In this issue:
Government, Kazakhstan's NGOs Meet in Astana, Pledge to Work Together
New Highway Linking New and Old Capitals Opens, Helps Maximize Kazakhstan's Transit Potential
Kazakhstan Will Seek WTO Membership in 2005
SAY IT IN KAZAKH:
Village --- Auyl [Ah-uh-yl]
Government, Kazakhstan's NGOs Meet in Astana, Pledge to Work Together
Men and women from dozens of non-government organizations (NGOs), members of Parliament and senior government officials met in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on October 15 for the first Civil Forum in the country's history to discuss ways to step up their cooperation as the country surges forward with democratic and economic development.
Before independence, NGOs were almost unknown in Kazakhstan. Today they have become an important part of the country's society.
Almost 200 delegates from across the country gathered in the capital. Broad-ranging discussions were held and a call was issued for the creation of "a new model of relations between the state authorities and non-government organizations that will provide mechanisms for back and forth communications between the state and the civil society".
Today, there are about 4,500 NGOs in Kazakhstan. Their growth has been phenomenal during the dozen years since independence. Around 200,000 people work in NGOs both full-time, and part-time and on a volunteer basis. NGOs provide important services in healthcare, education, environment protection, women's issues and introducing the political process to Kazakhstan's 15 million people.
Observers from foreign missions and international organizations took part in the Civil Forum which was preceded by a day of smaller meetings between NGOs and cabinet-level officials, including education, environment, and the national Human Rights Ombudsman.
Kairat Kunzhayev, a leader of a local NGO in Aktobe in Western Kazakhstan, said at the Civil Forum: "We face a difficult task of improving the lives of our farmers and restoring auyl [the traditional village]. We must pull together."
President Nursultan Nazarbayev addressed the forum and said the gathering moved the relationship between the government and NGOs "into a new stage. Our common goal is to ensure sustainable progress on the path of liberalization, building an economically strong, legal state and a developed civil society."
The President noted major reforms are on the way which will require stronger cooperation between the government and "the third estate". Among the planned reforms are expansion of the authority of local governments, liberalization of election legislation and an expansion of the number of government offices filled through elections, as well as the further humanization of the criminal justice system.
The President singled out several specific steps to ensure better conditions for NGOs and encourage their cooperation with the government, including the adoption of a new law which will establish mechanisms for competitive government financing of NGOs. In the future Kazakhstan will also consider gradually transferring a number of social functions from the government to NGOs as part of the continuing democratic change.
The President called for making the dialogue between the government and NGOs a fixture on the nation's schedule.
Evgeni Zhovtis, director of Kazakhstan's International Bureau on Human Rights and the Rule Law, welcomed the dialogue, saying: "Many laws that concern the civil society or human rights stem from within the society, from within the Parliament, but the Government drafts them." He explained that the Government needs better communication to move forward.
An example of dialogue's impact was the fate of proposed legislation governing NGOs. Speaking at the Civil Forum, President Nazarbayev said, "That bill raised issues in our society. The fuzziness of its provisions could have led to subjective treatment. Meeting with NGOs I understood their reservations and decided to revoke it. I believe it was a right decision."
The President thanked "foreign partners and friends for their active support of Kazakhstan's NGOs" and proposed replicating foreign experience in establishing a wide-ranging national information resource center, facilitating the flow of information to and from NGOs.
He acknowledged, "A difficult task is ahead of us. Compared to many countries, where democracy was formed on the basis of the already developed civil society, we simultaneously build democracy, the civil society and the nation."
In a joint declaration, the Civil Forum called on all the country's NGOs "to engage actively in social programs of fighting poverty, drug abuse, and crime, of development of rural territories, environment protection, raising the legal and political awareness of the people, as well as in the promotion a healthy way of life."
As the meeting closed, President Nazarbayev noted: "Even the most ardent skeptic recognizes positive changes that take place in economic and political spheres."
New Highway Linking New and Old Capitals Opens, Helps Maximize Kazakhstan's Transit Potential
In a scene that most American politicians would find familiar, President Nursultan Nazarbayev dedicated a newly refurbished highway between the new capital at Astana and the old capital at Almaty on October 13.
The highway, running almost 800 miles through four of Kazakhstan's 14 regions, was cited by the President as both a source of construction jobs and a sure sign that Kazakhstan's transportation infrastructure is developing at a rapid pace.
During Soviet days, very little road maintenance was done.
"The roads were ignored for 40 years," the President said, "but today Kazakhstan has the resources and the need to restore its highway network."
Today in Kazakhstan most commercial traffic is surface traffic, rail and road. The new highway, built over 6 years, represents a significant commitment to improving the standards.
Only the good highways will help Kazakhstan maximize its transit potential, the President said.
Kazakhstan Will Seek WTO Membership in 2005
Adilbek Dzhaksybekov, Minister of Industry and Trade, told Parliament in Astana on October 13 Kazakhstan plans to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2005.
"Joining the WTO is a necessary step for our nation," the Minister said, according to a report by Kazinform news agency.
"Advantages of joining the WTO are irrefutable. This will lead to improving the Kazakhstan's foreign investment image and give Kazakhstan a right to defend its interests in foreign trade as a WTO member."
Kazakhstan would join the WTO at the same time as Russia, Minister Dzhaksybekov noted, because the two are major trading partners.
"We could have joined next month provided we accept all the conditions of the members of working group. But those conditions are not all acceptable," he said.
He said the government's goal in to join the WTO within the next two years, "at least in 2005".
There are 66 nations in Kazakhstan's working group, and Kazakhstan negotiates actively with 36 of them.
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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
