In this issue:
Kazakhstan Army Engineers Destroy 30,000 Explosive Devices in Iraq
Kazakhstan Seeks 4-5% of Global Energy Market
President Thanks Farmers For Record Harvest, 17 Million Tons of Grain
Government Forecasts 7% GDP Growth in 2004, Seeks Budget Increases in Social Expenditure
SAY IT IN KAZAKH:
Friend -- Dos
Oil -- Munai
Kazakhstan Army Engineers Destroy 30,000 Explosive Devices in Iraq
Military engineers from Kazakhstan destroyed 30,000 explosive devices in eastern Iraq in just under a month of their operations there as part of the multinational division under Polish command, Kazakhstan defense officials said on September 26 in Almaty.
The munitions destroyed by the Kazakh military engineers included 1,542 unexploded shells, 804 anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, 14 rockets of various types and 13 air bombs, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Army General Mukhtar Altynbayev, Kazakhstan's defense minister, told the press in Almaty on September 26, "our peacekeepers are working at full capacity and are in good spirits".
According to Interfax News Agency, the General said Kazakhstan's peacekeepers are in Iraq "to help, not to fight". People ask them to dispose of ammunition that remains from the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, as well as from the recent U.S.-led campaign, he added.
This is the first time Kazakhstan's military was sent abroad on such a mission. Since the September 11th terrorist attacks, Kazakhstan has supported the U.S.-led war on terror and provided assistance in Afghanistan as well as Iraq.
Kazakhstan Seeks 4-5% of Global Energy Market
Uzakbai Karabalin, President of Kazmunaigaz national oil company, said to reporters in Astana on September 30 that Kazakhstan intends to expand its share of the global energy market from the current 1.2% to 4-5% within the next decade.
Earlier this year Kazakhstan began implementing the ambitious Caspian offshore development program, which provides for the expansion of oil production from the current 1 million barrels a day to 3.5 million by 2015. By implementing this program, Kazakhstan in 10-15 years time will find its niche in the world market by exporting significant volumes of crude and being able to influence the price, Mr. Karabalin said.
Kazakhstan's Caspian sector is believed to contain up to 60 percent of the sea's recoverable oil reserves. Just last year, an international consortium announced the commercial discovery of 7 to 9 billion barrels at Kashagan field in Kazakhstan's sector of the sea.
According to the web-based magazine Oil of Russia, Mr Karabalin said under a governmental regulation Kazmunaigaz has the right to at least a 50% share in all new offshore projects. Under legislation, the national company also has the privilege to obtain the right to explore Caspian offshore fields through direct negotiations with the government, rather than going through a bidding process. Kazakhstan's Caspian offshore program provides for opening up to 120 new offshore blocks for exploration and development.
"The question is, do we need to get more than a half of all fields and use our privilege in every case," said Mr. Karabalin, a professional oilman with 30 years of experience. "This question is more commercial and economical. We need to assess our capabilities, including financial ones." He added Kazmunaigaz receives many business proposals from foreign companies.
Under the Caspian offshore program, Kazakhstan will require an investment of US$6 billion in 2003-2005, US$10 billion in 2006-2010, and US$15.6 billion in 2011-2015. As much as 5 percent of these amounts will be spent on geological studies, according to Mr. Karabalin.
Kazakhstan has seen a consistent increase of growth in oil and gas production at 10-12 percent for the past 5 years annually, and is increasingly regarded as an important energy supplier for the world.
Record Harvest, 17 Million Tons of Grain
President Thanks Farmers, Says Private Land Ownership Supports Progress
President Nursultan Nazarbayev applauded the nation's farmers on October 2 for breaking the record of 17 million tons of harvested grain again this year. He said the recent introduction of private land ownership creates favorable conditions for future growth.
The President said despite some inclement weather farmers have also managed to bring in good harvests of cotton, vegetables and other crops across Kazakhstan.
"This success is a clear result of your hard labor," the President said in his address to farmers. "It also confirms that we have been moving rightly with economic reforms in agriculture and with the introduction of the private land ownership."
The grain toll may actually be higher. The President said, "the tally is not final. The harvest continues."
Kazakhstan "has created such conditions that allow farmers to earn good money for their good work and to spend them on improving their well being and expanding their farms," he explained.
Forty-four percent of Kazakhstan's population live in the rural areas. This is the first harvest of a three-year program promoting intensive agricultural development.
Government Forecasts 7% GDP Growth in 2004, Seeks Budget Increases in Social Expenditure
Kairat Kelimbetov, the Economy and Budget Planning Minister, presented Astana's draft 2004 budget to the Majilis (lower house of Parliament) Finance and Budget Committee on October 2. It shows the Kazakhstan economy is expected to grow by 7 percent next year.
Despite the effects of ongoing tax cuts, including those on value-added taxes, personal income taxes and corporate social taxes, the Government still expects revenues to grow by 152 billion tenge ($1=147 tenge) to 862 billion tenge. Expenditures will also rise to 954.8 billion, which will leave the budget deficit at 93.7 billion tenge, which is less than 2% of the gross domestic product.
A third of expenditures, 315.7 billion tenge, has been earmarked for social services, which reflects with the President's priorities for the support of education, healthcare and social security system. Rural areas will get 62 billion tenge, including 15 billion for the construction of schools, hospitals and roads, the Minister said.
According to Khabar news agency, the Government calculated budget revenues based on the expected price of 16 dollar per barrel of oil. Oil is the "locomotive" of Kazakhstan's economy, the Minister said earlier in a recent interview with The Washington Times. While oil and gas production accounts for an amount roughly equal to agriculture, 8 percent of GDP, and 25% of tax revenues, because of its multiplying effects, such as generating demand, significant export revenues and bringing foreign direct investment, its cumulative contribution to the GDP may be estimated as high as 47 percent.
Kazakhstan's economy has been growing at an average annual rate of 10 percent since 2000. Both the United States and the European Union recognize Kazakhstan as a market-economy country.
Things to Watch:
- Runoff elections for maslikhats (local councils) are on October 12.
- Kazakhstan's film industry shows its best as first film festival since independence opens in Almaty October 2 and runs for two weeks.
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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
