In this issue:
Military Engineers from Kazakhstan Deploy to Iraq, Clean Drinking Water and Freedom from Mines Are Goals
President Condemns Terrorist Attack on Baghdad UN HQ
Mortgages Should Be Accessible for More People, Says PM
SAY IT IN KAZAKH:
My name is - Menym atym [Meh-nym ah-tym]
Soldier - Asker [As-keer]
Military Engineers from Kazakhstan Deploy to Iraq, Clean Drinking Water and Freedom from Mines Are Goals
In the gathering dusk on August 19 and again
the next night, a 27-strong team of army
engineers from Kazakhstan left for Iraq where
they will work on mine removal and provision
of drinkable water in central Iraq.
Speaking at the farewell ceremony at the
Almaty international airport on August 19,
Kazakhstan's Defense Minister Army
Gen. Mukhtar Altynbayev said the team would
"work in areas of operations of the Polish
division." The troops flew from Almaty to Kuwait in aircraft supplied by the United States.
"After their arrival to Kuwait, they will reassemble their equipment and will move into the designated area," the General noted. The team is expected to work in Iraq as part of the international stabilization forces for a period of six months, according to Khabar news agency.
Kazakhstan, the country that voluntarily renounced the fourth largest nuclear arsenal in the world in the early 1990s, has supported the U.S.-led operations to bring democracy to Iraq, and rebuild that country. Kazakhstan has also been a strong ally in the global war on terror, providing free overflight rights for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The Almaty airport has been made available in emergencies to the United States. Kazakhstan is one of the very few Muslim-majority states who are sending troops to Iraq in support of the post-war effort.
Earlier this week, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN) visited Almaty and expressed gratitude to Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev for his country's support of the United States in the global war on terror.
President Condemns Terrorist Attack on Baghdad UN HQ
The dispatch of troops from Kazakhstan to Iraq coincided with the terrorist attacks against the UN headquarters in Baghdad, in which at least 20 people died and scores more were wounded.
President Nazarbayev sent his condolences to the families of the UN personnel who perished in the attack, including Secretary General's Special Representative in Iraq Sergio Vieire de Mello.
"This barbarian act directed against the people who dedicated themselves to providing humanitarian assistance and to work for post-conflict reconstruction of Iraq clearly demonstrates that terrorism is the evil that seeks to destroy the foundations of the global community," President Nazarbayev said in a telegram to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. "This tragedy means that we all need to take coordinated actions to fight terrorism."
Mortgages Should Be Accessible for More People, Says PM
Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov has called for a more accessible mortgage market to help Kazakhstan's families own their own homes.
He spoke at the August 20 Cabinet meeting in Astana after hearing the finding of an expert task force which was commissioned to find ways to improve the loan system for housing construction. Kazakhs like all other people want to own their own homes.
The home mortgage industry has seen a small boom recently. The system was created several years ago, and the National Bank established the Kazakhstan Mortgage Company. In a July interview with the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper, National Bank Chairman Grigori Marchenko said that by May 2003 credits for construction and purchase of real estate from that company reached 9.2 billion tenge. (Approx. 63 million dollars).
Current mortgage rates at various banks in Kazakhstan, starting at a low point of 13.5 percent, remain too high for many working people, experts believe. Another problem limiting the market, particularly for many middle-income people, is the fact that the Kazakhstan Mortgage Company does not distinguish yet between new housing and existing housing. Cumbersome registration procedures also remain a factor.
The growth of the population of the past year exceeds housing construction. Yet, there are many indicators that many people have enough money to build or buy their own housing, provided they have access to cheap loans.
Things to Watch:
- On August 20, Kazakhstan's soccer team played in a friendly match against the Portuguese national team. They lost 1-0. This is the first year of Kazakhstan's playing soccer in the European soccer system after their transfer from the Asian Federation in 2002.
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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 person: Roman Vassilenko
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
