Astana Calling #274

ASTANA CALLING

ISSUE NO 274 FRIDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MFA.KZ A WEEKLY ONLINE PUBLICATION OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

President Nazarbayev Visits Russia Reviews 20 Years of Friendship and Cooperation

President Nazarbayev visits Turkey First meeting of Strategic Cooperation Council

10th Eurasian Media Forum Delegates debate global media issues

Kazenergy Debates Future of Energy Sector Focus on diversified energy sources and transportation routes

Things to Watch

CSTO Peacekeepers Gather in Kazakhstan First joint training exercise

Kazakhstan Embraces the Information Age Digital Kazakhstan 2020 - Program details announced

Also in the News

President Nazarbayev and President Putin in Moscow this week

President Nazarbayev Visits Russia The Treaty on Friendship between Kazakhstan and Russia will be updated and expanded before the end of 2013, following agreement between Presidents Nazarbayev and Putin in Moscow on October 9.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of both the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Russia and the signing of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the two countries.

The two leaders discussed the development of bilateral trade and economic relations. The energy sector was a particular area of focus, including cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and the oil and gas industries - notably the transit of Kazakh oil through Russia, Russia’s sale of natural gas from Kazakhstan and development of hydrocarbons in the Caspian region.

The talks extended to cooperation through regional organizations, as well as a wide range of issues on the international agenda. President Nazarbayev described the positive evolution of Kazakh-Russian relations as a benchmark for cooperation between post-Soviet countries and emphasized that the integration process between Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus envisaged by the Customs Union should continue to develop in a careful and balanced way.

Further cooperation in space was also envisaged in the meeting through joint projects related to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the GLONASS satellite system and KazSat satellites.

“This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Friendship Treaty on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between our countries. We are also celebrating 20 years of diplomatic relations. At present, considering current realities, the Treaty needs to be adapted and updated. We are strengthening cooperation in all areas.”

President Nazarbayev

The two Presidents issued a joint statement on October 9 noting that the events held to mark the 20th anniversary of relations had helped deepen mutual understanding and strengthen the social basis of bilateral ties. They also attended a concert to celebrate the signing of the 1992 Treaty.

During his visit President Nazarbayev met with a number of Russia’s business and industry leaders, including Vagit Alekperov, CEO of Lukoil, which has been active in Kazakhstan since 1995 and currently participates in seven Kazakh mining projects, as well as the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Mr Alekperov outlined Lukoil’s investment activity in Kazakhstan and prospects for its cooperation with Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company, KazMunaiGas. Vladimir Yevtushenkov, CEO of Sistema Financial Corporation, also met with the President to discuss his company’s investment activity in innovative industries, petrochemicals and other sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy, as well as potential for future cooperation with domestic businesses.

Russia and Kazakhstan share a long history as well as the longest border in the world. Common interests and shared infrastructure are a key part of the bilateral relationship.

In the 20 years since diplomatic ties were established, relations have gone from strength to strength and contact at the highest level has been maintained. The two Presidents met last month at the Russian-Kazakh Forum on Interregional Cooperation in the northern Kazakhstan city of Pavlodar following President Putin’s official visit to Kazakhstan in June.

Trade between Kazakhstan and Russia has grown steadily to reach USD 25 billion in 2011; during the first half of 2012, bilateral trade amounted to USD 11 billion. In an article published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta on October 5, President Nazarbayev noted that roughly ten years ago, bilateral trade was only USD 4.7 billion.

At this week’s meeting, the two Presidents agreed that the economic integration process of the Customs Union had greatly facilitated close cooperation in many areas and will contribute to future trade growth between the two neighbors.

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President Nazarbayev and President Abdullah Gul

President Nazarbayev visits Turkey On October 11 President Nazarbayev was welcomed to Ankara by Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul. The meeting of the two Presidents was the start of a two-day visit focused on the strengthening of economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Turkey. Over 160 Turkish companies now operate in Kazakhstan and bilateral trade in 2011 amounted to USD 3.3 billion, representing an 80% increase on the 2010 figure. Growth continued in the first half of 2012, when trade reached USD 2.4 billion. The two countries have agreed on a bilateral trade target of USD 10 billion by 2015.

During their talks the Presidents reviewed Kazakhstan’s and Turkey’s cooperation over the past 20 years, and considered ways of developing relations further in the scientific, cultural and humanitarian areas as well as on the trade front.

President Nazarbayev awarded President Gul Kazakhstan’s highest state order, the Altyn Kyran (Golden Eagle), in recognition of his contribution to building cooperation between Turkic-speaking states.

The next day President Nazarbayev travelled to Istanbul, to participate with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the inaugural meeting of the Turkey-Kazakhstan High Level Strategic Cooperation Council, which was established following the Prime Minister’s visit to Kazakhstan last May. After the meeting, the President and Prime Minister signed an action plan for implementation of the “New Synergy” programme for economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Turkey over the period 2012-2015.

Addressing the Strategic Cooperation Council, President Nazarbayev said: “There are no unresolved issues between Kazakhstan and Turkey. We have particular respect for Turkey which was the first country to recognize our independence.

Today the Turkish Republic is one of the closest strategic partners of our country.”

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the visit had raised relations between Turkey and Kazakhstan to a qualitatively new level. “Today Kazakhstan is making a significant contribution to strengthening regional and international security thanks to its effective and balanced foreign policy. A stable political system has taken shape in Kazakhstan that provides harmony between nationalities as well as dynamic economic development.”

“Over the past 20 years, our countries have gone through significant stages of development. During this time, we have learned a lot from each other and have achieved considerable successes…. Today, effective cooperation between Kazakhstan and Turkey is developing at a high level.”

President Nazarbayev

During the visit the two sides signed new agreements that are expected to add USD 1.5 billion to bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and Turkey.

News of the agreements was received positively by participants in the Turkish-Kazakh Business Forum attended by the President later that day.

Kazakhstan’s Ambassador in Ankara, Zhanseit Tuimebayev, said that the visit by President Nazarbayev would strengthen ties between the two countries. He added that completion of the Turkey-Iran and IranTurkmenistan-Kazakhstan railway lines will enable trade between the two countries to reach its full potential, as well as facilitating the export of Kazakhstan’s energy resources to world markets via Turkey.

President Nazarbayev’s visit to Turkey closed with a gala concert in Istanbul featuring leading performers from Turkey and Kazakhstan.

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Founder of the Eurasian Media Forum Dariga Nazarbayeva (speaking), Riz Khan of Al Jazeera (L) and Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov (R)

10th Eurasian Media Forum Over 450 journalists, politicians, academics and business leaders from 40 countries gathered in Astana on October 11 for the start of the 10th Eurasian Media Forum, a two-day conference to discuss world events and analyze their coverage by global media.

Among the many renowned speakers and experts attending the two-day Forum were the Director General and Editor-inChief of Russia’s NIG Publishing group, Vitaly Tretyakov, the Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Tatiana Valovaya, and the Chairman of the Islamic Committee of Russia, Geidar Jemal, and former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Robert Hunter.

Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov conveyed the welcome of President Nazarbayev, who said that since its creation in 2001 the Eurasian Media Forum had become a unique platform for global dialogue and exchange of views on the most important topical issues. The President added that the Forum was a significant event not just for Kazakhstan but for representatives of the entire international media community that could help bring together journalists, politicians and public figures to address issues of geopolitics and the media sphere.

Among the topics debated at this year’s Forum were: the “Arab Spring” and its aftermath; economic, political and social crisis in the Eurozone as well as double standards in the international media; and the growing role of Internet technologies in the development of political processes.

“The beginning of a new era of information transparency steps up the requirements made of the mass media and their moral responsibility to society.”

President Nazarbayev

Dariga Nazarbayeva, founder of the Forum and Chair of its organizing committee, emphasized the need to raise the standards demanded of the modern media.

Themes such as justice, morals and true values are as important as those relating to economic issues and should occupy the same amount of media space, she said.

“The conversation about price and the meaning of economic well-being – this is not a conversation about what is going on today, instead it’s a conversation about the future, the future of our children, our countries and our peoples. I am convinced that the place for this conversation ... is our Eurasian Media Forum”, she added.

In a session on terrorism, President of the International Peace Institute and Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen expressed the view that so-called “soft measures” such as education and awareness-raising through the media should be a key focus in the effort to combat terrorism. Mr Rød-Larsen described the interfaith dialogue initiated by President Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan as one of the most important instruments in operation today to ensure tolerance and respect for various values and religions around the world.

Discussing recent events in the Arab world, Geidar Jemal said: “I would immediately challenge the term “Arab Spring” since this comes from the West. In fact, the term used in the region is “Islamic Awakening”. I mean that for many decades political Islam fought the national-socialism of Gaddafi and Mubarak.... Arab national-socialism is an instrument of struggle with the aristocratic establishment.”

The well-known Russian journalist, Maksim Shevchenko, described the Forum as proof of the “fundamental role of Kazakhstan as an intellectual political center”. There is no platform anywhere on post-Soviet territory like the Eurasian Media Forum and no discussion on this level, he said.

During the Forum there was also discussion of Kazakhstan’s bid to host EXPO-2017 on the theme of “Future Energy” to promote issues of energy conservation and alternative energy sources.

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Kazenergy Debates Future of Energy Sector On October 2 and 3, Astana hosted the VIIth Kazenergy Eurasian Forum, which took as its theme: “A World in Transition - Shaping a Sustainable Energy Future.”

The Kazenergy Association was established in 2005 to create favorable and dynamic investment opportunities for the energy industries in Kazakhstan. The annual Forum brings together leading scientists and experts, political and public figures, and representatives of the largest oil and gas companies to discuss the most important topics in global energy and in energy and environmental security.

Kazakhstan has proven oil reserves of 30 billion barrels and daily production in 2011 of 1.64m barrels. Since independence in 1991, oil production has risen steadily, and Kazakhstan is now the second largest oil producer after Russia among the former Soviet republics.

Given the importance of the energy sector in Kazakhstan’s economy, effective sustainable development is of crucial importance; the Government is developing a national strategy on transitioning to a green economy by 2050 and a recent forum in Astana focused on this topic.

In his opening address to the Kazenergy Forum, Prime Minister Akhmetov spoke about the importance of developing renewable sources of energy, pledging Government support for several promising projects in the solar and wind energy sectors. He also confirmed that Kazakhstan will further diversify its energy projects, attracting investment not only for the production of raw materials but for deep refining as well.

Meeting the projected growth in global demand for energy resources will require a greater choice of transport routes, as well as continued investment in the sector, the Prime Minister said. He reiterated the Government’s commitment to improving the investment climate and working closely with the private sector.

“The VIIth KAZENERGY Eurasian Forum will serve to strengthen mutual trust, and facilitate the development of viable solutions and the formation of common and timely international principles for the provision of global security in the energy sector.”

Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov

The Minister for Oil and Gas, Sauat Mynbayev, gave an update on major energy and transport projects. Commercial production at the Kashagan oil field is expected to begin in December 2012. The projected completion date for the expansion of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium pipeline (CPC) is 2015, which will provide capacity to increase oil exports via this route to 52 million tonnes per year. Kazakhstan will export 29 million tonnes of crude oil through CPC in 2012.

Plans are also underway to increase exports through the Kazakhstan-China Pipeline, to 20 million tonnes per annum, up from 11 million tonnes in 2012.

Minister Mynbayev confirmed that an international consortium will invest USD 1.7 billion in developing a deep refining facility at the Atyrau refinery, which will triple the production of high-octane gasoline.

Kazakhstan has proven gas reserves of 9.3 trillion cubic meters, which amounts to 1.9% of global supplies. While the domestic market remains the priority, Kazakhstan also exports gas to China and Russia. Minister Mynbayev gave details of the plan to increase to 65 billion cubic meters per annum the capacity of the Kazakhstan-China pipeline, through which 34 billion cubic meters will be exported in 2012.

Chairman of the Kazenergy Association, Timur Kulibayev, said that extraction of oil at the major Kashagan field is expected to begin in March 2013. He also highlighted the potential for local producers to supply competitive goods and services to the energy sector, both in Kazakhstan and other markets. Lyazzat Kiinov, the chairman of Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunaiGas (KMG), gave an optimistic forecast for the development of the sector over the next ten years. KMG is involved in a number of exploration projects both with partners in the Caspian Sea and independently onshore. The volume of oil and gas produced by Caspian fields is expected to increase by 1.6 times between now and 2022, Mr Kiinov said. This will help KMG achieve its goal of becoming one of the 30 largest oil producers in the world.

The modernization of three major oil refineries located in the west (Atyrau), north (Pavlodar), and south (Shymkent) will take place over 2013-2015, with a required investment of USD 6 billion, Mr Kiinov said.

The Forum’s final day focused on the global energy and environment strategy and Kazakhstan’s “Green Bridge” initiative, which encourages businesses to adopt green policies and technologies, and close the technological gap between developing and developed countries.

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CSTO peacekeepers on exercise this week in Kazakhstan

CSTO Peacekeepers Gather in Kazakhstan On October 8 Kazakhstan hosted a ceremony at the Iliysky training center to mark the beginning of “Indestructible Brotherhood 2012”, a two-week peacekeeping exercise for troops from member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

While CSTO states regularly join together in military exercises – most recently in 2011 when a force of 10,000 troops gathered in Central Asia – this session is the first to focus specifically on peacekeeping. Up to 1,000 troops from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgzstan, Russia and Tajikistan are involved.

“This exercise is the beginning of the arrangement of national peacekeeping contingents into a single structure - comprising the collective peacekeeping force of the CSTO.” Deputy General Secretary of the CSTO Valeriy Semerikov

In the opening days, the troops will be merged into a collective CSTO peacekeeping force with multinational command and operational units.

The remainder of the first week will be devoted to training in standard peacekeeping tasks such as separating the parties to a conflict, ensuring compliance with a ceasefire, transporting humanitarian aid cargoes, detecting and defusing explosive devices, and conducting search operations in a populated locality.

During the second week, the CSTO peacekeeping force will be deployed across a range of locations, to participate in a simulated peacekeeping operation. This is expected to be of sufficient complexity to test the full range of peacekeeping tasks and may be based on a crisis scenario involving an international terrorist organization and interethnic tension.

The peacekeeping manoeuvres follow the signing on September 29 of a memorandum between the CSTO and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations on cooperation in the field of conflict prevention and peacekeeping activity. The signatories committed to joint training of CSTO peacekeeping forces and to facilitating their participation in UN peacekeeping missions, as well as to sharing information and experience in the peacekeeping arena.

UN observers have been invited to monitor the active phase of the CSTO peacekeeping exercise. Invitations have also been extended to representatives of the International Organization for Migration, the CIS Executive Committee and the diplomatic corps accredited in Kazakhstan.

The 10th anniversary session of the CSTO Interstate Commission on military-economic cooperation will be held on November 1 in Astana. The Commission is expected to consider the issue of standardization of defence production to ensure the competitiveness of the defence industry across CSTO member states as well as the system for cataloguing supplies for the armed forces.

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“We are creating an open information society and our media must work in line with international standards” Arman Kyrykbayev, Vice Minister of Culture and Information

Kazakhstan Embraces the Information Age Kazakhstan’s transition to an information society will be achieved by implementing a far-reaching program devised by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, details of which were announced at public hearings this week.

The ambitious program forms part of the Government response to the article by President Nazarbayev on “Social Modernization of Kazakhstan: Twenty Steps to a Society of Universal Labor”.

Vice Minister of Transport and Communications Saken Sarsenov explained how the program will work. A national information environment will be built up systematically on the basis of an accessible communication infrastructure. At the same time, a state management system will be put in place to ensure a positive impact on socio-economic and cultural development.

All State services will become easily accessible on mobile devices to both businesses and the general public, and local “e-councils” will be organized in three divisions to serve regions, cities and districts. This intensive digitalization of State services will help increase the transparency of state bodies.

The education sector is a key area of focus in the program, which envisages a National Education Network linking every educational institution in the country in a high-speed intranet. The full range of state-of-the-art multimedia equipment and all educational materials used throughout the state will be held in a central data repository known as the Electronic Education Centre.

Digital television and radio broadcasting will be made accessible across every region of Kazakhstan, reducing the digital divide between city and village and encouraging the use of ICT by every household and business across the state.

Continuous technological innovation will be supported by the development of ICT market infrastructure, to include science and research centers, IT parks, business incubators and laboratories for public use.

Vice Minister of Culture and Information, Arman Kyrkbayev, explained aspects of the program relating to modernizing the national media and developing use of new media technologies, including social media. Another important aspect of the media program will be to promote domestic content and the positive use and development of the Kazakh language, he said.

The funding to implement the digital transformation of Kazakhstan will be allocated by the state following a review of current funding structures.

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Also in The News…

• Kazakhstan’s energy saving and energy efficiency program aims to cut energy consumption by 10 % by 2015, and by 25 % by the end of the decade. It will mark an important step in implementing global thinking about green energy in the area of energy saving. (BNews) • ‘First Cosmonaut’ - a silver coin from the “Space” series issued by the National Bank of Kazakhstan - has been awarded a “special mention” in the Vicenza Numismatica 2012 competition. The unique technology used to manufacture the coin and the original depiction of the first spaceflight impressed judges. (BNews) • “The Sky of my Childhood” – a film about President Nazarbayev’s early life – was shown this week in Istanbul. At a presentation to accompany the film, Kazakhstan’s Ambassaador to Turkey, Zhanseit Tuimebayev, talked about the turning points in Kazakhstan’s and Turkey’s cooperation over the last 20 years and said that the film would give Turkish viewers a unique opportunity to learn out about President Nazarbayev’s life. (Kazakhstanskaya Pravda) • On October 9, a seminar on “Investment opportunities in Kazakhstan” was held in Seoul, South Korea. Organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan and the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) the seminar provided information on socio-economic development in Kazakhstan and specific state programs such as the Accelerated Industrial-Innovative Development Program.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Service) • The Kazakh Embassy and the Egyptian Council For Foreign Affairs organized a round table in Cairo on the 20th anniversary of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). Representatives from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the diplomatic corps, Council members and journalists were among the participants. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Service) • In October 1997, President Nazarbayev put forward the “Kazakhstan 2030” to develop the country. 15 years on, several Kazakhstani experts note that significant progress has been made in priority areas, including: food security, building the necessary structures for a centralized government, reforming the economy, national security, education, health, energy and infrastructure. (meta.kz) • Kazakhstan has made a voluntary contribution of USD 175,000 to the UNESCO emergency assistance fund.

(Interfax-Kazakhstan) • In September 2012, an estimated 8.2 million people were in active employment in Kazakhstan, while unemployment stood at 5.3%, or 475300 people. (zakon.kz) • Kazakhstan’s ambassador to China, Nurlan Ermekbayev, visited Hong Kong on 9-10 October, where he spoke at the 2nd Kazakhstan Investment Forum and met with Jasper Tsang, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly and heads of major companies to discuss Kazakhstan’s economic diversification and cooperation with Hong Kong in the technology, innovation and financial sectors. (zakon.kz) • Kazakhstan’s “Nazarbayev Center” and Washington’s Jamestown Foundation signed a memorandum of cooperation on 10 October. The two think tanks will work together on research projects in the areas of peace and regional security, disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, social, economic and cultural development. The agreement also foresees exchanges of expertise and best practices as well as joint seminars, conferences and meetings. (zakon.kz)

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• On the eve of the President’s official visit to Turkey, Kazakhstan opened a consulate in the city of Antalya, one of the main destinations for Kazakhstani tourists, but also for business and cultural leaders. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Service) • The 9th International Eurasian scientific forum on “Gumilev’s heritage and contemporary Eurasian integration” was held in Astana on 10 and 11 October. The event, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the scientist and thinker’s birth, discussed the history, culture and ethnology of the nomadic civilisations of Eurasia as well as current trends in Eurasian integration. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Service) • Kazakhstani artist Saule Suleimenov, whose paintings reflect the Kazakh national idea and have been exhibited in the US, Italy and the UK, has opened an exhibition at the Khas Sayat gallery in Astana. She will present works from different series including “About Love”, “Flowers” and some of her most recent works. (zakon.kz) • Italian cyclist Francesco Gavazzi, who rides for Team Astana, has won the third stage of the Tour of Beijing race in Chin which finished on October 13th. (zakon.kz) • Coinciding with the President’s visit, a cultural festival dedicated to Kazakhstani culture took place in Istanbul on October 10 and 11. “Days of Kazakhstani Culture in Turkey” showcased the works of famous Kazakh artists and jewellery.(zakon.kz) • The National Bank of Kazakhstan has issued a commemorative golden with a diamond inset. The “Filin” coin bears a picture of an owl with a diamond eye in its centre as well as the national symbols of Kazakhstan, and will cost 500 tenge a piece. The Bank will only produce a total of 5,000 pieces.

Things to Watch…

• The 20th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) will be held Baku on October 15.

• Kenneth Handleman, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, and Arthur Hopkins, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Threat Reduction and Arms Control will visit Kazakhstan on October 15-19 to take part in events in Kurchatov related to the joint Kazakhstan-US project to permanently close and seal the Mountain nuclear test tunnel complex at the former Semipalatinsk site.

ASTANA CALLING is a weekly online publication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Please send your requests and questions to pressa@mfa.kz

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