Astana calling no 356

Astana Calling

A WEEKLY ONLINE PUBLICATION / WWW.MFA.GOV.KZ ISSUE NO. 356 / FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014

Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia Sign Eurasian Union Treaty

Cutting-Edge Military Technology Displayed at KADEX 2014

Malaysian Prime Minister Visits Astana, Advances Economic Ties

Farewell Bell Signals Transition for Kazakh Students

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The leaders (from left) of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia sign a historic treaty in Astana establishing the Eurasian Economic Union

Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia Sign Eurasian Union Treaty The leaders of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus met in Astana on May 29 to sign the Treaty establishing the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a common market of 170 million people with a combined gross domestic product of $2.7 trillion.

President Nazarbayev underlined that working on the body of the treaty involved many years of dedicated work by the governments and experts, explaining that it now reflects the interests of and will benefit all citizens of the member states.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev hosted Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus for a ceremony at Astana’s Palace of Independence.

This was possible due to the gradual nature of the integration process, he explained. The union was not created overnight but is a result of a 20-year-long journey through the Eurasian Economic Community, the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space.

Nazarbayev and Putin noted that the idea of the Eurasian Economic Union gestated for more than 20 years since it was first proposed by the Kazakh President in a speech at Lomonosov Moscow State University in March 1994.

Addressing almost 1,000 guests, including the presidents of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, who are in talks to join the group, the three leaders called the signing of the treaty a historic event.

The signing of the treaty, which must be ratified by the three parliaments before its scheduled entry into force on Jan. 1, 2015, heralds a “qualitatively new development stage of integration on the Eurasian space,” President Nazarbayev told the audience, which included officials from the three countries and members of the Parliament of Kazakhstan.

The treaty is well-balanced and responds to all interests of the new union member states, he said, adding that the EEU is based on the principles of economic pragmatism, equality and respect for the sovereignty of member states. The document reflects the important elements of international organisations and follows all principles of sovereign equality of states as well as respect for specific features of the political order of the member states, Nazarbayev explained.

“A new economic organisation, having the rights of subject of the international law in full and acting on the basis of principles of the World Trade Organisation, appears on the world stage,” Putin said in his remarks. “It is important to note that providing certain authorities to supranational bodies brings absolutely no harm to the sovereignty of our countries.”

According to all three presidents, the road to signing the treaty was very complicated. “Naturally, this journey included arguments, which, despite all the complexities involved, have been solved by consensus,” Putin explained.

According to the three leaders, signing the treaty is an important milestone, yet a tremendous amount of effort and work is still required to activate and operate the integration mechanisms it sets forth. Reaching the stage of the signing was not an easy task, as the 900-page treaty has four sections, 28 chapters, 118 articles and 32 annexes.

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“The signing of this treaty is a notable contribution by the three countries to the chronicles of Eurasian Integration. This will provide an impetus to the course and dynamics of the developmental processes in the Eurasian space,” President Nazarbayev said.

The statistics of such integration have already demonstrated the benefits of the integration processes. Since the beginning of the integration processes, Kazakhstan’s trade turnover with Russia and Belarus has increased by 88 percent, reaching $24 billion, while exports to Russia and Belarus have grown by 63 percent, pushing exports to $6 billion.

According to Putin, over the past three years, trade within the Customs Union grew almost 50 percent, by $23 billion, reaching $66.2 billion in 2013. Taken together, Belarus and Kazakhstan are Russia’s third largest trading partner following the European Union and China.

“Let us compare. Our [annual] trade with the EU is $440 billion, while with China it is $87 billion. Belarus and Kazakhstan have far smaller economies than those two colossuses of the world economy, yet they are Russia’s third largest trading partner,” Putin added. “This speaks to the fact that we are reaching such parameters [in trade] in greater part thanks to the integration processes.”

The presidents also noted that the provisions of the treaty ensure stability and opportunities for growth for businesses and provide for stable markets. “We will not allow any member state to be subject to de-industrialisation as a result of the integration process,” President Nazarbayev said. “We will take into account the lessons learned from the European Union.

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“The integration itself does not guarantee prosperity, but will require overcoming new challenges and fulfilling new tasks,” said Nazarbayev. “Integration serves as an engine for moving forward.

While the Eurasian Economic Union provides favourable conditions for the development of the economies of all member states, equal access to the common market, elimination of economic barriers, prosperity of our nations depend on the ability to overcome new challenges.”

The EEU is an open community serving as a bridge between Europe and Asia, the Kazakh leader noted. In fact, the EEU may soon welcome new members as Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are in advanced negotiations over accession to the EEU. Putin also noted that the member states have agreed to continue negotiations with Vietnam on creating a free-trade zone and to strengthen cooperation with China, including the exchange of customs information on goods and services. They also intend to create expert groups on developing preferential trade regimes with Israel and India.

At the event, Nazarbayev and Putin noted that the EEU represents a self-sufficient market with highly developed human capital and richly endowed natural resources. The international community has already expressed great interested in this integration formation, Putin added.

“We are creating the largest common market on the territory of the [Commonwealth of Independent States] CIS (exceeding 170 million people) with huge industrial, scientific and technological potential and colossal natural resources,” Putin said. “The largest economic players express direct interest in this integration.”

Officials witness the historic signing of the Eurasian Economic Union in Astana between Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus

According to officials, the EEU will have its headquarters in Moscow and the newly created Eurasian Court to settle disputes will be located in Minsk. Almaty will be developed as a financial centre for the EEU. In addition to facilitating economic growth, the EEU provides favourable ground for the development of humanitarian ties in the area of science, education and tourism.

The three leaders expressed their trust in the ability of the new union to create the most favourable conditions for development of the three nations’ economies as well as to provide security and prosperity for the people of the member states.

At a media briefing following the signing ceremony, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev again emphasised the economic nature of the union. He also explained that any discussions concerning additional integration steps, such as creating a financial union or a currency union are premature and that no such steps have been discussed in recent negotiations.

Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov also stressed that any such talk would only make sense once the current agreements are implemented in full, and it may be up to 10 years before all limitations and reservations expire and the truly common economic market is established.

At the same media briefing, Viktor Khristenko, chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission, explained that the crisis in Ukraine, which he called a “crisis of self-identification that Ukraine itself needs to resolve,” did not affect the integration process directly.

“The only way it did affect is by making the people in other countries realise ever more clearly the benefits of integration,” Khristenko said.

“And we hope our partners in Ukraine will come to this realisation, too.”

Asked about benefits for the people of the EUU member states, Khristenko listed four freedoms that the new treaty will introduce: the movement of goods, services, capital and labour. He stressed specifically that the freedom of movement of labour should be

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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (left), Russian President Vladimir Putin (centre) and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the historic signing of the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty in Astana

beneficial to people wishing to find jobs as this would mean that such new employees will be covered by social protections to the same extent as in their host countries.

Shuvalov took up this issue, too, stressing that this situation means one thing – “competition” – since business people can now set up businesses in the three countries on an equal basis with locals, and this naturally will expand opportunities and increase competition.

This process has been going on for two years with several hundred Russian companies relocating to Kazakhstan for tax purposes, a fact acknowledged by Shuvalov.

As the day of tough diplomacy, high-level talks and public celebrations, including a concert at the Astana Opera, was winding down, the sun finally broke through the unusually heavy clouds of the past few days.

The next several years will show if this was a good omen for the new union that was born on May 29 in the Kazakh capital, which President Nazarbayev proposed to celebrate from now on as the Day of the Eurasian Integration.

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Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak (left) meets with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on May 23 in Astana

Malaysian PM Visits Astana, Advances Economic Ties Economic ties and general bilateral relations between Malaysia and Kazakhstan were advanced during a May 22-24 official visit to the Kazakh capital by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992, and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Razak had met twice before this most recent meeting. In addition to existing positive relations and the two previous meetings, there were numerous items on the agenda to discuss.“In the past three years, we have met three times and it just gives an impetus to strengthening our relationship. One hundred thirty million [U.S. dollars] is a very low trade turnover, although last year it grew by 14 percent. In this direction, we have great prospects.

Current relations and mutual understanding between our countries and us individually mean that this visit will be very fruitful for our bilateral relations,” President Nazarbayev said, welcoming his Malaysian guest in the Akorda on May 23.

For his part, the Malaysian Prime Minister expressed gratitude to President Nazarbayev for the invitation to visit Kazakhstan as well as to take part in the seventh Astana Economic Forum.

Razak also delivered one of the keynote addresses on May 23 at the Astana Economic Forum as a special guest of President Nazarbayev.

“The opening ceremony of the seventh Astana Economic Forum made a great impression on me. The number of forum participants is impressive, and it also proves the growing authority of the event.

I would like to note your contribution to discussions focused on urgent international issues by holding such a forum,” he said.

At the bilateral meeting between Nazarbayev and Razak, the two also discussed the growing level of cooperation between the countries in various fields. They discussed the fact that such cooperation positively affects the implementation of the agreements outlined in their previous meetings. Prime Minister Razak also stressed the importance of expanding existing capacity in the transport and logistics sector to enhance economic and trade cooperation.

In a joint statement after the meeting, the two leaders also agreed to review additional provisions proposed in the existing Air Services Agreement (ASA) to increase the frequency of flights between Almaty and Kuala Lumpur.

The two sides also discussed the possibility of Malaysian national oil company Petronas investing in the Kazakh oil and gas sector, Razak announced at a press conference following their meeting.

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Razak and Nazarbayev also expressed their intent to promote education and research opportunities for Kazakh and Malaysian students, scholars and researchers between and among the two countries’ educational institutions.

“The opening ceremony of the seventh Astana Economic Forum made a great impression on me. The number of forum participants is impressive, and it also proves the growing authority of the event. I would like to note your contribution to discussions focused on urgent international issues by holding such a forum.”

– Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak In addition, Razak expressed gratitude to Nazarbayev for the assistance and support rendered by the Kazakh government in the initial search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 aircraft.

During his visit to Astana, the Malaysian prime minister was also received by Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov. The two ministers discussed issues of common interest and opportunities for additional bilateral cooperation. They also witnessed the signing of three memoranda of understanding between Kazakh and Malaysian companies for business projects totaling $1.1 billion.

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Minister of Defence of Kazakhstan Serik Akhmetov (centre right) met with exhibition participants during the May 23-25 KADEX 2014 exhibition in Astana

Cutting-Edge Military Technology Displayed at KADEX 2014 Nearly 300 companies from 27 countries demonstrated the latest advances and technical solutions in the field of armament and military equipment in the Kazakh capital during the third international exhibition of arms and military equipment, KADEX 2014, held May 22-25 in Astana International Airport’s military sector.

journalists, representing more than 40 local and foreign media. A total of some 45,000 visitors came to the event.

High-level Kazakh dignitaries, including Defence Minister Serik Akhmetov, Secretary of State Adilbek Dzhaksybekov and First Deputy Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintaev, participated in the expo. Defense Minister Akhmetov opened the event, which was organised by the Kazakh Defence Ministry and the Kazspetsexport and Kazakhstan Engineering companies.

Within the programme, an international military, scientific and technical conference and a meeting of the Business Council under the Interstate Commission for Military and Economic Cooperation of the CSTO Coordination Council on the issues of advertising and exhibition activities were also held.

Aviation and aviation weapons, drones, air defence systems, information technology, communications and logistics solutions and technical support for troops, weapons and equipment for armies, air forces and navies were some of the items showcased in exhibition pavilions. Kazakh products were exhibited on 80 stands in the hallways and outdoor area. This year marks the first time Kazakhmade aerospace products were exhibited.

Participants and visitors witnessed demonstrations by Kazakhstan’s ground forces and air defence forces, during which the combat capabilities of aircraft, tanks, military vehicles and other equipment were showcased. The Da Vinci unmanned aircraft, Eurocopter helicopter and KAMAZ-53949 armoured vehicle were among the equipment to be demonstrated.

This year saw delegations from Boeing, General Atomics and Sikorsky participate in the exhibition for the first time.

Official delegations from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), as well as from countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, India, Israel, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, the U.K., Uzbekistan and France also attended KADEX 2014. Ambassadors and military attaches from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the U.K., the United States, China, France, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, India, Turkey, Lithuania, Poland, Italy, Iran, Romania, Pakistan, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Spain, Greece, Austria, the Netherlands, Finland, Georgia and Sweden also attended, and the exhibition also hosted about 200

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Memoranda and agreements totalling approximately $2.6 billion were signed over the course of the event.

Organisers of the exhibition also arranged for the second International Festival of Military Brass Bands to be held in conjunction with KADEX. Professional military bands from the Commonwealth of Independent States and other countries performed.

The number of visitors to KADEX has grown over its short history, and it is hoped the exhibition’s popularity and credibility and its utility as a platform for business meetings will strengthen Kazakhstan’s international image. KADEX aims to expand the opportunities of Kazakh enterprises to promote their products to domestic and foreign audiences, to attract foreign developers and manufacturers of military and special-purpose equipment and to create a platform for the exchange of military and technological experience, as well as business negotiations. Kazakhstan is currently working to modernise its military.

“Today, KADEX serves as an international site for constructive dialogue between representatives of business circles, developers and manufacturers of products for military purposes, specialists from the profile ministries and agencies. KADEX has become an important step in extending international cooperation,” said CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha in his welcome remarks.

“I am sure that the international character of KADEX 2014 will create for all its participants unique opportunities for studying and analysing the arms market, will open new prospects for completing new mutually beneficial contracts and strengthening cooperative ties, will serve as an additional impulse for the development of defence-industrial complex of Kazakhstan and will intensify militarytechnical cooperation between CSTO member states.”

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Students and their teacher singing the Kazakh national anthem during recent Farewell Bell ceremonies

Farewell Bell Signals Transition for Kazakh Students Eleventh grade students said goodbye to their childhoods on May 25 when the Farewell Bell, the last chime of their basic education careers, rang at many of the nation’s schools.

“The UNT format in 2014 remains the same; there are almost no changes,” said Botagoz Zhunussova, chief of the Common and Higher Education Section of Astana’s Education Department.

Celebratory events are often organised for the new graduates on this day and attended by members of city maslikhats (local representative bodies) and representatives of their akimats and the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan.

“We have a huge test ahead, and we have to be prepared for it. Now we prepare every day, we study everything from the start, the rules and theorems. We are hoping to get good results. I think I’m ready for it,” said Aidana Abduali, an 11th-grade student at Astana’s No. 4 school.

This year, the Farewell Bell rang for 143,000 graduates in Kazakhstan, symbolising their first steps into adulthood. But before they begin their journey, they’ll need to prove what they’ve learned. This year’s graduates will soon be applying for the Unified National Testing (UNT) that will determine their future educational path.

A total of 99,815 students applied to take the UNT in Kazakhstan this year. On June 2, UNT testing will start. UNT days in Astana are June 2, 4 and 6; results will be presented on June 3, 5 and 7.

The UNT is conducted over a period of three hours with results usually announced after 6 p.m. on the day the test was taken. Fifty points is the cutoff to pass, but students wishing to enroll in national universities must score at least 70 points.

The UNT in Astana will be held in three universities: the Lev Gumilev Eurasian National University, which will test 1,750 graduates in three sittings; the Kazakh Humanitarian and Law University, which will test 781 graduates in two sittings; and Saken Seifullin Kazakh Agro Technical University, which will test 1,057 graduates in two sittings.

As of today, local executive bodies and the Ministry of Education and Science are preparing for the tests and creating the necessary conditions for as many students as possible to pass the UNT. The UNT was first introduced into Kazakhstan’s educational system in 2004 as a measure to combat corruption in university admission processes. The test serves as a transition test for students moving from high school to university, and test answers are highly guarded state secrets.

The UNT includes five subjects: mathematics, history, Russian or Kazakh language and a subject of choice – English, French, German, physics, chemistry, geography or biology. Each subject includes 25 sections. All sections must be completed in within three hours.

According to the official report of the akimat, 4,042 students are graduating from schools this academic year in Astana. More than 3,500 of them, 88.7 percent, have chosen the UNT as their final assessment. Testing will be almost evenly divided between Kazakh and Russian, with 1,777 students taking a Kazakh-language test and 1,811 a Russian test. Traditional examinations (state exams) will be taken by 454 students, 11.2 percent, who hope to go on to enroll in educational institutions in foreign countries.

For several years, school graduates have been required to pass national tests that review what they were supposed to have learned in school. For students, the tests are an examination of their strong suits and a gateway – or barrier – to more education opportunities.

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Also In The News...

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Kazakhstan begins presidency of Conference on Disarmament Kazakhstan started its presidency of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) during the 1,317th plenary session of the forum on May 27. In his statement, Kazakhstan’s permanent representative to the UN office and other international organisations in Geneva, Ambassador Mukhtar Tleuberdi, told participants about the main priorities of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy in nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.

Tleuberdi also expressed his hope that Kazakhstan will receive support from UN Member States for its candidacy for a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for 20172018. This year, the work of the CD has been significantly intensified. In particular, the Informal Working Group on the development and coordination of the work programme has resumed its activities and the informal open discussions called for in the CD 2014 agenda have begun. (mfa.gov.kz) Albanian prime minister visits Kazakhstan On May 24, President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with prime minister of Albania Edi Rama. The parties debated key issues concerning broadening bilateral trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, as well as urgent issues on the international agenda. The President noted that Kazakhstan is interested in establishing relations with Albania. Rama agreed that it is necessary to further trade and economic ties. (inform.kz) Nazarbayev congratulates Dalia Grybauskaitė on re-election as president of Lithuania President Nursultan Nazarbayev has sent a telegram of congratulations to Dalia Grybauskaitė on her re-election as president of Lithuania. President Nazarbayev expressed confidence that Grybauskaitė’s leadership experience would continue to nurture her country’s development. “I sincerely believe that your election will contribute to further strengthening of bilateral cooperation, formed on the basis of friendship and mutual understanding,” the telegram read. It concluded with the Kazakh President’s wishes for good health, inexhaustible energy and success for the Lithuanian president and unity and prosperity for the people of Lithuania. (inform.kz) Bolashak grant holders to complete six-month language training abroad Language training for Bolashak grant holders was the focus of discussion at the May 26 meeting of the National Commission for Personnel Training Abroad chaired by Kazakh Secretary of State Adilbek Dzhaksybekov. Bolashak scholars will now study for six months in Kazakhstan and six months abroad, and a group of staff from the forensic inquiry centre of the Kazakh Justice Ministry who have won Bolashak scholarships will complete an internship in the U.K. In March, the training committee announced new, more advanced language proficiency requirements for scholarship winners. (inform.kz)

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Kazakh pilots train at Finnish flight school On May 26, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Finland Galymzhan Koishybayev visited Finland’s Patria flight training centre, where he met with senior management representatives of the company and a group of 12 Kazakh civil aviation students who were selected for flight training in Finland. The ambassador noted that developing engineering education and training modern technical staff is one of the priority tasks of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy. He emphasised that high-quality education is the foundation of industrialisation and innovative development and urged the young pilots to study diligently and to take advantage of all opportunities to learn.

Patria is also an active partner in negotiations on establishing the Kazakh Civil Aviation Academy’s own training centre, based on European Aviation Safety Agency standards. (mfa.gov.kz)

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Hyatt Regency Hotel to open in Almaty in 2017 Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced on May 14 that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a management agreement with Turkey’s Tavros Investment Holding to open a new Hyatt Regency Hotel in Almaty. The hotel is planned to be launched in 2017 and will mark Hyatt’s return to Kazakhstan. The luxury hotel will feature 270 rooms, including 41 suites, plus three restaurants and bars, a spa and a fitness centre. It will also offer more than 1,500 square metres of meeting space, including a 600 square metre ballroom.

The new hotel will be located on a 6,800 square metre site in the city centre, between Satpayev Avenue and the Essentai River. (astanatimes.com)

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Kazakhstan’s top tennis players compete at Roland Garros tournament Five tennis players from Kazakhstan have travelled to France to compete in the Roland Garros tournament, one of the four Grand Slams events of the year, held from May 25 to June 8. Just before the tournament, top Kazakh tennis players Andrey Golubev and Mikhail Kukushkin both improved their standings by two positions and are now ranked 53rd with 862 points and 54th with 859 points respectively in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) tour rankings. (astanatimes.com

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ASTANA CALLING A WEEKLY ONLINE PUBLICATION / WWW.MFA.GOV.KZ Please send comments and questions to pressa@mfa.kz

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