Baurzhan Mukhamejanov: The Main Wealth of Georgia Is Its People

Baurzhan Mukhamejanov has been the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Georgia since May 30, 2018. This position has allowed Mukhamejanov the opportunity to work in Georgia for more than a year with both politicians and Georgian businessmen, and has allowed him establish active communication in Georgian circles. In this interview Diplomat Magazine asked Mukhamejanov of his impressions about Georgia and what advice he had for the Georgian people.

For more than a year now, you have been appointed as an Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Georgia. What is your personal impression of this country, and how are the bilateral relations developing between both governments?

I received the most powerful and emotional impressions from meeting people. The profession of a diplomat allows you to meet with a large number of people, from government officials to representatives of the creative intelligentsia, and business persons. At the end of such meetings, one becomes more convinced that the main wealth of Georgia is the people of your country, its amazing potential, which has allowed for significant democratic reforms, has contributed, and continues to contribute to further political and economic development.

As for our bilateral relations, Kazakhstan attaches great importance to further promoting constructive political dialogue at all levels, and the progressive development of our trade and economic cooperation with Georgia, our traditionally friendly partner. Kazakh-Georgian relations have centuries long historical roots, and even today, they are still developing dynamically and yielding immense fruits. Our countries maintain a high level of political dialogue, and over the course of the past year, several meetings and visits have been held at all levels. These meetings involved Presidents and representatives of the public and business communities.

In May of this year, the head of the Georgian government paid an official visit to Kazakhstan, where he met with the leadership of our country. All existing issues were discussed and new plans for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation were outlined, “common points” were identified.

More recently, political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs took place. Meetings at the level of ministers and deputy foreign ministers are held every year, and this also confirms that Kazakhstan and Georgia have similar positions on many issues on the international and regional agenda.

As already noted, the lack of political disagreements creates a good basis for the development of bilateral cooperation in trade and economic, transit and transport, investment, agricultural and other sectors of our economies. The trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Georgia amounted to 68 million US dollars in 2017, and then in 2018 it amounted to almost 90 million US dollars with a significant increase. However, this increment is only a minute fraction of what can be achieved from the cooperation between our economies.

A large layer of cooperation is in the cultural and humanitarian sphere. Our shared human relationships show how much interests we have in each other. Several well-known Kazakh political scientists have started to visit Georgia and through these visits, meetings and conferences have been held with the political science circles of Georgia, and this has led to the formation of a dialogue platform.

During his visit to Tbilisi, the Deputy Minister of Education of Kazakhstan held meetings with his Georgian counterparts and established joint plans for mutual education and students’ exchange.

In Kazakhstan, great importance is attached to youth education at the best universities in the world. To this end, the state program “Bolashak” (“Future”) was created, and it has been functioning for over 25 years in leading universities around the world. “Bolashak” has produced more than 10 thousand young specialists who now work for the good of the motherland.

Recently, representatives of Nazarbayev University visited Tbilisi, and held consultations at the Ministry of Education and a number of universities in Tbilisi.

We also had a very warm meeting with the Writers’ Union of Georgia. A number of works by Georgian writers are being translated into Kazakh and Georgian writers have also expressed their readiness to participate in the translation of books by Kazakh writers and poets. Next year we plan to publish a collection of poems by the great Kazakh poet and humanist philosopher, Abai Qunanbaiuly in Georgian language.

Kazakhstan opened its embassy in Georgia in 1996, but diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992. Could you tell us how the bilateral relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Georgia have developed over the years?

After the independence of our countries, the foundation of bilateral relations was laid by the First President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the President of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze. The main document regulating Kazakh-Georgian cooperation is the Treaty on the Basis of Relations between Kazakhstan and Georgia, signed on June 1, 1993 during the visit of the Georgian president to Almaty.

In the years that followed, the role of Georgia as a transit state began to gain increasing significance in the foreign policy of our State. The great transit potential of the two countries contributed to the successful participation of our States in international transit transport projects.

During the official visits of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev, to Georgia in September 1996, and the President of Georgia, Shevardnadze to Kazakhstan in November 1997, an agreement was reached to increase the volume of transit of Kazakhstani oil through the territories of Azerbaijan and Georgia, and the acquisition of Georgian terminal assets on the Black Sea by Kazakhstan. On behalf of the presidents of the two countries, government delegations discussed issues of enhancing cooperation in the transport, energy, agro-industrial and other sectors of the economy.

A significant impetus to the development of bilateral relations was reached during the official visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev, to Georgia in October 2006, when negotiations were held with the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili. The central topic of the talks, was the discussion around increasing the export of Kazakhstani oil through the Black Sea ports of Georgia to world markets, increasing Kazakhstani investments in the Georgian economy, delivering Kazakhstani gas and grain to Georgia, cooperation in the banking sector, transporting Kazakhstani dry goods along the TRACECA transport corridor, etc.

Following the visit, an agreement was reached to attract a large wave of Kazakhstani investments to Georgia. As a result, the Republic of Kazakhstan became the only CIS country to invest in the Georgian economy, and for some time it occupied the first place among foreign investors in Georgia. A number of large Kazakhstani companies started their work in Georgia. They include: Kaztransgaz, the Batumi oil terminal and the Batumi seaport, Rompetrol, Halyk Bank, representative offices of Air Astana and SKAT airlines. As a result, the volume of bilateral trade increased significantly. In 2009, the volume of bilateral trade amounted to 27.9 million USD, then in 2010, it reached 90 million USD, and in 2011, it amounted to 227 million USD.

At the invitation of the Head of Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev, on June 13, 2017, the President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili paid an official visit to the capital of Kazakhstan, and opened up the Georgian pavilion at the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO of 2017. The meeting of the leaders of the two countries on the eve of the 25th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations, allowed us to confirm the traditionally friendly nature of the Kazakh-Georgian cooperation and to synchronize watches on international affairs.

After the election of a new President of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan foreign policy is usually maintained, as evidenced by the meeting of Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Salome Zurabishvili, held in September this year in the fields of the UN General Assembly. The negotiations at the highest level confirmed the high level of political dialogue, and the absence of unresolved political problems between our countries, which, of course, opens up good prospects for economic cooperation.

This year and especially last month was very active in terms of bilateral relations. You held several very important meetings with Georgian officials and business representatives. How do you assess these meetings? Did they meet your expectations?

I have very close fruitful contacts with members of the government of your country, and during my first year of working here, I met with the Prime Minister, ministers of Foreign Affairs, Economy, Regional Development, Internal Affairs, as well as held meetings in the Ministry of Justice, the Public Procurement Agency, etc. We are currently discussing all the working processes of bilateral cooperation, which does not only affect the economy, but also affect issues of security, education, and regional development.

I would like to express gratitude for the active work and support we have received from the Minister of Economy of Georgia, Natia Turnava, who is the co-chair of the joint intergovernmental commission on bilateral cooperation. We often meet with her and discuss all controversial issues. Without a doubt, Kazakh businesses operating in Georgia are not limited to large businesses alone, but we also have about 120 medium and small companies with Kazakhstani capital in various fields.

What recent trends have you noticed in trade between the two countries, and where do you see new opportunities for cooperation in Georgia?

We must use all the opportunities as they emerge for developing our bilateral cooperation.

First of all, a promising area of cooperation is in the transit and logistics sphere. It is necessary to use the significant transit and transport potential of the two countries, as they are the bridge between the East and the West. Our countries occupy an important place on the Silk Road project.

The development of the transport and logistics system of Kazakhstan is one of our most important priorities. Today, our country has become a key link in the Euro-Asian international transport system. Since our independence, tens of thousands of kilometers of roads have been built and reconstructed in the country, and the construction of the Kazakhstan section of the Western Europe - Western China Transcontinental Railway has been completed. More than 3,000 km of new railways have been laid in Kazakhstan, alongside airports and train stations that have been reconstructed. We have also built two modern seaports on the Caspian Sea.

Another priority area is economic and investment cooperation. During the visit of the Head of the Government of Georgia to Kazakhstan, the Roadmap for expanding the product range was signed, which provides for a number of new economic initiatives, including the study of export potential and the strengthening of the promotion of non-oil products for export. The application of financial and insurance measures of state support for exporters, intensification of cooperation between agricultural research institutes, the opening of trading houses, etc., were also featured prominently on the roadmap. Recently with the assistance of our embassy, we established Kazakh-Georgian Business Association, which will facilitate the activities of our companies in Georgia, advise and protect their rights.

Kazakhstan has a dynamically developing economy. In recent years, your country has produced high rates of economic growth. What successful reforms have been carried out in the country to allow Georgia also set an example, especially in the economic sphere?

Each country is unique in its own way. There are differences in political systems, economy, culture, and mentality of our populations. I am convinced that each country has its own development path. I am not a supporter of blindly copying someone else’s experience. The economies of our countries are very different. Kazakhstan annually produces 82 million tons of oil, a huge amount of gas, and holds a leading position in the development of copper, zinc, and rare earth metals. We also produce a huge amount of grains. In Kazakhstan, programs are being implemented to diversify the economy and cause massive industrialization. New high-tech industries have been created in the country in the petrochemical and automobile industries, railway engineering, IT technology, and the production of space satellites. Kazakhstan have begun the production of cars, locomotives, wagons and much more.

If you look at things conversely, the ratings of world agencies on the ease of doing business, on bureaucratic procedures, and on the level of corruption, shows that Georgia is ahead. In these areas, mutual experience is always interesting. You can also think about attracting direct investment, of Kazakhstani capital in the Georgian economy, and Georgian capital in Kazakhstan.

Georgian officials often say that it is a priority for them to attract more foreign investors to Georgia, what would you advise and how can they attract investors from Kazakhstan? What makes Georgia an attractive place for Kazakhstani investors?

Absolutely, it is important to use foreign experience to attract investments to the economy, which by now has accumulated enough. At the same time, I want to note again, the futility of directly copying Kazakhstani or any other foreign experience. Any experience in that area should be subjected to critical analysis and adaptation to Georgian conditions. We did so in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and it allowed us to attract about 300 billion US dollars into our economy, which makes up for more than 70% of all foreign investments in Central Asia.

It was a critical analysis of existing foreign experience and adaptation to our conditions that enabled Kazakhstan to change the main guidelines of her economic policy to the revival of production and attracting foreign investment, primarily in the sphere of material production. This is responsible for the growth of employment and production, expansion of supply and demand, and it activates businesses that have contributed to resolving accumulated problems.

We recently discussed with a number of economists, about the current situation in Georgia and, among other things, we called for the need to improve the efficiency of agriculture and the development of services and tourism. If you accept 8 million tourists, it becomes certainly necessary to develop the infrastructure of this sector to attract more tourists and improve their leisure.

I would like to highlight tourist relations separately, are there any statistics showing how many citizens of your country visit Georgia annually? And how do you think this trend can be improved?

Georgia as a tourist destination is becoming one of the most significant areas of bilateral cooperation with great potential for further development. In recent years, Georgia has become increasingly popular among Kazakh tourists. Kazakhstan is among the top 10 countries in terms of the number of its annual tourists to Georgia. This year, the number of Kazakhstan holidaymakers in Georgia increased by 25%.

There are not many countries in the post-Soviet space, whose national airline flies to Georgia 20 times a week and from four cities. Kazakhstan’s two airlines operate direct flights from our capital, Almaty, Aktau, and Atyrau.

Kazakhstan recognizes Georgia as a very attractive country with huge tourism potential. Good contacts have been established between travel companies and the arrival of Kazakhstan travel agencies is expected to further deepen discussions with Georgian colleagues on the prospects for cooperation and ways to maintain this trend.

How do you see the future of Georgian-Kazakh relations and are there any upcoming official visits lined up?

Kazakh-Georgian relations have the nature of a strategic partnership, which is designed for the long term. A platform for constructive political dialogue has been created, and high level contacts have been maintained. We hope for the growth of trade between the two countries, for which all the necessary conditions are created.

Next year, we also plan mutual visits of the heads of our governments and ministries, the participation of our delegations in international forums and conferences held in our countries. A meeting of the intergovernmental commission, trade missions, and political consultations between the foreign affairs ministries of the two countries will also be organized, which, of course, will contribute to the strengthening of traditionally friendly Kazakh-Georgian relations.