Kazakhstan
News Bulletin
Released weekly by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
October 23, 2002 Vol. 4, No. 5
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In this issue:
Eurasian Council of Rabbis inaugurated in Kazakhstan
National Geographic uncovers plight of those affected by weapons of
mass destruction
President touts private ownership of farmland
GDP grows by 9% in Kazakhstan in first nine months of 2002
Foreign Investors Council engages in improving investment climate
Kazakhstan celebrates Republic Day on October 25
Eurasian Council of Rabbis inaugurated in Kazakhstan
Rabbis propose Nazarbayev lead "Judean-Muslim dialogue"
Rabbis from 15 countries arrived in Almaty on October 21 to inaugurate the creation of the Eurasian Council of Rabbis. Kazakhstan was selected as the site for the creation of the Eurasian Council of Rabbis because of its stability, location, and the interethnic and interreligious harmony in Kazakhstan, the organizers of the trip said. The rabbis came from countries of Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States, Baltic states and Asian and Pacific Rim countries.
On October 22 the delegation visited Astana to meet President Nazarbayev and officials from the Majilis, the People's Assembly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Information and Public Accord.
At their meeting with President Nazarbayev, the delegates proposed to him to lead the world's "Judean-Muslim dialogue" to improve relations between the Jewish religion and Islam and to show that terror and violence have nothing to do with Islam.
"President Nazarbayev is very influential in Muslim nations, and he has good relations in the Jewish world. This is a unique combination, and this is why the Council of Rabbis presented this idea to Nursultan Nazarbayev," Aleksandr Mashkevich, president of the Eurasian Jewish Congress explained the decision.
Kazakhstan is increasingly
seen as a model of peaceful
coexistence of people of numerous
religious and ethnic backgrounds.
"Kazakhstan can serve as an
ideal model for Central Asia and
other peoples in terms of peaceful
coexistence of the peoples and
tolerance towards all religions and
confessions," Rep. Robert Wexler
(D-FLA) said on a visit to Astana, the
capital of Kazakhstan, when he laid
President Nazarbayev visits Israel in 2001 the foundation for a new synagogue
in Astana at the groundbreaking
A Jewish center operates in Almaty, and 10 synagogues operate throughout the rest of Kazakhstan.
National Geographic uncovers plight of those affected by weapons of mass destruction
Says challenges to contain spread of WMD enormous
In a special report in its November 2002 issue, the National Geographic Magazine discusses the history and the future threats posed by the weapons of mass destruction to the world. To do this story, reporter Lewis Simons and photographer Lynn Johnson visited a number of countries, including numerous locations in Kazakhstan to meet with the people who had been working to produce such weapons and with those who had been used as guinea pigs in the process. In Kazakhstan, they visited the Semipalatinsk test site area, where the Soviet military carried out almost 500 nuclear explosions, and the city of Stepnogorsk, the site of the erstwhile world's largest anthrax production and weaponization facility.
"As Lynn and I traveled the world on this assignment, there were times when what we saw and heard became unbearable: the freakish human fetuses preserved in jars of formaldehyde in Kazakhstan; the Utah downwinder riddled with cancer; the middle-aged Russian brothers with the minds of infants," Mr. Simons wrote in the report.
"In Kazakhstan I interviewed a woman whose twins had been affected by radiation fallout, but I wasn't prepared for what I encountered. When I walked into her housewhich was little more than a shackthe terrible stench hit me in the face. Her 12-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, were completely incapacitated. The girl laid on a bed with this sweet beatific smile while her grandmother rubbed the child's feet to help her circulation. The boy was in the next room. His body was twisted and nothing more than skin and bones. At that point I really felt that the tragedies brought on by weapons testing were beyond all excuse," Mr. Simons said in his field notes.
The report also talks extensively about the threat posed by the weapons-related facilities, materials and scientists left over in the former Soviet Union, and, while mentioning the U.S. considerable support in addressing the problem, says these efforts may fall short of what is needed.
"The homeland defense of the United States begins in the former Soviet Union. And any member of the Congress who doesn't understand that, especially since 9/11, well, I just don't get it," says Senator Nunn in the report.
For the full text pick up a copy of the magazine or visit www.ngm.com for an excerpt. For more information on that subject log on to the Embassy's website at www.kazakhembus.com.
President touts private ownership of farmland
Says it will open "new stage in life of nation"
The National Council, a consultative and advisory body under the President, established earlier this year to discuss important national issues, met for its first session in Astana on October 22. Representatives of the public, members of the Parliament and the government, discussed the only subject on the agenda, the introduction of the private ownership of farmland.
The Council agreed to the proposed draft of the Land Code, which would authorize such private ownership for a total of 8 percent of the country's land, and asked the government to introduce some amendments into it before sending it to the Parliament for consideration.
"The adoption of such a law would signal a new stage in political and economic development of our nation," President Nazarbayev said at a meeting, calling the move to "one of the most fundamental reforms" equaling privatization in importance.
"There are legal grounds for introducing private ownership of land in the Constitution," Mr. Nazarbayev said, noting that polls show 70 percent of farmers in favor of such a move. He named three priorities in developing rural areas, including ensuring food self-sufficiency, increasing agricultural exports as well as creating "decent living environment".
President Nazarbayev said he is ready to submit the question of introducing private ownership of farmland to a nationwide referendum if there's "a major public argument" about its merits.
GDP grows by 9% in Kazakhstan in first nine months of 2002
Oil exports grow, government keen to diversify economy
Kazakhstan's GDP grew by 9.4% in the first nine months of 2002, Minister of Economy and Budget Planning Kairat Kelimbetov announced at a cabinet meeting in Astana on October 22.
Industrial growth peaked at 9.5 percent, with increase mostly accounted for by the expansion in mining industries, including oil extraction, by 12 percent. According to the National Statistics Agency, over the first eight months of 2002 Kazakhstan exported 25.16 million tons of oil and gas condensate, a 19% increase over the last year's January-August exports.
"Agricultural production increased by 6.6% in the first nine months against the same period last year," Mr. Kelimbetov said at the meeting.
Foreign trade surplus amounted to $1 billion in the period from January to September 2002, he said, noting that this was in part due to favorable oil prices on the world market. Capital investment increased by 8% in the first nine months, but the inflow of direct investment not connected with the production of oil, gas and metals, and into such industries as food processing and chemical industry, is still weak, Mr. Kelimbetov said.
"This is the main impediment to implementing the strategic course of diversifying the structure of production of goods, services and their export and import," the minister noted. "It is obvious that we will not be able to do away without the government's active role in attracting investors into these sectors, and this should be thoroughly studied as part of the industrial policy", he added.
The draft of such industrial policy, aimed at diversifying the nation's economy, and measures to combat poverty and unemployment were presented and discussed at the meeting.
Foreign Investors Council engages in improving investment climate
The Foreign Investors Council held an interim meeting chaired by Minister of Industry and Trade Majit Esenbaev in Astana on October 18. The meeting's agenda was topped by tariff policy, court reform and improving Kazakhstan's investment climate. Foreign investors were provided with the proposed amendments to the draft laws "On Joint Stock Companies", "On Foreign Investments" and "On Subsurface Use", all currently under consideration in Parliament.
The Foreign Investors Council plans to publish information highlighting investment possibilities for foreign investors and the legislation regulating activities of foreign investors in Kazakhstan. Its next meeting is scheduled to take place in Astana on December 6.
Kazakhstan celebrates Republic Day on October 25
On October 25, Kazakhstan will celebrate the Republic Day, marked in commemoration of the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty by the Supreme Soviet of Kazakhstan on that day in 1990, which marked the beginning of Kazakhstan's regaining its independence from the USSR.
Kazakhstan gained full independence on December 16, 1991. One of the first countries to recognize Kazakhstan and to establish diplomatic relations with the newly born country was the United States. The presidents of the two countries, Nursultan Nazarbayev and George H.W. Bush exhanged letters on December 25 and 26, 1991.
Since late last year, the Independence Day on December 16 is being celebrated as the national holiday in Kazakhstan, while the Republic Day is celebrated as a state holiday.
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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
