In this issue:
Kazakhstan's Parliament OKs Sending Troops to Iraq
Colorado Gov. Owens Seeks New Business Opportunities in Kazakhstan
President Nazarbayev Approves New Caspian Offshore Development Program
Businesswomen to Get Government Support
Kazakhstan's Parliament OKs Sending Troops to Iraq
Kazakhstan will shortly send its peacekeepers to join the Iraq Stabilization Force following the overwhelming approval of such a move by the country's Parliament on May 30.
The vote was prompted by the earlier request from President Nursultan Nazarbayev. At the Parliament's joint session, thirty senators voted in favor of sending the troops, and only 1 voted against. On the Majilis side, 59 out of 77 members supported the President's request.
"The U.S. Administration has asked us to send a Kazakhstan unit to join the coalition's Stabilization Force," said the presidential message to the Parliament, as read out by Defense Minister Mukhtar Altynbayev.
"Kazakhstan's participation in the peaceful rebuilding of Iraq is fully consistent with the activities of our country aimed at providing and consolidating regional and international security, and will be welcomed by the international community," the President said.
Gen. Altynbayev said the 25-strong unit would carry out three specific tasks: provision of water supplies, mine cleaning operations and logistic support.
Earlier, President George W. Bush sent a letter to President Nazarbayev, thanking Kazakhstan for its support.
The United States are "grateful for Kazakhstan's continued assistance in the war on terror. We also deeply appreciate Kazakhstan's political support on Iraq, and your willingness to participate in Iraq's reconstruction," President Bush said.
"Your decision to contribute troops to an Iraq Stabilization Force is of historic significance, as it will be the first time an independent Kazakhstan deploys military forces abroad," he noted.
Colorado Gov. Owens Seeks New Business Opportunities in Kazakhstan
Colorado Governor Bill Owens, who is also the Chairman of the Republican Governors' Association, visited Kazakhstan May 23-27 seeking to expand business and political ties with the republic through a series of high-level official meetings and a speech to the Kazakhstan's Senate.
In his address to the senators in Astana on May 26, Gov. Owens said he was proud "that strong companies from Colorado have become partners with Kazakhstan in the oil and natural gas industries", and pledged to ensure that those "business ties grow and prosper and that we find more opportunities to deepen our friendship."
"Kazakhstan is perhaps the best example in central Asia that free people and free markets are the best engines of progress," Gov. Owens said. "Kazakhstan's tremendous economic growth that followed your economic reforms shows the wisdom of embracing a market economy."
He urged the country's leaders to continue with their plans for similarly daring political reforms, noting that "President Nazarbayev's desire for strong and deep education reform is a key step in empowering your people and expanding your economy."
Referring to the interethnic and interreligious tolerance enjoyed in Kazakhstan, Gov. Owens said he respected and admired "the spirit of the many diverse peoples" of the republic.
"As two great nations - Kazakhstan and America - move into this new century of great hope and promise, we will be committed to solidifying a bond, a partnership of greatness worthy of the hopes, aspirations and dreams of our two peoples," he declared.
Gov. Owens met with Prime Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov, Senate Chairman Oralbai Abdykarimov and other officials and business leaders. At their meeting, Mr. Tasmagambetov said Kazakhstan and the United States are strategic partners, and largest American companies participate in exploring largest oil projects in the republic.
President Nazarbayev Approves Caspian Offshore Development Program
President Nursultan Nazarbayev approved the state program on the development of the Kazakhstan's sector of the Caspian shelf, which aims to triple the oil production to 150 million tons annually by 2015, the energy ministry announced in a news release on June 2.
"The program divides the development of the Caspian shelf into three stages," Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Vladimir Shkolnik told reporters on June 2. "The first one until 2005 will focus on preparations of tender documentation, and of economic, geological and tax models for various structures. During the second stage, from 2005 to 2010, the tenders will be conducted and the development will begin. During the third stage, from 2010 to 2015, additional exploration will be conducted while the development will be pursued further."
At the end of the third stage, Kazakhstan "should reach a kind of plateau in its annual production volumes at a level of 150 million tons," Mr. Shkolnik said.
Among the positives of the new program beyond increased budget revenues, the energy minister outlined the creation of new jobs, infrastructure and service industries development, as well as new growth opportunities for many technological institutes.
Businesswomen to Get Support
The Government plans to allocate up to 150 million tenge ($1=151 tenge) in soft credits and other types of financial assistance this year to support female small business entrepreneurs, the National Commission on Women's Affairs officials said at the May 30 roundtable discussion in Astana.
The move comes on the heels of the last year's productive investment, when 57, or nearly all, state-supported women-run projects turned up profits. Food production and pharmaceuticals turned out to be the two areas in which women tend to work the most.
The state small business support fund intends to continue working directly with businesswomen to facilitate financial and other assistance, officials said.
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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
