In this issue:
Four Countries Edge Closer To Free Trade Zone
Kazakhstan Calls for Strengthening Commonwealth
Tokaev Says Election Will Showcase “Progress to Democracy”…
…And Calls Cooperation with OSCE “Priority for Kazakhstan”
U.S. Willing to Help Kazakhstan Become OSCE Chair in 2009
U.S. Says Kazakhstan “Leader” in Promoting Religious Amity
Kazakh Cops Strike Gold in Las Vegas
Election This Sunday
Say it in Kazakh:
Free trade zone --- Yerkin Sauda Aimaghy [Yer-KIN Sau-DAH Ai-ma-GHY]
Security Council --- Kauypsizdik Kenesi [Kau-yp-siz-DIK Ke-ne-SYH]
Russia --- Resei [Reah-SAY]
USA --- Amerika Kurama Shtattary [Ah-MEE-ri-kah Ku-ra-MAH –Shtat-tah-RYH]
Four Countries Edge Closer To Free Trade Zone
Leaders of the four countries which make up the Single Economic Space (SES), Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine, met in Astana on September 15 to move their countries closer to an ultimate goal of creating a free trade zone between them.
The Presidents, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus and Leonid Kuchma of the Ukraine, approved a list of 29 agreements the four countries will need to sign to create a free trade zone.
The SES was created in the spring of 2004 when four countries’ parliaments ratified treaties founding it.
Following the summit meeting at the presidential residence in Astana, President Nazarbayev said during a news conference: “By July 1, 2005, the actual documents must be ready. Negotiations over them and their signing should take place within the next three years.”
The 29 agreements deal with a broad spectrum of economic regulations including taxation, customs, and competition policies.
SES leaders believe there are numerous reasons why the integration of these four countries can succeed and do it faster than the European processes spanning several decades. “The four countries had in the past and continue to have today a single transportation network, a single electricity system and a single food market; finally, they use a single language,” President Nazarbayev explained. He believes “no other integration bloc in the world can boast such advantages.”
He noted the four countries will need to “take into account past experience and get everything in order” for the new system to function at this new level. He added conditions are also there for the SES countries to have a single financial system in 10 to 12 years.
The summit ended with several specific agreements aimed at promoting intraregional trade, joint space exploration and easier travel amongst them within the next few months.
Initially, as of January 1, 2005, the countries will switch to withholding value-added taxes on the country of destination principle. This has since long been a major issue of contention since some countries are losing more than they gain from such a change. Still, a compromise was found and the four countries signed relevant agreements yesterday.
The four presidents also instructed their governments to come up with concrete proposals to create a joint corporation for space exploration and rocket construction. They feel there is added value in combining their assets, including Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome, Belarus’ optics technologies, the Ukraine’s rocket building potential, and last but not least, Russia’s enormous space exploration potential, infrastructure and experience.
To promote business and travel, the presidents instructed their governments to create agreements which would simplify procedures for movement of individuals across the borders of the SES states. That agreement needs to be ready by the end of 2004.
Finally, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine pledged their help to the people of the North Ossetian town of Beslan, the scene of the most recent and deadliest terrorist attack in Russia. They will jointly build either a school or a medical center in Beslan.
Kazakhstan Calls for Strengthening Commonwealth
Kazakhstan has proposed to strengthen the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose group of 12 republics of the former Soviet Union, in a bid to make the group more efficient at countering threats of terrorism and other modern challenges.
Speaking at the CIS summit in Astana on September 16, President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed the establishment of a CIS Security Council which would include ministers of foreign affairs and defense, as well as law enforcement agencies. Under his proposal, the Foreign Ministers will chair the council.
Tokaev Says Election Will Showcase “Progress to Democracy”…
Kassymzhomart Tokaev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, said the upcoming September 19 Parliamentary election will showcase “a steady and gradual progress towards democracy.”
Speaking at a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, Austria, on September 9, Minister Tokaev called the election not “a final point”, but “rather an initial stage” of continuing democratic progress in Kazakhstan. (In a related story, the Foreign Ministry announced on September 16 there will be more than 1,000 foreign observers for the election from OSCE, CIS and 44 countries in total.)
The Minister explained the two stage reforms proposed by the President of Kazakhstan last June will be carried out over the next several years.
He said within two years the country’s administrative system will be decentralized, giving more authority to local and municipal governments, agencies, as well as local assemblies. Mayors and governors of cities and districts including those who are in rural areas will be elected by these local assemblies. The role and status of the National Parliament will be also significantly strengthened. All of the Ministers, before being appointed by the President, will require Parliamentary approval. As before, the Prime Minister will be appointed only after the consent of Parliament. The Parliament will also gain direct control over budgetary expenditures.
The second stage of the reforms will include the introduction of a proportional voting system, designed to give political parties an opportunity for wider representation in Parliament. The Minister explained “fifty percent of the seats in the Parliament will belong to the political parties.” Currently, 10 out of 77 seats in the Majilis, the lower house of Parliament, are filled by candidates from political parties based on their portion of the national vote.
According to the Minister, “in the future a political party in the majority will play a crucial role in forming the government, and nominating its candidate for the Prime Minister.”
These reforms will mean the next parliamentary elections, in 2009, will be held under a set of completely new political rules.
Minister Tokaev believes by that time “the country will have a new image, more democratic and open to international cooperation. In a broader sense, Kazakhstan will be totally transformed and will change the political landscape in the region.”
… And Calls Cooperation with OSCE “Priority for Kazakhstan”
Speaking at the same meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on September 9, Foreign Minister Kassymzhomart Tokaev stressed “cooperation with the OSCE has always been a priority for Kazakhstan” and underscored his country’s “unconditional adherence to all obligations within the OSCE.”
He said: “We in Kazakhstan have never been doubtful about the OSCE as the major organization instrumental in promoting liberal reforms and democracy in my country.”
Minister Tokaev said Kazakhstan is committed to continuing its work toward election as chair of the OSCE in 2009.
He stressed “we are very much hopeful that our bid will be properly understood by the OSCE member states and obtain a general consensus”.
Kazakhstan is “not overestimating its political potential and international record but wishes to contribute to the OSCE as one of the major Central Asian countries”, the Foreign Minister said.
The people in Kazakhstan understand fully “it is a challenge first of all to our country.” Nevertheless, Kazakhstan is “ready to address it, continuing political and economic reforms.”
U.S. Willing to Help Kazakhstan Become OSCE Chair in 2009
The United States would be pleased to see Kazakhstan become a viable candidate to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2009 and is ready to help it toward that goal, U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Stephan Minikes said.
Ambassador Minikes said chairmanship of the organization “must be held by a nation that has demonstrated leadership in implementing all the commitments undertaken by participating States,” adding he hoped Kazakhstan would be able to demonstrate such leadership well before December 2006 when the OSCE elects its new chair for 2009.
He said Kazakhstan “has made important strides this past year” toward meeting its OSCE commitments, including improvement in the human rights situation, election reform and strengthening the rule of law. He credited the OSCE Center in Almaty with playing an important role in Kazakhstan’s continuing transition to democracy.
The U.S. envoy spoke during a session of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on September 9, after a presentation by Foreign Minister Kassymzhomart Tokaev of Kazakhstan.
U.S. Says Kazakhstan “Leader” in Promoting Religious Amity
The U.S. Department of State said Kazakhstan “has emerged as the leader in the former Soviet Union for its encouragement of religious tolerance and its respect for the rights of religious minorities.”
In its annual International Religious Freedom Report 2004, released September 15, the Department said “President (Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan) continued his “Peace and Harmony” initiative in September 2003, hosting the Congress of World Religions in Astana. Delegations of more than a dozen international religious delegations were invited and attended.”
The State Department noted, “The overall status of religious freedom improved during the period covered by this report.”
According to the report, “The Constitution (of Kazakhstan) provides for freedom of religion, and the various religious communities worship largely without government interference. Although local officials attempt on occasion to limit the practice of religion by some nontraditional groups, such attempts are usually corrected upon the intervention of higher-level officials or courts.”
Kazakhstan’s Government made “further efforts” to promote religious tolerance in its ranks. The reported notes, “The Ministry of Internal Affairs, for instance, invited the country’s Chief Rabbi in April to give seminars to its police officers on sensitivity to religious minorities.”
The report concluded that “generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious freedom.”
Kazakh Cops Strike Gold in Las Vegas
Serik Nurgaliev and Askar Zhandarov, police officers from Astana and the southern city of Shymkent, struck gold during the recent International Police and Fire Games in Las Vegas.
Officer Nurgaliev won two gold medals, one each for arm wrestling and powerlifting, and one silver medal in bench press. His fellow officer, Zhandarov, also won two gold medals in arm wrestling and free style wrestling.
There were almost 4,000 police athletes from almost 40 countries at the Games.
Election This Sunday
takes place this Sunday,
September 19, all across
Kazakhstan, but also
in the U.S.
Citizens of Kazakhstan,
residing in the United
States, can vote in the
election by coming
personally to the
Embassy on Election
Day from 7.00 a.m.
to 8.00 p.m.
To be able to vote,
citizens will need to
have a valid passport of
the Republic of
Kazakhstan.
At right: Kadisha Dairova (left), member of the local election commission, explains election
procedures to an Embassy staff on the lawn of the mission in Washington, DC.
Things to Watch:
- Article 98 agreement update: Kazakhstan’s Senate has approved the agreement with the United States to extend the protections of Article 98 of International Criminal Court founding charter.
- President Nazarbayev will visit the neighboring Xingjian province of China on September 24 and 25 to discuss regional trade and investment, including creation of a special cross-border cooperation center, construction of an oil pipeline and a narrow-gauge railroad between the two countries. The two countries are working to expand annual bilateral trade from US$3 billion to US$5 billion over the next few years.
- The National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Astana opens its 5th season on September 22 with an opera, Werther, by French composer Jules Massenet based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther.
________________________________________________________________________________
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
