kissinger underscored the specifics of that country:
"The sense of time in China is completely different
from that in America. When an American is asked to
name a historic event, he refers to a certain date in
the calendar; when the Chinese describe their history,
they divide it by dynasties, and every dynasty lasted
longer than the entire history of the U.S."
Q: Is it true that the Chinese oil company has
received a proposal to expand its activity in
Kazakhstan in light of the expected exodus of American
and some other Western investors from Kazakhstan? How
would you assess the current trade and economic ties
with our closest neighbor and their prospects?
Tokaev: We do not expect the exodus of American and
other Western investors from the oil and gas sector.
At any rate, Kazakhstan is not interested in that. We
believe it is necessary to attract even larger amounts
of foreign investments. At the same time China did
express readiness to participate in Agip KCO
[developing offshore Kashagan field] and in developing
the Caspian offshore resources. This speaks once again
about its farfetched plans based on a successfully
developing economy. As far as the bilateral
cooperation with China is concerned, we view
positively its prospects and believe this cooperation
needs to be strengthened further.
Q: Do you believe that Kazakhstan will have to
renounce its multidimensional policy under the new
circumstances and to choose between Russia, China and
the U.S.? Does the regional integration to which
Kazakhstan presently aspires, for example within the
Eurasian Economic Community, not run contrary to the
idea of multidimensional policies?
Tokaev: Kazakhstan, because of its geopolitical
position, will not be able to renounce the balanced
foreign policy. Obviously, to conduct a one-dimension
policy would have been easier than to constantly
search for a balance between the interests of large
powers defending our own national interests. This is
why I never tire to stress that the foreign policy for
Kazakhstan is the ultimate priority. It is another
matter that successes in diplomacy are usually
determined by the situation inside the country. The
situation in that area is far from unequivocal. The
achievements in economy are evident, but the order of
the day now is the decisive democratic reforms, for
which our society is ready. This is why President
Nursultan Nazarbayev in his address to the parliament
has devoted special attention to this very issue. I
agree with him that political reforms need to be based
on achievements in economy. Otherwise, we may face the
collapse and complete destabilization.
* * *
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
