Kazakhstan News Bulletin Released weekly by the Embassy of The Republic of Kazakhstan
______________________________
Vol. 3, No. 38, September 20, 2001
Politics
·
The Washington Times publishes President Nazarbayev's statement
·Parliament of Kazakhstan expresses its readiness to fight terrorism
·Senator Brownback calls for strengthening ties with Central Asia
·Shanghai Cooperation Organization premiers pledge economic, anti-terrorism cooperation
·Kazakhstan strengthens security prior the visit of Pope John Paul II
Economy
·Minister of Energy tells US not to let terrorists dissuade them from foreign oil
·Government outlines macroeconomic targets
·Oil products output, exports up after eight months
·Eight-month industrial output up 14.1%
POLITICS
President Nazarbayev visits U.S. Embassy to sign a book of condolences
On Saturday September 15 President Nazarbayev visited the U.S. Embassy in Almaty, where he personally expressed the condolences on behalf of the Kazakhstan people to the newly appointed U.S. Ambassador Larry Napper and signed a book of condolences.
Speaking in the Embassy, President Nazarbayev came out with the strongest statement of support to the United States in the wake of the terrorist acts of Sept. 11, stressing that "the terrorists must be punished, along with those harboring the terrorists. The United Nations and its Security Council have condemned the barbaric act of terrorism and called upon the world community to take resolute actions. Kazakhstan is ready to support the measures undertaken by the United States to fight against terrorism, with all the means available".
The Washington Times publishes President Nazarbayev statement
On Tuesday September 18, 2001, The Washington Times carried the letter from President Nursultan Nazarbayev in support of the United States. In it Mr. Nazarbayev stressed that "Kazakhstan is ready to support measures undertaken by the United States to fight terrorism with all means available" and "is ready to participate in the creation of an international coalition to fight international terrorism.
"Retaliation should be not only effective but just. We were pleased to learn that the United States wants to know with certainty who has perpetrated these terrible acts and who helped the terrorists before taking action. On Saturday, I wrote to President George W. Bush to express Kazakhstan's support for the U.S. actions aimed at fighting international terrorism. We hope that the American people will be able to quickly cope with the devastating psychological blow and remain committed to their great historical values", said the President.
Parliament of Kazakhstan expresses its readiness to fight terrorism
"As is the rest of the civilized community, we are filled with strong indignation at the inhumane terrorist acts that led to the death of innocent people, and, condemning these acts, we express our steadfast readiness to join efforts in fighting against the international terrorism", said Oralbai Abdykarimov, Chairman of the Senate of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, Chairman of Majilis of the Republic of Kazakhstan
To Stop Bin Laden, End Afghan War, Kazakh Says
On Friday Sept. 14, 2001, Reuters published an interview with Altynbek Sarsenbayev, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, who was visiting Washington for talks with the U.S. administration about strengthening security cooperation when the terrorist acts were carried out in New York and Washington.
To have any hope of wrecking Osama bin Laden's alleged network of terror cells, the United States must end Afghanistan's civil war, Mr. Sarsenbayev said on Friday. This was the same message the Central Asian state gave the United Nations two years ago, when it said the conflict between the hardline Taliban and its northern alliance enemies was a threat to international security, said the Kazakh official.
"If this attack was organized by bin Laden, then naturally he must be severely punished. Any other action will incite terrorists around the world,'' Sarsenbayev said. "But if bin Laden is punished and the war in Afghanistan is not stopped, another bin Laden will appear", he said.
In April, Nazarbayev told the United Nations a comprehensive approach was essential to end the war in Afghanistan, with involvement by many international institutions and countries. "It's crucial to destroy the international terrorist camps, make the Taliban stop the war, make the others disarm, start a peace process, and then hold elections in the country and put a legitimate government in place,"' said Sarsenbayev.
Ambassador Napper presents his credentials to President Nazarbayev
On Wednesday Sept. 19, 2001 Ambassador Larry Napper presented his letters of credence to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, officially becoming the top-ranking U.S. representative in Kazakhstan. Speaking afterwards, Ambassador Napper stressed that the two countries intend to maintain friendly relations in all areas, particularly in the fight against international terrorism. The U.S. diplomat expressed his gratefulness to the people of Kazakhstan for their thoughts and support of his country in these difficult days.
Senator Brownback calls for strengthening ties with Central Asia
On September 14 and 19 Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) spoke in Congress and on CNN regarding recent tragic events. Speaking about the U.S. policies toward Central Asia he mentioned that the U.S. "need to look to nations such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan".
"If these nations want to work with the United States, we ought to work with them. It, in many ways, will help strengthen our standing and our relationship with many of these nations", stated Sen. Brownback.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization premiers pledge economic, anti-terrorism cooperation
The Prime ministers of Kazakhstan, China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, all member-states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, signed a memorandum on increasing cooperation in economic policy, foreign trade and investment after meeting in Almaty on September 14. The SCO was founded on the basis of the so-called Shanghai five, a grouping formed in 1996 to deal with border and security issues along the former Sino-Soviet border. It was re-established as the SCO when Uzbekistan joined the organization last June.
The Prime Ministers of the SCO also signed a joined statement denouncing the terrorist attacks on the United States and pledging "close coordination with all states and international organizations to take effective measures in the uncompromising struggle to uproot the global danger coming from terrorism".
Kazakhstan strengthens security prior the visit of Pope John Paul II
Kazakhstan is mobilizing more than 2,400 internal troops and police officers to protect Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II during his upcoming visit to the republic, which begins September 22, Reuters and other agencies reported. Kazakhstan officials say the unprecedented measures are to ensure the Pope's security during his stay in Astana in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in the United States and given Kazakhstan's proximity to Afghanistan and other areas of Islamic fundamentalist unrest.
The Pope's visit to Kazakhstan, like his visit to Syria earlier this year, is intended in part to promote Muslim-Christian dialog. Of the 15 million people in Kazakhstan, some 8 million are Muslims and 6 million are Orthodox Christians, with Catholic community of 360,000, many of them from families deported to Central Asia in the Stalinist years.
"There wasn't a debate on whether the pope should go, although the security issue was raised," papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said this week. "The decision was left to John Paul."
ECONOMY
Minister of Energy tells US not to let terrorists dissuade them from foreign oil
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan Vladimir Shkolnik was in Washington last week to meet with government officials and representatives from major US oil companies to discuss development in the republic's oil sector, Reuters reported. After the tragic terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, Shkolnik urged the US not to retreat from developing oil producers such as Kazakhstan. "The United States should not retreat from the regions (of the world) where it has successful operations in terms of production of energy resources," Shkolnik said, referring to the Bush energy plan, which places emphasis on boosting US domestic oil production to reduce dependence on foreign producers. "We believe that the (oil) resources we have in the Caspian region will play a significant role in providing stability in the world energy markets," he added.
Government outlines macroeconomic targets
The government of Kazakhstan met on September 17 to discuss the economic targets for 2002, predicting continued growth amid tight monetary and spending policies. The government's draft 2002 budget foresees a built-in deficit of KZT 80.5 billion (USD 545 million), or 2.3% of GDP, roughly the same as this year. The government predicts 7% GDP growth, on top of projected 10.2% growth this year (and 9.6% growth in 2000). Inflation is expected to continue slowing, from 9.8% in 2000 to 6.8% this year to 6.5% in 2002. The tenge (national currency) exchange rate is expected to gradually sink from a predicted KZT 150.5/USD 1 at the end of this year to KZT 157.7 by the end of the year. The government based its economic calculations on projected world Brent crude prices of USD 26.5 per barrel this year and USD 24 in 2002. The Parliament of Kazakhstan has until December 15 to amend and adopt the budget bill.
Oil products output, exports up after eight months
Oil and gas companies in Kazakhstan produced 1.49 million tons of gasoline during the first eight months of 2001, 36% more than last year's eight-month output, the Oil Information Agency reported. Oil producers in Kazakhstan also boosted jet fuel production by 41% over January-August 2000 output to total 57.600 tons, while diesel fuel production rose by 16% to total 1,496 million tons; mazut output, which totaled 1.848 million tons, was up 28% during the reported period. According to the national Statistic Agency, oil products exports during the January-August 2001 period totaled 972.9 tons, a 40% increase over 2000 export volumes. As of the end of August the republic had imported 695,100 tons of oil products worth USD 177 MM, roughly the same as last year.
Eight-month industrial output up 14.1%
Eight-month industrial output in Kazakhstan was up 14.1% year-on-year after eight months of 2001, the national Statistics Agency announced on September 13. Industrial output rose 15.6% during the same period in 2000, the agency noted. The main factor in the production growth was increasing output in the resource extraction and processing sectors. The government has forecast a rise of 8% in industrial production for 2001 was a whole, down from 14.7% in 2000.
* * *
News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
(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
