Sultanov B.K. Kazakhstan Today

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Bin Abdul Aziz, Justice Minister Abdullah Al-Asheikh and Supreme

Judicial Council Chairman Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humeid.

Bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia in the

trade and economic sphere have great potential. Moreover, Saudi

Arabia has impressive investment opportunities and shows interest

in fulﬁ lling major infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan. In addition,

the countries’ leaders aim to create the best conditions for establishing

active business contacts in the sphere of trade and ﬁ nance.

Relations in the Middle East are characterised by the complicated

relations between Israel and the Arab world. It is important to note that

Israel is interested in cooperation with Kazakhstan as this will enable

it to establish and expand relations with other Muslim countries.

Relations, established between Kazakhstan and Israel in April

1992, are developing both in the trade and economic and cultural and

humanitarian spheres. Taking into account the continuing Arab-Israeli

conﬂ ict, Kazakhstan has spoken in favour of conducting a policy of

balance of interests in the region.

Kazakhstan’s position on the Middle Eastern settlement is based

on support for UN resolutions adopted on this issue.

Calling for the maximum use of negotiation potential to solve the

existing Israeli-Palestinian problems, Kazakhstan has established

political contacts with Israel and in parallel with the Palestinian

National Authority. President Nazarbayev paid an ofﬁ cial visit to

Palestine twice – in 1995 and 2000. In turn, the former head of the

Palestinian National Authority Yasser Arafat visited Kazakhstan in

1991 and 1999.

During talks the Kazakh and Palestinian leaders discussed issues

of bilateral cooperation. The states are now aiming to create the

necessary conditions for a regular exchange of views on topical in-

ternational problems, including the situation in the Middle East. This

circumstance proves Kazakhstan’s balanced policy on the problem

of the Middle Eastern settlement.

Kazakhstan is dynamically and fruitfully developing relations

with the United Arab Emirates. After the establishment of diplomatic

relations in September 1992, Kazakhstan started to build the basis

for bilateral cooperation.

As a result of a number of ofﬁ cial and working visits by Kazakh

President Nursultan Nazarbayev to UAE in 1998, 2000, 2004, 2005

and 2006 and UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s

visits to Kazakhstan in 2002 and 2008, a package of important inter-

state agreements was signed.

In particular, the states signed the Plan of Joint Action: Kazakh-

stan – UAE, which envisages large-scale bilateral cooperation in the

economic sphere, primarily, in industry, petrochemistry, transport and

telecommunications and construction.

It is worth stressing that for Kazakhstan the UAE is a promising

partner in the Arab world. Signiﬁ cant investment potential allows

the UAE to fund the construction of various facilities and projects

in Kazakhstan, including the Aktau City project in the Caspian Sea

region and the Abu Dhabi Plaza project in Astana. Proceeding from

this Kazakhstan favours boosting interstate cooperation and increasing

contracts between the two countries’ entrepreneurs.

Relations between Kazakhstan and the State of Qatar also help

strengthen Kazakhstan’s investment cooperation with Gulf countries.

After signing a joint statement in July 1993, the two countries of-

ﬁ cially established diplomatic relations.

During Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to Qatar

in 1998 and 2007 and Emir of Qatar Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani’s

reciprocal visit to Astana in 1999 the two leaders discussed strengthen-

ing bilateral agreements and opportunities to develop economic and

cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

Doha attaches great signiﬁ cance to developing relations with As-

tana and encourages Qatar’s private sector to cooperate with Kazakh

partners. Kazakhstan and Qatar are now trying to give a new impetus

to interstate relations, expanding cooperation in the oil and gas, educa-

tion, healthcare, agricultural, tourism and sport spheres.

In its relations with the Middle Eastern countries Kazakhstan

aims to develop a constant dialogue and regular consultations

on a broad spectre of global and regional issues. It should also

be noted that boosting cooperation with Muslim countries meets

Kazakhstan’s long-term interests and is one of the country’s foreign

policy priorities.

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Muslim countries regard Kazakhstan as a reliable partner and

leader in the Central Asian region, considering it as an inseparable

part of the Muslim community [39].

This is precisely why Arab countries welcome Kazakhstan’s

involvement in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the

Islamic Development Bank and offer all-round support to Kazakh-

stan’s foreign policy initiatives to convene the CICA, the Congress

of World and Traditional Religions and the Muslim World-the West

dialogue.

In addition, Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010 and

of the OIC in 2011 invites positive reaction from Middle Eastern

countries.

For its part, Kazakhstan is trying to fully open up the potential of

trade and economic cooperation with Middle Eastern countries by

creating a favourable investment climate for funding the non-extrac-

tive sector of its economy.

The implementation of major investment projects in the energy,

infrastructure, tourism, food, banking, metal and other sectors will

make it possible to elevate Kazakhstan’s relations with Middle Eastern

countries to a new level.

3.10. Kazakhstan and South Asian Countries

The South Asian region with its beneﬁ cial geostrategic position,

political weight and human resources represents great interest to

Kazakhstan.

The geographical proximity of the Indian subcontinent to Central

Asian countries and the rich history of relations between the peoples

of the two regions that have managed to establish close links in trade

and cultural exchange necessitate stable and mutually beneﬁ cial

interstate relations.

We should note that the signiﬁ cant factors that inﬂ uence the

nature of relations in South Asian countries are the differences in

the national interests of each of them. Proceeding from this point,

Kazakhstan is trying to conduct a balanced foreign policy towards

South Asian countries.

Moreover, Kazakhstan pays heightened attention to issues of ensur-

ing security and stability in South Asia because political contradictions

between regional leaders – India and Pakistan – need all-round discus-

sion and solution. Appropriately reacting to challenges coming from

the region, Kazakhstan is taking active measures to develop political

and economic cooperation with South Asian states [40, p 136].

In pursuit of its foreign policy India is trying to normalise relations

both with its regional neighbours and distant states. In foreign rela-

tions Delhi is guided by the principles of multi-polar world system,

focusing on problems of global stability and security. At the same

time, India aims to expand regional and global cooperation, including

with Central Asian countries.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ka-

zakhstan and India during President Nazarbayev’s visit to Delhi in

February 1992, the countries showed interest in boosting friendly

relations. Kazakhstan and India pointed to the similarity of their

positions on key aspects of regional and global politics and the

absence of fundamental contradictions on the main problems of

international relations.

The declaration on the principles of relations between Kazakhstan

and India, signed during the visit, laid the foundation for bilateral

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cooperation in the political, trade and economic, ﬁ nancial and other

spheres.

The following Indian visits to Kazakhstan were of signiﬁ cant

importance for the negotiation process between Astana and Delhi:

the former Prime Minister Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao’s

visit in May 1993 and the former Vice-President Kocheril Raman

Narayanan’s visit in September 1996, during which agreements on

technical cooperation, cultural exchange and the creation of the Ka-

zakh-Indian intergovernmental commission for trade and economic,

scientiﬁ c and technical, industrial and cultural cooperation were

signed [41].

Within the intergovernmental commission there are joint working

groups on information technologies, oil and gas, military and tech-

nical cooperation, the ﬁ ght against international terrorism, textiles

working group and the subcommittee for scientiﬁ c and technical

cooperation.

The countries’ intentions to boost economic cooperation were

conﬁ rmed during President Nazarbayev’s second visit to India in

December 1996.

The signing of the Convention between the Government of the

Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan

for the Avoidance of Double Taxation, the Agreement on Encourage-

ment and Mutual Protection of Investments and the memorandums

on mutual understanding, on holding days of Kazakh culture in India

and of Indian in Kazakhstan helped increased the potential of bilateral

cooperation.

The Kashmir problem remains an important aspect of Kazakh-

Indian talks. The Kazakh side has spoken in favour of a peaceful

solution to India-Pakistan contradictions based on taking account

of the opinions of all parties concerned and international law [42,

p 28].

From the very beginning interaction between Kazakhstan and

India aimed to strengthen regional security and expand economic

contacts, which is why one of the key issues of the interstate political

dialogue remains to be efforts to advance Kazakhstan’s initiative to

convene the CICA.

The Indian government, one of the most active supporters of the

development of the CICA, played a positive role during drafting the

declaration of principles for cooperation between CICA member

states in 1999.

India took active part in the CICA summits in 2002 and 2006, as

well as helping sign the Almaty act in 2002 and endorse the CICA

Catalogue of Conﬁ dence-Building Measures in 2004. This shows

Delhi’s desire to achieve the maximum effect in drafting new ap-

proaches to regional security issues.

The existence of such an unusual platform for dialogue such

as the CICA makes it possible for conﬂ icting parties to sit at the

negotiations table and discuss problems. In particular, during

the intensiﬁ cation of the conﬂ ict between India and Pakistan in

2002 Kazakhstan and Russia, making use of the advantages of

this forum, attempted to normalise relations between Delhi and

Islamabad.

A telling example of the strengthening of relations between Astana

and Delhi was President Nazarbayev’s third visit to India in Febru-

ary 2002, which resulted in the signing of the Kazakh-Indian Joint

Declaration. In July 2002, the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari

Vajpayee paid an ofﬁ cial visit to Kazakhstan.

A new boost to the development of Kazakh-Indian relations was

given by India’s Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari in April

2008 and President Nazarbayev’s fourth visit to Delhi in January

2009, as a result of which bilateral relations have reached the strategic

level of partnership.

At present Kazakhstan and India are combining their efforts to

develop political and economic ties both at interstate and regional

levels. This is precisely why Kazakhstan and India activated their

activities in other regional structures.

Aiming to be involved in processes taking place in Central Asia

and wanting to boost relations with Russia and China, India, with

Kazakhstan’s support, received observer status in the SCO during

the summit in Astana in July 2005. India’s desire to take part in SCO

initiatives such as the Regional Antiterrorist Structure (RATS), the

SCO Energy Club and the SCO-Afghanistan contact group will help

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expand cooperation between member states of the organisation in the

priority aspects of its activities.

Thus, Kazakhstan and India count on a long-term economic and

political partnership that will make it possible to establish transport

and telecommunications links, ensure bilateral cooperation in the

energy and information technology spheres, as well as allowing them

to tap the potential of mutually beneﬁ cial cooperation between the

two Asian countries.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan exerts considerable inﬂ uence

on the processes that are taking place in South Asia.

Kazakhstan and Pakistan established diplomatic relations in

February 1992 during President Nazarbayev’s state visit to Pakistan.

During the visit the following basic documents of bilateral relations

between the two countries were signed: the declaration on the prin-

ciples of relations between Kazakhstan and Pakistan, the agreements

on the establishment of diplomatic and consular relations, on trade

and economic cooperation, on cooperation in the spheres of culture,

sport and tourism and the protocol on the creation of a joint intergov-

ernmental commission.

In August 1995, Pakistan’s then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto

visited Kazakhstan and its President Farooq Leghari paid an ofﬁ cial

visit to Kazakhstan in October 1996. After these visits the parties de-

ﬁ ned some promising aspects of bilateral relations, strengthening their

legislative basis by a number of important documents, in particular,

by the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation, accords on

joint actions to ﬁ ght the illegal turnover of drugs and psychotropic

substances, terrorism and other crimes.

In the late 1990s political activity slowed down in relations be-

tween Kazakhstan and Pakistan. However, with the arrival of new

leadership in Pakistan the situation changed to the better and the

decline in diplomatic cooperation was overcome.

In November 2000 Pervez Musharraf, the then head of the execu-

tive branch of power in Pakistan, visited Kazakhstan on an ofﬁ cial

visit, during which Astana and Islamabad conﬁ rmed intentions to

develop bilateral relations further without discriminating the interests

of other countries. This circumstance shows Kazakhstan’s balanced

approach to India-Pakistan contradictions and its desire to establish

a permanent and comprehensive dialogue between them in order to

bring about a peaceful solution to the Kashmiri problem.

The further expansion of cooperation, including in the banking

sphere, was helped by President Nazarbayev’s visit to Pakistan in

December 2003, which resulted in the signing of a bilateral agreement

on cooperation between the two capitals.

Ofﬁ cials from Pakistan are taking an active part in promoting the

idea of the CICA from the very beginning of its establishment. It is

worth noting that the former president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf,

who attended the CICA summit in Almaty in 2006, raised issues

regarding the expansion of cooperation in the trade sphere and on

transport and energy projects.

In addition, Pakistan was granted observer status in the SCO and

this helps the country’s involvement in the process of solving issues

of regional security. Pakistan aims to become a full member of this

organisation, helping it intensify its interstate economic cooperation,

especially with Central Asian countries.

As a result, Kazakhstan’s cooperation with South Asian countries,

which are characterised by special geopolitical location and wide eco-

nomic opportunities, enables Astana to tap the potential of interstate

cooperation and favourable prospects for Kazakhstan’s access to the

global transport and communications networks that stem from it.

Since the very beginning of its independence Kazakhstan has

been aiming to develop and boost political dialogue with South Asian

countries, placing particular emphasis on the economic potential of

this cooperation.

Because of this, not only will Kazakhstan’s future cooperation

with South Asian states have a positive impact on the socioeconomic

development of these countries, but will also help ensure regional

stability and security.

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3.11. Kazakhstan and Asia-Paciﬁ c Countries

The Asia-Paciﬁ c vector of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy is one of

the most promising directions of cooperation for the future. Expanding

both bilateral and multilateral relations with Asia-Paciﬁ c countries

will help Kazakhstan’s multi-vector foreign policy.

This region now occupies an increasingly important place in

modern Kazakhstan’s foreign policy because Asia-Paciﬁ c countries

have high economic and industrial growth rates.

At the same time, high economic development rates increase the

living standards of the population and general consumer demand, which

makes the region a promising market. The regional countries’ rapidly

developing economies constantly need to increase energy imports.

On the global stage, the leading Asia-Paciﬁ c countries are claiming

increasingly better reputations and are turning into new centres of the

global economy and politics, capable of exerting substantial inﬂ uence

on the development of regional and global processes.

Kazakhstan and Japan. Asia-Paciﬁ c’s leading and most economi-

cally developed country is Japan.

The dialogue between Kazakhstan and Japan started in May 1992

with the visit by the then Japanese minister of foreign affairs, Michio

Watanabe. The foundation for bilateral relations was laid by President

Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to Japan in April 1994. The Joint State-

ment was signed during the visit, and notes of the recognition of treaties

and agreements signed by the USSR and Japan were exchanged.

The then Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaru Hashimoto’s 1997 Silk

Road Diplomacy strategy helped expand Japan’s cooperation with

Kazakhstan, as well as other Central Asian countries.

In December 1999 President Nazarbayev paid his second visit to

Japan and signed the Joint Declaration on Friendship, Partnership

and Cooperation. In December 2002, Kazakhstan’s former Minister

of Foreign Affairs Kasymzhomart Tokayev visited Japan to meet

government ofﬁ cials.

In 2004 Japan’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawa-

guchi announced a new initiative towards Central Asian countries

– the Central Asia plus Japan dialogue.

This forum helped expand Japan’s cooperation with Central Asian

countries at a multilateral level. The dialogue’s main priorities were

the boosting of cooperation with regional countries in the spheres

of economy, security and culture. In August 2004, the ﬁ rst meeting

of ministers of foreign affairs of the countries involved was held in

Astana.

An historical event that had a serious impact on Kazakh-Japanese

relations was the ﬁ rst visit to Kazakhstan by Japan’s then Prime Min-

ister Junichiro Koizumi in August 2006.

During his visit a joint declaration on the further development of

friendship, partnership and cooperation between the two countries

was signed. At meetings with Kazakh ofﬁ cials the former Japanese

prime minister showed interest in cooperating in the nuclear energy

sphere.

In April 2007 a delegation the heads of Japan’s major corpora-

tions, power engineering and trade companies and ﬁ nancial institu-

tions, led by Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akira Amari,

visited Kazakhstan. As a result of the visit, the sides signed a joint

statement on strengthening strategic partnership in the sphere of the

peaceful use of nuclear energy and over 20 cooperation agreements

in the nuclear sphere.

In June 2008 the Kazakh president paid another ofﬁ cial visit to

Japan. The visit’s main objective was to raise economic cooperation

between the two countries to a new level. During the visit President

Nazarbayev met Emperor Akihito, government members and busi-

ness people.

Currently, economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Japan

is ﬂ ourishing. The main items of Kazakh exports to Japan are still

titanium and chemical products, while Japan supplies equipment,

devices and cars to Kazakhstan.

Japanese companies are involved in major international oil projects

in Kazakhstan and conduct geological exploration to ﬁ nd deposits

of rare metals. Japanese companies run energy-saving projects in

Kazakhstan using new technologies.

Japan also conducts projects in Kazakhstan as part of its Ofﬁ cial

Development Assistance (ODA) Programme. The funding from this

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programme in Kazakhstan has exceeded $1bn since it was launched

[43].

Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea. Kazakhstan’s diplomatic

relations with South Korea were established on 28 January 1992.

The chief role in establishing interaction between the countries

was played by high level meetings. Kazakh President Nursultan

Nazarbayev visited South Korea on an ofﬁ cial visit twice – in 1995

and 2003.

During his ofﬁ cial visit to Seoul on 15-18 May 1995, President

Nazarbayev signed one of the main documents for bilateral relations

– a declaration on the main principles of interaction and cooperation

between Kazakhstan and South Korea.

The declaration said that both countries admitted that guarantees

of the rights of ethnic minorities was the main element of stability in

the international community and that they would respect and protect

the rights and interests of citizens who had roots in Kazakhstan and

Korea to ensure their cultural traditions and religion in line with the

norms of international law [44, pp 332-333].

The Joint Declaration, signed during the Kazakh president’s sec-

ond visit to South Korea in November 2003, stressed the countries’

readiness to put efforts to support peace and stability in Asia and ﬁ ght

international terrorism, organised crime and drugs.

Astana and Seoul agreed to expand cooperation through active

systematic exchange in the spheres of education, culture, tourism,

sport and local self-government [45].

During the ﬁ rst state visit by South Korean President Roh Moo-

hyun to Kazakhstan on 19 and 20 September 2004, the countries

signed the Joint Statement. This statement pointed to the need to

expand bilateral relations in the spirit of friendship and cooperation

and raise practical interaction in the spheres of trade, energy, mineral

resources, science and technology to a higher level [46].

Present relations with South Korea, taking account of its economic

and political potential, as well as its presence in the Kazakh economy,

bear the nature of a strategic partnership for Kazakhstan.

The contractual and legislative basis for cooperation between

Kazakhstan and South Korea consists of over 60 documents, includ-

ing agreements on cultural and scientiﬁ c and technical cooperation,

cooperation in the spheres of education, information technologies

and telecommunications, energy and mineral resources and other

spheres.

South Korea is one of the leading investors in the Kazakh economy.

Its total investment in Kazakhstan has reached about $3bn (as of 30

September 2008, according to the National Bank of Kazakhstan).

The main spheres of investment are construction, trade, ﬁ nance,

information technologies, the production of buses, equipment for the

oil and gas and chemical sectors and white goods. Over 300 enter-

prises with the involvement of South Korean capital are operating

in Kazakhstan, including 48 joint ventures and 62 representative

ofﬁ ces.

Taking into account the tremendous interest that South Korean

companies have in Kazakhstan, one can suggest that active coopera-

tion between the two countries in the hi-tech sphere will ensure the

necessary resources for our country’s economic modernisation. How-

ever, Kazakhstan now needs investment for a number of key sectors

that are not as attractive – agriculture, machine-building and so on.

Apart from frequent political and economic contacts between

Kazakhstan and South Korea, one can talk about serious prospects

for cooperation in the humanitarian and cultural spheres, in which

a particular role is played by Kazakhstan’s Korean diaspora, which

numbers over 100,000 people. Kazakhstan’s wise minority policy is

one of the main assurances of the consistent development of Kazakh-

South Korean relations.

In the foreign policy sphere bilateral ties between Astana and

Seoul are important in the context of establishing and furthering

Kazakhstan’s cooperation with Asia-Paciﬁ c countries. One of the

main promising aspects is interaction with South Korea in the context

of regional integration and cooperation in ASEAN.

In essence, participation in ASEAN is one of the main ways of

involving Kazakhstan in Asia-Paciﬁ c integration structures, but this

is largely hindered by Kazakhstan’s geographical remoteness. No

less important is South Korea’s participation, as an inﬂ uential global

player, in the activities of the CICA.

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Positions adopted by Kazakhstan and South Korea on key global

problems, including in the sphere of strengthening the regime of the

non-proliferation of weapons of mass destructions, ﬁ ghting terrorism

and solving regional conﬂ icts, are generally similar.

Kazakhstan and Indonesia. A major Asia-Paciﬁ c country and the

world’s largest island state is Indonesia. It has a population of 240

million people, 90% of whom are Muslim, making Indonesia the

world’s largest Muslim country.

Indonesia’s foreign policy directions are traditionally aimed at

ﬁ rmly protecting national interests, constructive involvement in

solving global problems and ensuring peace, stability and security

globally and regionally.

Indonesia advocates drafting new parameters of the global order

based on multi-polarity, strengthening the UN’s central role and the

supremacy of international law. Jakarta’s main foreign policy objective

is to create favourable conditions for strengthening the country’s territo-

rial integrity and speeding up economic development [47, pp 8-17].

The similarity of Indonesia’s and Kazakhstan’s positions on foreign

policy issues is a favourable basis for the development of mutually

beneﬁ cial bilateral relations.

In 1995, during the former Indonesian President Mohammed

Suharto’s ofﬁ cial visit to Kazakhstan, documents that laid the foun-

dation for bilateral relations were signed. In particular, the countries

signed the Joint Declaration and the Agreement on Economic and

Technical Cooperation [48, p 270].

President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s reciprocal visit to Indonesia

resulted in the signing of the agreement on settlements between the

National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Central Bank of Indonesia and

the agreement on cooperation between the two countries’ commerce

and trade chambers.

Kazakhstan’s trade with Indonesia is relatively small, but it shows

an upward trend. In 2006 bilateral trade totalled $24.3m and $34.2m

in 2007, whereas in the ﬁ rst half of 2008 this ﬁ gure reached $25.7

– more than in the whole of 2006.

Kazakhstan and Indonesia are closely cooperating within the UN,

the CICA and the OIC.

Kazakhstan and Malaysia. Out of all the Asia-Paciﬁ c countries,

Malaysia is of particular interest to Kazakhstan, especially its experi-

ence in economic development.

Industry contributes 46% to the Malaysian economy, while ser-

vices account for 41%. Malaysia has achieved extraordinary successes

in the production of electrical and electronics equipment. The country

is the world’s largest producer of electronic chips and household air

conditioners. Malaysia has achieved astonishing results in the spheres

of car production, oil and gas processing and textiles.

Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Malaysia were

established on 16 March 1992, and the countries established their

diplomatic missions in 1996.

The Kazakh president paid his ﬁ rst ofﬁ cial visit to Malaysia in May

1996. This visit resulted in basic intergovernmental agreements on

trade and economic cooperation, on encouragement and protection of

investment and economic and scientiﬁ c and technical cooperation.

In return, Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mohathir Mohammad

ﬁ rst visited Kazakhstan in July 1996. As a result, agreements on air

links and on cooperation between the countries’ central banks, as well

as the Joint Declaration, were signed.

In September 2003 Malaysia’s former supreme ruler, Tuanku Syed

Sirajuddin, visited Kazakhstan, while President Nazarbayev went on

a state visit to Malaysia in June 2006.

This visit elevated bilateral relations to a new level: as a result

the countries signed a number of agreements which were important

in practical terms for the development of bilateral cooperation: the

intergovernmental agreement on the avoidance of double taxa-

tion and the prevention of tax evasion and a package of business

agreements in the sphere of information technologies, ﬁ nance and

construction.

Kazakhstan and Malaysia are successfully cooperating in the

sphere of space technologies and conquering space. In October 2007,

a Malaysian delegation, led by Minister of Science, Technology and

Innovation Jamaluddin Jarjis, visited Kazakhstan in connection with

a Malaysian astronaut’s ﬂ ight to the International Space Station from

the Baikonur cosmodrome.

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Kazakhstan and Malaysia are actively cooperating within interna-

tional forums. In October 2008 in Astana the seventh Asia Cooperation

Dialogue ministerial meeting was attended by Malaysian’s former

Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Rahim Bakri.

In 2007, Kazakh-Malaysian trade totalled $67.13m, while in Janu-

ary-September 2008 this was $48.5m [49].

The two countries are currently closely cooperating in the sphere of

education and enhancing qualiﬁ cations. Every year, Kazakh specialists

(lawyers, doctors, diplomats and economists) undergo training courses

in Malaysian educational establishments as part of the Malaysian

programme for technical assistance for developing countries.

In the modern world Kazakhstan’s interests cannot be limited to

neighbouring regions. The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is

broadly building relations with Asia-Paciﬁ c countries, where a new

global centre of politics and economy is emerging.

The region already accounts for two-thirds of the global economic

output. The economic successes of Asia-Paciﬁ c and its economic

growth rates are impressive. As a consequence, Kazakhstan shows

interest in exchanging experience with leading Asian countries in

economic and industrial development.

Asia-Paciﬁ c’s progress in the hi-tech sphere generates interest in

Kazakhstan, while the commonness of positions on international po-

litical issues is a favourable basis for developing mutually beneﬁ cial

cooperation between Kazakhstan and Asia-Paciﬁ c countries.

3.12. Kazakhstan and the UN

The UN’s main goal is to promote peaceful and sustainable de-

velopment globally. After obtaining independence Kazakhstan also

deﬁ ned peaceful development and expanding neighbourly relations

as the key principle of its foreign policy.

The similarity of the goals and tasks of Kazakhstan, as a young

state that started making the ﬁ rst steps on the international stage, en-

abled it to become a full member of the UN on 2 March 1992. This

landmark event in the history of the country’s diplomacy and foreign

policy took place at the 46

session of the UN General Assembly as

a result of the adoption of Resolution 46/224.

In autumn 1992 at the 47

session of the UN General Assembly

the Kazakh delegation took part in the UN forum as a full member

for the ﬁ rst time. At this session President Nazarbayev delivered a

speech to deﬁ ne the key principles and aspects of Kazakhstan’s foreign

policy and the country’s plans to enter the international arena as an

independent and sovereign player.

This speech could be rightfully described as a historical event in

Kazakh foreign policy. In it the head of state stressed the country’s

readiness to share the responsibility for achieving development goals,

strengthening the regime of the non-proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction, observing human rights and drafting efﬁ cient measures to

counter modern challenges and threats to stability and security with

other members of the international community [50].

During this speech the president proposed one of Kazakhstan’s

ﬁ rst initiatives to the international community – one that concerned

the creation of a special forum – the Conference for Interaction and

Conﬁ dence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

As a result, Kazakhstan started intensive activities in the interna-

tional area as a player that was capable of inﬂ uencing the formation

of a fundamentally new system of collective security in Asia, based

on a dialogue and mutual understanding in solving topical interna-

tional problems.

Kazakhstan’s position and its government’s speciﬁ c steps on

nuclear disarmament invited respect in the international community.

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In particular, at the 49

session of the UN General Assembly in their

speeches heads of state welcomed Kazakhstan’s move to join the

Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) and the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The continuation of Kazakhstan’s initiatives on nuclear disarmament

was its signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

in October 1996. This boosted Kazakhstan’s reputation as a young state

that adhered to the principles of stability and peaceful development.

As part of its activities in the UN, Kazakhstan pays particular at-

tention to cooperation in ensuring regional security and organising

peacekeeping operations. In December 1995, along with Kyrgyzstan

and Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the creation of

a joint peacekeeping battalion in Central Asia under the aegis of the

UN. In 1996 Kazakhstan joined the UN system of reserve agreements

for possible involvement in peacekeeping operations.

Kazakhstan’s close involvement in peacekeeping activities was

proven by the creation of the Kazakh peacekeeping battalion (Kazbat)

in 2003, subunits of which took part in mine clearing in Iraq between

2003 and 2008.

In 2003 Kazakhstan and the UN also signed a memorandum of

understanding regarding contributions to UN preparatory measures

and expressed readiness to provide troops, armoured and transport

means of Kazbat for peacekeeping operation and showed interest in

closer involvement in the UN system of purchases for peacekeeping

operations.

As a result, Kazakhstan deserved the UN’s recognition as a state

that adopted a balanced and constructive approach to solving topical

international problems.

Kazakhstan attaches special signiﬁ cance to international coopera-

tion in the development of transport networks in Central Asia and

alternative routes to access global markets. In 1999 at the 53

session

of the UN General Assembly Kazakhstan initiated the adoption of a

resolution on transit issues in Central Asia which was co-authored

by 19 other members of the UN.

In August 2003 Kazakhstan proposed to hold the ﬁ rst UN minis-

terial conference to discuss problems of landlocked countries. This

conference resulted in the adopted a UN General Assembly resolution

on the Almaty programme of action on cooperation between develop-

ing landlocked and transit countries.

The Almaty conference became the ﬁ rst UN event to discuss

problems of landlocked countries.

An important event in relations between Kazakhstan and the UN

was the former UN Secretary-General Koﬁ Annan’s visit to Astana

in October 2002. During the visit Mr Annan praised Kazakhstan as a

regional leader in preventing conﬂ icts. He also noted that Kazakhstan

had achieved signiﬁ cant results in switching from administrative-com-

mand to market economy and managed to preserve stability in the

country, adopting a bold position on nuclear disarmament [51].

In relations with the UN Kazakhstan also focuses on countering

non-traditional threats that bear a crossborder nature. Taking into

account international experience, we should note that there is no

country (regardless of its political, economic and political might) that

is capable of independently countering the serious modern challenges

of terrorism, religious extremism, the non-proliferation of weapons

of mass destructions, weapons smuggling, drugs and so on.

This is primarily linked to the fact that these problems have inter-

national, crossborder nature and need appropriate collective solutions.

In connection with this, in January 2005 Kazakhstan hosted a UN

Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee special meeting to

consolidate efforts to ﬁ ght terrorism threats.

Kazakhstan’s election to the UN Economic and Social Council

(ECOSOC) on 2 November 2006 became an important event in coop-

eration between Kazakhstan and the UN and this was the recognition

of the country’s constructive role in the activities of the UN. During a

plenary session of the UN General Assembly Kazakhstan’s candidacy

was supported by 187 countries out of 192 and, along with 53 other

countries, it became the ﬁ rst Central Asian country to be elected to

ECOSOC.

Thus, from 2007 Kazakhstan represented Asia’s interests in this

structure.

In May 2006 the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia

and the Paciﬁ c (ESCAP) held its 63

session in Almaty. Over 500

198 199

Kazakhstan today

Chapter 3. Foreign Policy

delegates, including heads of governments and ministers of member

states of ESCAP, representatives of UN specialised agencies, inter-

national and nongovernmental organisations, discussed issues of

reforming ESCAP, regulating globalisation processes and eliminating

poverty and exchanged views on future cooperation in the spheres of

transport, trade, energy, information technologies and environmental

protection.

This meeting resulted in the adoption of the Almaty declaration

devoted to the 60th anniversary of the commission and nine resolu-

tions aimed at expanding cooperation in the region.

Assessing the results of this meeting, Kazakhstan’s former Min-

ister of Foreign Affairs Marat Tazhin noted that the delegates’ active

involvement in discussing the Almaty declaration proved the existence

of collective political will and determination of countries to develop

regional cooperation to improve the lives of the millions of people

in region living in poverty [52].

Kazakhstan’s standing in the UN is based on the country’s interests

in the entire set of issues discussed by the UN. Particular attention is

drawn to cooperation with the UN in the spheres of economy, envi-

ronment protection, social development, the progressive development

of international law, the observation of human rights and ﬁ ghting

organised crime and drug trafﬁ cking.

Thus, during the years of close cooperation with the UN Kazakh-

stan has acquired signiﬁ cant potential in working with the UNDP,

UNICEF, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the

UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the International

Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Atomic Energy Agency

(IAEA), the WHO and other organisations as part of attracting the

UN’s expertise and technical and ﬁ nancial assistance to Kazakhstan

[53, pp 281-282 and 288-302].

Kazakhstan’s foreign policy position is based on the promotion of

a multi-polar world as the best form of ensuring international stability

and the balance of forces. This position is reﬂ ected in Kazakhstan’s

strategic course to pursue a multi-vector foreign policy.

This is why Astana now speaks in favour of the UN’s role as a

key instrument of collective regulation of international relation and

formation of a multi-polar system based on the UN Charter and in-

ternational law.

Regarding the issues surrounding the reformation of the UN Ka-

zakhstan advocates the adaptation of the organisation’s institutions

to modern geopolitical and economic realities and rational transfor-

mations taking into account the opinions of all states in solving the

main international problems.

Kazakhstan’s participation in the work of international organisa-

tions is one of the foreign policy priorities of the country. That is

why Kazakhstan’s integration to the UN system became an important

step on the path of implementing the young state’s foreign policy

objectives.

In particular, Kazakhstan’s membership of the UN helped

strengthen its sovereignty and independence and offered favourable

external conditions for further transformations and modernisation

in the socio-political, economic, humanitarian and other spheres of

public life.