The Astana Times No. 4(94) of 24 February 2016

Transcription

Wednesday, february 24, 2016
0° / -2°C
www.astanatimes.com
No 4 (94)
Nazarbayev Pushes for Almaty’s Better Kazakh President
Orders New
Preparedness for 2017 Universiade
Massive Investments
in Economy
By Kamila Zhumabayeva
ASTANA – Kazakh President
Nursultan Nazarbayev instructed
the government in collaboration
with the 2017 World Winter Universiade organising committee and
Almaty’s akimat (city administration) to take all measures to prepare for the Universiade during a
meeting in Almaty on Feb. 16.
As the head of state noted, it is
important to conduct the games at
a high level for Kazakhstan and it
is designed to bring a big economic impact.
“Conducting the Universiade
will give a new impulse to developing the city, improving its architectural appearance, raising the
level of service in hotels, restaurants, public transport and sports
objects. This all will stimulate
small and medium-sized businesses, increase the volume of services
and create new jobs,” the President
said at the meeting.
A number of projects are still not
ready, according to him.
“The Medeu ice rink, Shymbulak ski resort and Baluan Sholak
sports and culture palace raise
serious concerns. Moreover, it is
now necessary to think how to use
By Yerbolat Uatkhanov
President Nursultan Nazarbayev (R) is shown new facilities being built for the 2017 World Winter Universiade in Almaty
during his visit on Feb 16.
those facilities after conducting the
games. The strain on the budget
should be minimal while the sports
facilities should be available to the
public,” Nazarbayev stressed.
The President also touched upon
the crime situation by drawing
attention to the need to raise the
safety of citizens. Particularly prior to the anticipated Universiade
and the arriving of many athletes,
fans and tourists, he instructed
measures on improving law enforcement in the city by continuing
the work on setting video cameras
and street lighting.
The head of state noted that implementing the tasks set to increasing the efficiency of the domestic
economy in many ways depends
on the regions, among which Almaty plays an important role.
Continued on Page A3
ASTANA – President Nursultan
Nazarbayev ordered the government to make way for huge investments into Kazakhstan’s economy
as it continues to deal with twin
negative effects of low commodity
prices and tit-for-tat sanctions between Russia and the West.
The President, chairing an enlarged
session of the government on Feb. 10,
instructed the ministers to both draw
forth by one year $1 billion worth of
expenditures to be made under the
Nurly Zhol programme next year and
use the pension funds as a source of
around 4 billion dollars worth of additional capital. In addition to supporting new industrial enterprises and
infrastructure development under the
Nurly Zhol programme, money will
primarily be used to support housing
construction and job creation and to
buy shares of foreign companies to
ensure profitability of pension savings.
The session in Akorda discussed
the results of social and economic
development of 2015, monetary
policy, diversification of the economy, an increase in the safety and
profitability of the Single Accumulative Pension Fund, promotion of
employment and strict control over
spending are key stones of AntiCrisis Action Plan discussed at the
meeting.
“The National Bank should ensure an effective monetary policy
while maintaining the level of free
floating exchange rate, avoid sharp
exchange rate fluctuations and continue with de-dollarisation. There
are no restrictions on the receipt
of liquidity by banks. I believe
that the National Bank is pursuing
a correct policy in the current circumstances. It is necessary to carry
out daily monitoring of the financial situation and together with the
government promptly take appropriate measures,” Nazarbayev said.
Tea vs. Coffee:
Mazhilis Election Campaigning Starts,
Central Election Commission Approves Comparing Cultures
Six Parties and 234 Candidates
and their Role in
Kazakh Society
By Malika Orazgaliyeva
ASTANA – The political party
registration process for the March 20
parliamentary elections ended Feb.
20 with a six-party list that includes
234 candidates approved by the Central Election Commission (CEC). On
the same day, the nomination of candidates for maslikhat (regional legislatures) elections was also completed. Campaigning, which began Feb.
21, will now last until March 18.
The country’s ruling party, Nur
Otan, adopted a new election
programme, “Kazakhstan 2021:
Unity. Stability. Creation,” during
the Jan. 19 congress chaired by
Kazakh President and party leader
Nursultan Nazarbayev.
According to the programme,
the party intends to carry on with
the goal of joining the 30 leading
world economies. The programme
is based on the five institutional reforms announced last year, which
supports the Nurly Zhol programme
and the Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy.
“The coming five years will determine the fate of Kazakhstan in
the 21st century. Our country and
all of us will have to pass a test of
strength. There is much work on
the country’s transformation ahead
of us. Our mission is to protect the
country, strengthen our sovereign-
ty and continue the nation’s way
to the future. We cannot hide from
the global challenge. We must accept it. We have one leader: Nursultan Nazarbayev. We have a
shared great future and our victory
will be shared as well,” the text of
the document said.
The five institutional reforms
include modernising Kazakhstan’s
state apparatus, enhancing the rule
of law, supporting the middle class
and diversifying the economy, promoting national unity and increasing transparency and accountability in government. Mechanisms to
achieve these ends include steps
to make the civil service corps
independent from political pro-
cesses and patrons, including new
methods of remuneration for civil
servants; new systems for selecting, promoting and confirming
police officers and judges; industrialisation and export support
programmes; trilingual education
(in Kazakh, Russian and English)
and national values programmes;
and steps to increase accountability by the heads of state bodies, to
ensure transparent decision making, to involve citizens in budgeting processes and to promote societal self-regulation by transferring
powers to civil society institutions
and reducing the areas of responsibility of state bodies.
ASTANA — Kazakhs have
been drinking tea for thousands of
years, while some are only starting
to drink coffee. Why do residents
prefer one hot drink over the other
and which has a better, healthier,
more-efficient or calming effect?
The Astana Times interviewed baristas in the capital’s coffee houses
and coffee and tea lovers to answer
the question.
“Kazakhs loved to drink tea
together with their families starting from ancient times. A fragrant
tea with either milk or cream is
usually served after a traditional
beshbarmak meal (Kazakh national dish). Baursaks (fried yeast
dough) are baked and various
sweets are served with tea,” said
mother and enterpreneur Gulnara
Ashirbayeva.
She added drinking a hot cup of
tea is good, “especially after a hearty
meat dish and is necessary in order
for the food to digest well.”
Continued on Page B5
Young Kazakh Entrepreneurs Kazakhstan’s First
McDonald’s to Open in 2016
Seek to Save Aport Apple
Timur Takabayev (L) and Andrey Kim.
By Zhanna Shayakhmetova
ALMATY – Two `Almaty entrepreneurs are using new media and
technology in their quest to restore
Kazakhstan’s famous, but threatened, Aport apples.
The
young
businessmen
launched an apple orchard with
little knowledge but great enthusiasm and have since gained international attention for their work. Andrey Kim, an acquiring manager,
and Timur Takabayev, an information systems architect, both earned
business degrees in London before
turning to farming. The two unlikely agriculturalists spoke with
The Astana Times about their decision to become apple farmers and
how they are using social media to
promote their organic farm.
The Almaty-born project developers set out to start an agriculture
business without chemicals and
genetically modified organisms.
They’re currently combining their
business careers with their love of
gardening, and have set up an orchard in the Trans-Ili Alatau foothills. For them, the project is social
rather than commercial. They say
their apple project shows that two
people full of pure enthusiasm but
lacking gardening knowledge can
still succeed, and point to their results: around 300 trees have been
restored within a year.
This photo taken on Feb. 23 shows Kazakhstan’s first-ever McDonald’s restaurant almost ready for opening at one of the
capital’s busiest intersections. Read the full story on Page B8.
Inside
Nation
Economy&Business
EDITORIALs
OPINIONS
NATION&CAPITAL
OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission
Head Pledges Objective Monitoring A2
More than 6,000 Citizens Received
Microcredits in 2015 A4
Excitement Builds for Broadcast of ‘Kazakh
Game of Thrones’ A6
Idrissov: The World Supports a Vision
of a Nuclear-Weapons-Free Planet A7
Kazakhstan Committed to Competitive,
Transparent and Fair Elections, Foreign
Minister Says A2
EBRD Loans $103 Million to Upgrade
Almaty-Astana Highway A5
Historic Meeting in Havana to Help Eliminate
Misunderstandings A6
Kassymbek: Where and How to Holiday
in Kazakhstan A7
Bulgarians ‘Sprinkled Kazakh Steppes with
Sweat and Blood’, Community
Leader Says B1
US$ 1 = 355.45 KZT 1 Euro = 393.80 KZT 1 Rouble = 4.65 KZT
Samsung Becomes Official
EXPO 2017 Partner B6
A2
ELECTION 2016
Kazakhstan Committed to Competitive, Transparent
and Fair Elections, Foreign Minister Says
By Malika Orazgaliyeva
ASTANA – Kazakhstan is committed to holding competitive,
transparent and fair elections, Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov said at
a Feb. 17 meeting with the head of
the observation mission for early
parliamentary elections from the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
“I am convinced that the upcoming parliamentary elections
will be another step towards
strengthening the independence
of our country,” Idrissov told Ambassador Boris Frlec who began
his mission on the same day, according to the foreign ministry.
“We attach particular importance
to how the upcoming parliamentary elections take place and we
intend to ensure 100 percent public confidence through the organisation of the elections in accord-
Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov (R) and Head of the Observation Mission for
early parliamentary elections of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights Boris Frlec met in Astana on Feb. 17.
ance with the highest democratic
standards. Our Constitution and
electoral laws clearly define the
requirements for candidates and
the election rules.”
Idrissov also said invitations to
observe the elections were sent to
11 international organisations and
representatives of central election
commissions from 19 countries.
Frlec thanked Kazakhstan for
the timely invitation to observe the
elections and creation of favourable conditions for the mission’s
work. The OSCE/ODIHR mission
officially started monitoring the
elections to the Mazhilis on Feb.
17.
The sides discussed the country,
regional and the global contexts of
the elections scheduled for March
20.
“Today, through the hard work
of the Parliament and the Government to establish a legislative
framework for the implementation
of the Plan of the Nation ‘100 Concrete Steps,’ Kazakhstan sets itself
on a new path of the five institutional reforms initiated last year by
President Nursultan Nazarbayev,”
Idrissov noted. “Five reforms provide for the establishment of a
modern state apparatus, enhancement of the rule of law, economic
diversification and business development, strengthening of the
Kazakhstan identity and unity, creation of a transparent and accountable government and society.”
He noted these government actions coupled with the implementation of projects under the Nurly
Zhol new economic policy and an
additional investment of public
funds into the country’s economy
recently announced by the head
of state were designed to provide
the conditions for sustained and
sustainable development in the future. In this regard, the elections to
the Mazhilis of the Parliament and
the corresponding renewal of the
mandate of the parliament and the
government at this stage are very
timely steps.
At the end of the meeting, Idrissov and Frlec confirmed their
readiness for close cooperation in
the coming period.
OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Head
Pledges Objective Monitoring, Stresses Focus on Process
By Zhazira Dyussembekova
ASTANA – Observers from the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) will monitor Kazakhstan’s March 20 early
parliamentary elections in an objective way and focus on the process,
not intending to pass a verdict on
the validity of the vote, Ambassador
Boris Frlec of Slovenia, the head of
the mission said.
“It is important to understand that
our main task is to observe the election process, not to interfere. We are
not election police or supervisors,
we are not interested in the outcome
of the elections,” said Frlec during
a Feb. 17 press conference here to
announce the official start of the observation mission. He added that the
mission is interested in the process
itself being transparent and fair.
“We are here by the invitation
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
These are the ninth elections OSCE/
ODIHR is observing in Kazakhstan
since 1999. We had a joint, very
constructive cooperation with all
the electoral stakeholders in the past
and we look forward to make so in
the coming weeks,” Frlec said.
He noted the mission so far consists of 39 experts, 11 of whom form
a core team based in the capital and
28 long-term observers who will be
deployed throughout the country in
teams of two to start their work in
less than a week on Feb. 23. In addition, 400 short-term observers are
expected from OSCE participating
states to arrive several days before
Election Day.
“We are grateful that we have
received the invitation in such a
timely manner. This allows us to
observe the entire process of the
elections according to our standards. Also, we would like to stress
we have arrived here without preconceived ideas or fixed agendas,”
said Frlec.
He also noted the observers apply
the same standards and methodology to all OSCE participating states.
One of the main duties of the mission is to assess upcoming elections
for compliance with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national
legislation, Frlec said.
The experts will closely monitor
candidate and voter registration and
campaign activities and the work
of the election administration and
relevant government bodies. On
election day, they will observe polling station openings, voting, ballot
counting and tabulation of results.
They will also oversee legislation
and its implementation, as well the
resolution of election-related disputes. As part of the observation,
the mission will also monitor media
coverage of the campaign.
The mission will meet with state
authorities, political parties and
candidates and with representatives
from civil society, the media and the
international community. “During
the course of the observation, we
will meet with every stakeholder in
the election process starting with the
political parties. Parties are always
eager to talk to us and explain their
positions at the election. These discussions are always interesting,”
said the head of the mission during
the conference.
The OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission will join efforts
March 20 with delegations from
the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
(OSCE PA) and the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE).
The mission will issue one interim
report, according to its press release,
several days prior to the election. A
statement of preliminary findings
and conclusions will be released at a
March 21 press conference. ODIHR
will issue a final report on the entire
electoral process eight weeks after
the end of the observation mission.
“Recommendations that are
made by OSCE are not political;
they are not obligatory. It is up to
the country whether to implement
them or not; there might be reasons why not. Our task is to find
out how many were implemented
and to see whether there are more
changes that should be implemented to the election process.
It is not the task of ODIHR to
recognise or not to recognise the
elections in the country. Final reports of observation missions are
discussed at the OCSE Council
in Vienna. The country that was
observed has every possibility to
answer any kind of questions,”
said Frlec.
The OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission and the OSCE
programme office in the capital operate separately and independently
under their own mandates.
After the official part of the press
conference Frlec and his colleagues
were asked several questions by the
representatives of local media.
The head of the mission stressed
once more that the mission does not
have any preconceived ideas about
the country. “Every expert in the
mission has a long lasting experience. I do not see any reason for any
concerns there will be any difference this time,” he added.
“We do not compare elections in
different countries. We assess the
election process on an absolute basis, not trying to say ‘this was better,
this was worse.’ We were observing many elections in countries of
Central Asia and never had particular difficulties,” replied the head of
the mission to the question whether
results of observation missions in
different countries are being compared.
“It is very interesting to know in
what kind of political context the
election process will take place. We
are only comparing the implementation of the principles recorded in
the Copenhagen Document with
the actual state of the process in the
country,” added Frlec.
Earlier on that day, he met with
Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs
Erlan Idrissov and head of the Central Election Commission Kuandyk
Turgankulov. According to the Kazakh foreign ministry, during the
meeting Idrissov stressed that the
country was committed to holding
competitive, transparent and fair
elections.
Mazhilis Election Campaigning Starts, Central Election
Commission Approves Six Parties and 234 Candidates
Continued from Page A1
The party programme promised
to create 395.500 jobs by 2019.
For these purposes, $22.5 billion
will be allocated from the budget.
Nur Otan also said they would
take control of the problems of
access to preschool education and
emergency schools in all regions
of the country and will focus on
the development of modern information technology infrastructure.
The planned Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), an
initiative of President Nazarbayev,
is also central to Nur Otan’s vision.
The party says the centre will attract foreign investment, open up
the Kazakh banking sector and
make it easier for insurance companies and Islamic finance institutions to do business, as well as
promoting best financial practices
in Kazakhstan.
The system of targeted social
assistance will be updated and
streamlined under the Nur Otan
programme, with social assistance
provided only to those who need it,
according to family income.
The party also has an action plan
to prevent unemployment, which
it considers crucial in confronting
the global crisis, and a plan to develop rental housing.
Kazakhstan will continue its
multivector foreign policy and
will promote Nazarbayev’s international initiatives, the Nur Otan
platform said.
“Unity and harmony supported
by strong leadership is the main
formula of Kazakh success in the
21st century,” Nur Otan said.
The Ak Zhol Democratic Party
of Kazakhstan, headed by Azat Peruashev, intends to modernise existing tax policy to support national industry. The party identified
10 directions of its electoral programme. These include promoting
business and entrepreneurship and
supporting market reforms, including through far-reaching privatisation plans. Ak Zhol suggests education reforms, including giving
graduates the right to pass university entrance exams instead of the
Unified National Test (UNT). To
develop Kazakhstan’s workforce,
the party advocates quotas for attracting foreign labour and introducing state educational grants for
specialists. The party prioritises
housing construction as a driver
of the economy, as well as agriculture. They also promote trans-
parency and accountability of the
government to the public.
“The political culture of Kazakh
society is ready for the formation
of a civilised discussion,” their
programme says. The programme
also includes measures to develop
culture in the country, to fight corruption and to reform the legal and
judicial systems. Ak Zhol is also
going to seek the adoption of measures to protect all citizens against
extremism and terrorism and raise
the status of employees of law-enforcement bodies, they said.
The programme of Auyl Social
Democratic Party, chaired by Ali
Bektayev, concentrates on the comprehensive development of rural areas. The core principles of the Auyl
election platform are culture, agriculture and spiritual development
and social support for families.
The Communist People’s Party of
Kazakhstan (CPPK) has presented a
Marxist-Leninist election campaign
that calls for support for communism and collectivist values in modern society, paying particular attention, as usual, to the negative impact
of Western culture and values.
“The flaws of the West are mostly visible in the cultural sphere,
since consumption as a social phe-
nomenon is largely based on a system of values and ideas that reduce
the sense of life to the satisfaction
of material interests. Western culture has become a business and its
supreme principle is purely material values,” the platform said.
According to the programme,
the cinema can serve as the most
striking example of the degradation of modern Western culture, as
it is based, the communists say, on
violence and depravity.
The CPPK is also against fast
food, calling it “the ugliest form
of the manifestation of vulgar individualism in daily culture.”
“Western societies must objectively admit that the fast food
problem has reached the same level as excessive alcohol consumption and smoking. The only difference is that, unlike tobacco and
alcohol, a fast food packet does not
warn of health dangers,” the CPPK
programme stressed.
The Nationwide Social Democratic Party (NSDP) set the following tasks: “Stop the declining
living standards and rising prices,
fight poverty, introduce all modern world standards in Kazakhstan
and leave behind an atmosphere of
anxiety and social tensions.”
The party wishes to reorient productive capacity for the purposes
of internal development, pave the
way to an innovation economy
and stop the national currency collapse, which is “a natural consequence of the errors of oligarchic
power”, their programme says. It
also calls for the transformation of
“the existing authoritarian regime
into a democratic political system”
by way of a national dialogue. The
NSDP suggested its own measures
to solve these problems, which are
based on the principles of expediency, justice and public good.
The Birlik (Unity) party appeals
to the nation to unite against the
global crisis and support the President’s goal of joining the 30 most
developed countries of the world.
The party wants to prioritise environmental protection, focusing on
the goal of “passing on to future
generations a clean Kazakhstan
with [well-preserved] flora and
fauna.”
Economically, the party emphasises reforms aimed at shaping a
more competitive economy and
agricultural sector and the need to
enhance the state-defined consumer basket by increasing it.
NATIONAL
news in brief
Salamatty Kazakhstan (Healthy
Kazakhstan) specialised medical
train began a journey in Karaganda
Feb. 18, according to Nomad.su.
The train is a hospital on wheels,
equipped to provide services to small
population centres that don’t have
hospitals. Medical trains have become very popular in Kazakhstan to
treat people living in remote villages.
The train is equipped with the most
up-to-date medical facilities. Highly
qualified medical staff will visit numerous population centres of central
Kazakhstan, stopping at 25 railroad
stations. The trip will end March 25.
The hospital train project started in
2010 and has already delivered free
medical services to 284,000 people.
Kostanai’s regional administration
plans to increase its meat exports
to 3,000 tonnes in 2016, according to Akim (Governor) Arkhimed
Mukhambetov. At a recent press
conference, he stated that developing
Kostanai’s meat production cluster
will help meat exports reach their
full potential. His statement is supported by the joint action plan of interregional cooperation on the development of meat production, signed
by the Ministry of Agriculture, the
administrations of the Aktobe, Kostanai and West Kazakhstan regions
as well as Inalca Eurasia Holdings
GesmbH in Aktobe Jan. 17.
The press service of Atyrau region
stated that 98 percent of the region’s
population and 79.5 percent of settlements in the region use natural
gas, Kazinform reports. In 2015,
10,300 kilometres of gas pipelines
were commissioned in the Makat
district and 13 population centres of
Kurmangazy district were gasified
under the Development of Regions
programme. Repair work on 10 kilometres of the Inder-Makhambet gas
pipeline will be finished in 2016.
Main gas lines and inter-village highpressure pipelines for the Azgir zone
of Kurmangazy district have already
been designed and priced. Their total
length will reach 365 kilometres.
On March 1, Kazakhstan will shift
to a floating rate for export customs
duties, Minister of National Economy Yerbolat Dossayev said at the
government’s meeting Feb. 15. The
action is intended to support the oil
and gas sector and the ore-miming
industry. The government plans to
introduce tax preferences for the
extraction of minerals and shift to a
floating export customs duties rate
pegged to global prices. Export customs duties on oil have been reduced
to $30 per tonne to ensure financial
stability of the sector. The minister
explained that if world prices for oil
slide below $25 per barrel, export
customs duties will equal zero. If oil
prices exceed $25 per barrel, export
customs duties will be determined
using a special scale, so as prices increase, so will duties. Dossayev also
proposed establishing seasonal fuel
oil duties at 15 euros per tonne from
May 1 to Sept. 1.
The press service of the Astana
city administration reported that
nine hotels and restaurants have
so far been designated “Recommended by EXPO 2017,” Kazinform reports. An official ceremony
to award certificates and signs to
the first participants of the “Recommended by EXPO 2017” programme was held in Astana Feb.
11. Deputy Mayor of Astana Nurali
Aliyev, representatives of the Astana Convention Bureau and heads
of different capital hotels took part
in the ceremony. Aliyev highlighted that one of the most important
tasks in preparing for the expo is
establishing high-quality services.
Soluxe Hotel Astana, Radisson Hotel Astana, the Astana Mariott Hotel, Korean House restaurant, Park
Inn, Ibis Hotel Astana, Grand Park
Esil Astana Hotel and Duman Hotel
got the status of Astana Partners in
EXPO 2017.
Several big events will take
place in South Kazakhstan as part
of preparations for EXPO 2017, including the EXPO CUP 2016 golf
tournament among representatives
of show business and sport, several flash-mobs and a tour for children from orphanages. The events
are intended to help develop local
tourism. A special commission is
now working in the region to select volunteers to participate in
EXPO 2017 in Astana.
A3
eurasia&world
EXTERNAL
news in brief
Atameken National Chamber of
Commerce and Kazakhstan state
bodies are considering an opportunity to open a trade mission in Iran,
said Kazakh Ministry of Investment
and Development industrial development and industrial security committee chairman Amaniyaz Yerzhanov at the Central Communications
Services (CCS) briefing, reported
Kazinform. The Kazakh-Iranian
business council and business forum
was held earlier in February in Tehran. The first contracts between Kazakhstan and Iran were signed then
after international sanctions against
Iran were lifted.
Kazakh Secretary of State Gulshara Abdykalikova met with United
Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador
Suhail Matar Alketbi, according to
Kazinform, where the former highlighted that the UAE is a key partner
for Kazakhstan in the Arab world
and Gulf region. She thanked the
ambassador for his country’s support
for Kazakhstan’s candidacy as a nonpermanent member of the United
Nations Security Council in 20172018 and Kazakhstan’s initiative to
establish the Islamic Organisation
for Food Security. The Secretary of
State also expressed her appreciation
to the UAE government for confirming its participation in EXPO 2017.
The Astana International Financial
Centre, which will use the experience of the Dubai International Financial Centre, was also discussed.
Both sides expressed satisfaction
with the current dynamics of bilateral trade development and economic
and investment relations. During the
past 10 years, the total volume of attracted investments from the UAE to
Kazakhstan reached $2 billion.
The Chinese New Year celebration
was held Feb. 6 in the Palace of Peace
and Harmony in Astana. Guests were
fascinated by the traditional Chinese
concert and photography display.
Chinese Ambassador Zhang Hanhuey said Kazakh-Chinese relations
are currently at a high level of development and highlighted cooperation
in constructing infrastructure facilities in Kazakhstan. In an interview
the same day, he reported agreements worth $24 billion were signed
under the Silk Road and Nurly Zhol
programmes. The ambassador added
Kazakh and Chinese parties agreed
to deliver Kazakh agricultural products to the Chinese market, because
Chinese consumers appreciate highquality food stuffs from Kazakhstan.
The Chinese prefer to buy organic
meat and China will be purchasing
500,000 head of sheep, gradually
increasing the number to one million
per year, he said.
The national legislations of
the Eurasian Economic Union’s
(EAEU) member states can become
an engine of integration process, according to Belarus Deputy Economy
Minister Anton Kudasov, reported
BelTA. He said the treaty establishing the EAEU is not the end result
of the member states’ work, but is
a roadmap. According to the document, a common market in key
economic sectors will be created by
2025. Kudasov also noted the national legislation potential is quite
powerful and national legislation
can be a stimulus to integration.
Roscosmos, the Russian Federal
Space Agency, has called on airline companies to perform regular
flights to Baikonur after modernisation of the city’s Krainiy Airport
is finished, reported Khabar. Tours
are expected to be in great demand
both among tourists and employees
of the Kazakhstan-based cosmodrome. At least five air carriers are
currently interested in joining the
project. For example, Kazakhstan’s
SCAT will be launching flights from
Astana and Almaty and starting regular flights to Baikonur will allow it
to simplify tourist transportation.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and
Georgia have agreed to establish
a railway consortium to ensure
smooth movement of Chinese
goods to Europe via the trans-Caspian international transport route,
reported Interfax. Kazakh First
Deputy Prime Minister Bakytzhan
Sagintayev, who led a government
delegation Feb. 17 to Tbilisi, announced the decision. Sagintayev
said the three nations’ railway departments agreed the consortium
would provide movement of goods
from Chinese ports to the Georgian
port of Batumi, then to Turkey and
further to Europe.
Hungarian Envoy: Foreign Trade, Cultural
Expansion Among Priorities in Kazakhstan
By Dmitry Lee
ASTANA – The Hungarian
economy has seen constant growth
since leaving behind the echo of
the 2008 financial crisis, and the
country’s embassy in Kazakhstan
is now ready to further deepen and
expand cooperation, and exchange
experiences, the Hungarian top envoy in Astana says.
“Prime Minister [of Hungary]
Viktor Orban’s visit last spring was
very fruitful. We are still implementing the agreements reached
during his meeting with President
Nursultan Nazarbayev,” Ambassador Andras Baranyi said in an
interview for this story.
As the most important outcome
of those talks the relations between
Kazakhstan and Hungary were elevated to the level of strategic partnership, which Baranyi believes
makes the two countries each
other’s main allies in the Central
Asian region and Eastern Europe
respectively.
“As for some practical results,
Kazakhstan gave Hungarian citizens temporarily a visa-free regime for 15 days. It helps both
tourists and business people, for
whom time is money. And we
are grateful to the government of
Kazakhstan for this opportunity.
Another result of the visit last
spring was the establishment of the
Council for Strategic Cooperation
[a council of three representatives
from each government designated
to hold close talks]. The first meeting is scheduled for this spring and
is to be co-chaired by Minister of
National Economy of Hungary
Mihály Varga and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Erlan
Idrissov.”
The embassy is also preparing
the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for Economic Cooperation followed by a
business forum with participation
Andras Baranyi
of numerous Hungarian and Kazakh companies.
“Our leaders also agreed on the
establishment of the Joint Bilateral
Investment Fund by the Hungarian Eximbank and the KazAgro
Holding. Each side is providing
$20 million for joint financing,
so the total starting capital will be
$40 million. The fund will provide
direct support for bilateral projects
in the field of agriculture. Also, the
biggest Hungarian oil company,
MOL Group, is in tight cooperation with KazMunayGaz. There is
an oil field, Fedorovsky, in western Kazakhstan, which is run by
Hungarian, Chinese and Kazakh
partners. It’s very important for
both countries, for Kazakhstan as
an oil exporter and Hungary as
an oil consuming country. In fact
it’s a successful example of the
large-scale investment projects
of the Hungarian companies to
the Kazakh economy. On top of
that, Hungary offered to raise the
scholarships provided to Kazakh
students to study in Hungarian
universities from the present 45 to
200 annually starting from the next
academic year. The respective bilateral agreement will be finalised
soon.”
The ambassador believes that to
deepen cooperation across sectors,
it is also important to have direct
flights.
“We are doing our best to establish direct aerial connection
between Astana and Budapest. It
would support the business cooperation and help boost tourism for
both countries. Hungary has much
to offer tourists with thermal waters, spas, a good climate and attractive sights.”
Hungary is also interested in
EXPO 2017 in Astana.
“Last December, the Hungarian
government confirmed by an official Decree that our country will
participate in the expo. I am quite
happy to say that the commissioner of the expo is the economic attaché at our embassy. This means
he can be quick to react during the
preparations. We already know the
general idea of the pavilion and are
currently working on the content
with the aim to present our vision
of the future energy to the visitors
in the most attractive way.”
Hungary’s Priorities
Baranyi stressed that Hungary
has come out strong after the financial crisis in 2008.
“First of all, our government
consistently managed to keep the
deficit of the state budget under 3
percent, last year it was even below
2 percent. Secondly, gross domestic product growth is currently at
around 3 percent. This result puts
us among the frontrunners in the
EU. Inflation is almost at zero, and
the central bank’s base interest rate
is actually equal to 1.35 percent.
The most important result is the
level of unemployment – although
back in 2010 it reached 11.5 percent, now that is at 6.2 percent in
the country.”
“After the elections in 2014, our
government took a slightly different
course [in terms of foreign relations].
Our ministry has been renamed
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade. Foreign trade is given more
emphasis now, and it is a strong
message, underlining that economic
cooperation and trade relations are
very important,” he explained.
ZGUU University and I am proud
to announce that we are inviting
a well-known professor from
Hungary, Gabór Hamza, chair
of the Department of Roman law
at the Eötvös Loránd University
Faculty of Law, who will lecture
on comparing the continental legal system with the Anglo-Saxon
legal system. I believe this is
Baranyi: “On March 17, we are
launching a large-scale Hungarian
exhibition at Kazakhstan’s National
Museum. It will include over 140 works
of art by famous Hungarian painters
and artists of the second half of the 20th
century.”
“Another important course Hungary is undertaking is cultural
expansion. On March 17, we are
launching a large-scale Hungarian exhibition at Kazakhstan’s
National Museum. It will include
over 140 works of art by famous
Hungarian painters and artists of
the second half of the 20th century.
I am proud to have the privilege to
present these works at the largest
museum in Kazakhstan.”
Another cultural event the embassy staff is preparing a Hungarian movie festival. “Hungarian cinematography has undergone some
radical changes in the past few
years, in particular in the financing of different stages of the shooting process, and we would like to
share this with Kazakh viewers. A
similar festival has been held in
Almaty for six years and now we
would like to continue this event in
the capital as well.”
Baranyi, who holds a law degree
himself, also wants to promote
cooperation in the legal sphere as
well.
“We also cooperate with KA-
important for Kazakhstan after
EXPO 2017, as the country is
preparing to introduce the AngloSaxon legal system at the Astana
International Financial Centre
that is to be launched in 2018.”
“I do believe that strengthened
cultural and scientific contacts
give us firm basis for mutually
beneficial economic cooperation.
Mutual sympathy and trust are key
for doing successful businesses together,” he said.
Life in Astana
“I can feel the convenience of
the new city that has been built
from scratch – moving around the
city is easy, everything is close.
What’s more important is the attitude of the people. One of my
colleagues was out in -40 Celsius
to finally meet the Astana winter
at its best, but she couldn’t feel the
complete experience, as drivers
were stopping and offering to give
her a ride to save her life. People in
Astana care about others and I can
really feel it.”
Iran to Buy Kazakh-Made Commodities,
Ready to Establish Joint Investment Fund
By Dmitry Lee
ASTANA – As a result of the
large-scale Kazakh-Iranian business forum held Feb. 6-8 in Tehran, the two nations have agreed
on a supply of Kazakh-made train
cars to Iran and to establish a joint
investment fund.
The arrangement is the first such
event since Iran came out of the
shadow of international sanctions
and the two countries have subsequently been promoting cooperation in various fields, according to
the Kazakh Central Communications Service.
“The sides have reviewed questions of partnership in trade-economic and investment sectors in
great detail,” said Yersain Khamitov, managing director of Baiterek
National Holding.
He added the talks have had
good results and “we have already
signed several multi-million dollar agreements on the supply of
Kazakh-made products [to Iran].”
Among the top questions on the
agenda were the supply of 70 electric and 75 diesel locomotives and
130,000 tonnes of steel rails. The
Iranians are planning to purchase
1,000 passenger cars, oil and communication equipment, fertilisers,
hygroscopic disposable vacuum
tubes and needles and food products.
Khamitov also noted an agreement to create a joint investment
fund might be signed during the
official visit in the first half of the
year led by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Among other deals were a $2
million supply of Kazakh transformers, a possible Shymkentbased joint venture to produce oil
for transformers and a $30 million
contract to supply meat products.
The Iranians are interested in a
3 billion tenge (US$8.3 million)
investment in mining fields.
More than 160 Kazakh and 500
Iranian companies participated in
the three-day event. The Kazakh
delegation was headed by Minister
of Investment and Development
Asset Issekeshev and arranged by
Baiterek Holding.
Nazarbayev Pushes for Almaty’s Better
Preparedness for 2017 Universiade
“The city has formed as a large
economic centre, it is a donor of
the national budget and provides
one-fifth of the gross domestic
product as of today. Almaty is also
a leading educational centre; almost 40 percent of [the country’s]
higher educational institutions are
here. There is a big scientific potential that includes 86 scientific
research institutes and 11,000 research workers who should make
a significant contribution to developing the innovation knowledge
and intensive sectors of economy,”
Nazarbayev said. “Seventeen national cultural and arts organisations operate in the city. The chain
of modern international level
sports facilities was established. It
attracts many tourists from other
regions and countries apart from
Almaty residents.”
The President reminded about
measures of additional support of
the economy aimed at increasing
the efficiency of monetary policy
and maintaining financial stability in the country, which was announced at a recent government’s
enlarged meeting.
“According to experts, the crisis in which the world economy is
today will be lingering. Additional
measures in the amount of 2 trillion tenge (US$5.7 billion) that we
take will allow ensuring the active
occupation of 60,000 people, create 18,000 new jobs and implement thousands of infrastructure
projects. An efficient resolution
of tasks set will mainly depend on
regions and the professionalism
of the government apparatus,” the
head of state noted.
Nazarbayev emphasised the
need of maximal rational use of financial resources considering their
limitations.
“The main task that I set to the
city is attracting investment and
creating new jobs. The work assessment of the akim (mayor)
and his apparatus will depend on
this. Actively introducing public
private partnerships is necessary.
The akim reported that this type of
work has already started,” said the
President.
Moreover, the head of state instructed the akimat to work out attracting investment for implementing big projects in the city.
“Industrial development programme was developed on my
instruction six years ago. During
this time, 900 new facilities were
introduced, about 100,000 jobs
were created. With that, a total
of 27 projects with an overall investment volume of 285 billion
tenge (US$800 million) was implemented from the beginning of
conducting this programme in Almaty… And only 42 billion tenge
(US$117.9 million) are private
investments. It is not enough for
Almaty with its potential,” Nazarbayev noted.
The President drew attention on
the need to increase the representation of innovative, design and service enterprises in Almaty’s business environment.
“A modern city needs an innova-
tive economy… As of today, 150
companies are involved, as well as
42 higher education institutions,
including six national and one
third of all students are in Almaty,”
said the head of state.
In this regard, Nazarbayev set
a task on creating conditions for
young scientists and students to implement their ideas and introduce
new developments by instructing
Minister of Education and Science
Yerlan Sagadiyev to take the fulfilment of this instruction under special control. Moreover, the President urged local executive bodies
to be involved in supporting small
and medium-sized businesses.
“This sector forms 85 percent
of Almaty’s gross regional product. In general, 600 billion tenge
(US$1.6 billion) is allocated across
the country to preserve production
volumes, support of small- and
medium-sized businesses. Procedures of legalisation of capital are
considerably simplified,” the head
of state stressed.
Nazarbayev also drew attention
to further developing housing construction.
“For housing construction, 47
billion tenge (US$131.9 million)
will be allocated; more than 3,000
apartments will be built as part
of the Nurly Zhol programme.
The cost of one square metre for
accommodation for Almaty will
not exceed 200,000 tenge (about
US$561.4),” the President stated.
Head of the Presidential Administration Nurlan Nigmatulin,
Chair of the National Bank Daniyar Akishev, Deputy Head of the
Presidential Administration Kumar Aksakalov as well as heads of
ministries, local executive bodies,
law enforcement authorities and
representatives of business and
scientific circles took part in the
meeting.
Kazakh Minister of Investment
and Development Asset Issekeshev and Minister of Culture and
Sports Arystanbek Mukhamediuly and Akim (Mayor) of Almaty
Bauyrzhan Baibek also spoke during the meeting.
A4
economy
More than 6,000 Citizens Received
Microcredits in 2015
Staff Report
ASTANA – The Employment
Road Map programme functioning
since 2011 is already bearing fruit,
Deputy Minister of Labour and
Social Protection Bauyrzhan Nurymbetov said recently at a Central
Communications Service briefing.
The employment road map consists of three areas: repair of social facilities and infrastructure,
promotion of the self-employed
population through microcredits
and training for entrepreneurial
business, and the creation of social
jobs and relocation of people from
areas with low economic potential.
Nurymbetov indicated 565 projects were carried out last year
alone on repair of social facilities
and infrastructure. With the start
of the programme, 5,000 of the
potential 8,600 projects were initiated.
In addition, 6,010 people received micro loans in the past
year. Approximately 35,000 have
received micro loans since the inception of the employment road
map, creating 33,000 jobs.
“The maximum rate for borrowers was no more than 6 percent; as a result, the average size
of microcredits was 2.36 million
Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection Bauyrzhan Nurymbetov (R).
tenge (US$6,477). People who
received microcredits through
the programme last year created more than 6,000 jobs. In the
preparation of microcredits, we
provide learning the basics at the
request of the borrower’s business absolutely free of charge,”
said Nurymbetov.
The third area consists of several
components – training, job creation and social resettlement followed by new housing construction for citizens from unpromising
areas.
“If the qualified candidate does
not meet the requirements of the
job, or if the applicant for some
reason wants to change professions, we offer free training. In the
past year, such training was offered
to 14,000 people, including 12,500
people who began training in the
past year. We have employed more
than 80 percent”, said the deputy
minister.
Social jobs are also available,
where employment agencies coordinate with enterprises in the
region to create special jobs for
the unemployed. Part of the individual’s remuneration is borne by
the state, offsetting the 35 percent
of the salary paid by the company.
“This is temporary work provided for a period of one year. A total
of 10,431 people were employed
in social jobs last year; the average
salary in these areas amounted to
about 50,000 tenge (US$137), of
which 74 percent of the people we
have been able to employ further
in permanent jobs,” said Nurymbetov.
He added the employment road
map includes a youth practice to
solve the employment problem for
secondary and higher educational
institution graduates.
“Most companies look for employees with experience, so youth
practice is an excellent opportunity for graduates to earn experience and in addition to receive
skills in six months for a small
salary. Last year nearly 5,000
companies responded to it, for
which we have employed 10,300
graduates by their specialties.
After passing youth practice, we
managed to employ 6,500 people for permanent workplaces. In
total since 2011, 76,000 young
graduates have benefited from
this tool and it is noteworthy that
62 percent of them were working
for the same companies where
they passed the practice,” said
Nurymbetov.
The measure of resettling citizens who want to work in another
region currently only applies to
those who live in settlements with
low economic potential. For such
individuals, the programme will
fund building houses and dormitories in new places. In the last year,
1,185 people were relocated and
597 apartments, houses and dormitory rooms were completed. Since
the beginning of the programme,
17,000 people have moved to other
areas within the region, for whom
5,800 apartments were built.
“In 2015, 136,000 people became participants of the employment road map, of whom 53 percent were unemployed and 47
percent self-employed. In the employment road map programme,
the priority is given to young people and women; the proportion of
participants in the programme was
47 percent up to 29 years old and
the proportion of women was 50
percent. In addition, 4,400 people
with disabilities, more than 3,000
graduates of 11th grade in secondary schools, 300 released from
prison, 280 repatriates and 200
orphans have become participants
of the employment road map programme in 2015. In total, 156,000
people have been employed under
the employment road map programme and 91 percent were employed in a permanent workplace,”
said Nurymbetov.
President Orders New Massive Investments
The President emphasised the
importance of maintaining financial stability as part of the AntiCrisis Action Plan for 2016-2018.
He stressed the need for special
attention to further diversification
of the economy through the implementation of state programmes
of industrialisation and the Nurly
Zhol programme.
In particular, Nazarbayev instructed to allocate 360 billion
tenge (US$1 billion) by transferring to the 2016 the funds planned
for the realisation of the Nurly
Zhol programme in 2017 to facilitate further development of
the economy. It is planned to use
53 billion tenge (US$147 million)
out of these funds for continuing
the construction of rental housing
through the Baiterek Holding, 149
billion tenge (US$414 million)
for the construction of mortgage
housing, including 22 billion tenge
(US$61 million) for crediting the
depositors through local executive
bodies and the Housing Construction Bank of Kazakhstan. In addition, 97 billion tenge (US$270
million) will be allocated through
the Samruk Kazyna Sovereign
Wealth Fund on a returnable basis to support private developers.
It was noted that the requirements
for developers should also include
co-financing, the availability of
land and design and an estimate
documentation and a fixed sale
price.
The head of the state highlighted
that akims (governors) are to be allocated 61 billion tenge (US$169
million) to construct supporting infrastructure for new areas of mass
housing. He said, “The responsibility for this work is laid personally on each akim in whose region
this activity will be carried out. I
especially draw your attention to
the fact that the cost of housing
should be socially oriented.”
The Kazakh President noted that
these actions will allow for the
commissioning of an additional
1.5 million square metres of housing this year and will contribute to
GDP growth.
The head of state also ordered
the allocation of 194.5 billion
tenge (US$540 million) that was
formed due to exchange rate differences in relation to the funds of
the National Fund, which had been
planned for the implementation of
the Nurly Zhol state programme in
2016. From the funds, 78 billion
tenge (US$217 million) will be
used for the acceleration of infrastructure projects provided for in
Nurly Zhol for 2016, out of which
28 billion tenge (US$78 million)
will be directed to the construction
of 42 new schools.
The safety and profitability of
depositors’ savings in Single Accumulative Pension Fund will be
guaranteed by investments of free
pension savings to the amount of
1.45 trillion tenge (US$4 billion)
to a number of directions in 2016,
Nazarbayev said. To be exact, 500
billion tenge (US$1.4 billion) will
be converted into foreign currency
and will be invested in external
markets to diversify the fund’s
portfolio and increase profitability
of the pension savings.
Additionally, 600 billion tenge
will be allocated to purchase conditional bonds from the second-tier
banks and national holdings on a
recoverable basis and under a market interest rate, which are meant
to increase profitability and safety
of the pension assets. The funds
will be invested for stimulating the
most important sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy, including small
and medium business needs in
working capital and the refinancing of loans. The financing of 700
business projects is expected to
result in creating 14,000 new jobs
and the sale of goods in the amount
of 540 billion tenge (US$1.5 billion), providing tax revenues in
the amount of nearly 60 billion
tenge (US$167 million). Also, the
implementation of the North-EastSouth project of the KEGOC national electric grid operator will
decrease the power deficit in South
Kazakhstan. Financing of major
agricultural business projects and
the creation of secure broadband
access to the Internet for 3,456 rural settlements are included on the
list of key projects.
President Nazarbayev emphasised that the priority of social
policy is to maintain and create
new jobs. He charged to allocate
an additional 100 billion tenge
(US$278 million) from the special
reserve of the government in 2016
for these purposes.
From these funds, 63 billion
tenge (US$175 million) will be
used for the implementation of the
Employment Road Map, which
is aimed at repairing social infrastructure and housing facilities and
the Roadmap 2009-2010, which
operates to increase micro-credits,
construction of hostels for young
working people and subsidising
the cost of employers for preserving jobs.
“It will provide coverage of
measures to promote employment
of about 60,000 people, including
the creation of 18,000 jobs through
the implementation of 1,000 infrastructure projects,” the President
said.
Additionally, President Nazarbayev ordered to allocate 15
billion tenge (US$42 million) to
complete the missing infrastructure facilities for small and medium businesses under the Business
Road Map 2020 programme.
The President stressed that the
allocation of significant funds for
the maintenance of the national
economy during the crisis is possible due to the timely creation of
the National Fund, the reform of
the pension system and the transition to a freely floating exchange
rate of the national currency, which
happened last year.
“Full and effective utilisation of
funds allocated for the implementation of these measures will stimulate economic activity, support
employment and add one percent
into economic growth in 2016,”
Nazarbayev stated.
The Kazakh government and the
akims were instructed to ensure
strict control over spending. The
presidential administration was instructed to monitor the implementation of these instructions.
“Many countries have found
themselves in a difficult situation
Iran Introduces Protective Duties
for Kazakh Grain Imports
Staff Report
ASTANA – The Iranian government recently introduced protective duties for the import of
Kazakhstan grain to protect its
domestic market, according to
President of Aktau International
Seaport Mikhail Yalbachev. This is
expected to decrease cargo traffic
to Iranian sea ports from Kazakhstan. At that, cargo traffic to Azerbaijan increased and great volumes of cargo traffic from Ukraine
are expected.
“The duties resulted in the decrease of demand for metals and
grain in the Iranian domestic mar-
ket. After sanctions were lifted on
Iran, it introduced duties for the
import of grain from Kazakhstan.
It is hard to evaluate grain export
now,” Yalbachev said.
The Aktau International Seaport doesn’t suffer from shortage
of work, however, due to the increase of cargo traffic to Azerbaijan. Most of the cargo traffic is
carried by trucks, which are transported by ferry boats. In January,
the number of ferry boats from
Turkey and Azerbaijan, which deliver trucks to Aktau, increased by
10 times.
Also in the Aktau seaport, much
cargo traffic from Ukraine is expected. In January, the first train
from Ukraine to China passed
through the seaport. The cargo was
delivered by ferry to the Kazakh
seaport through Georgia and Azer-
The Aktau seaport is Kazakhstan’s main export gateway on the Caspian Sea.
and are forced to cut social spending, suspend projects, resulting in
rising unemployment. Yet we continue building industrial facilities
and open new markets. Our anticrisis economic policy is directed
not only at looking for and finding
new sources of economic growth.
At the centre of all my orders are
the needs of the common man, his
well-being and stability,” the President said.
During the session, Minister of
National Economy Yerbolat Dossayev presented a report on the results of social and economic development for 2015 and plans for this
year. Minister of Finance Bakhyt
Sultanov reported on the execution
of the state budget for 2015 and
Chairman of the National Bank
Daniyar Akishev reported on monetary policy.
The new announced investments
come as Kazakhstan continues to
face adverse effects of low prices
for its main export staples such as
oil and metals, continuing imposition of mutual sanctions by the
West and Russia, which, along
with Kazakhstan is a member of
the Eurasian Economic Union
since its launch in January 2015.
Kazakhstan’s businesses have also
been affected by the imposition of
Russian sanctions on Turkey following its downing of a Russian
military plane near the SyrianTurkish border last November.
The announcement were also
made as Kazakhstan is edging toward the early parliamentary election on March 20 in which six political parties are set to compete.
baijan and then was sent to China
by train.
Yalbachev said that as of today
goods are delivered from Ukraine
by trucks. There are still no such
large volumes of cargo traffic from
Ukraine as Kazakhstan has from
Turkey because different issues
connected with logistics and legislation are being discussed.
The ferry complex at the Kuryk
seaport is under construction. It
will allow increased exports of
Kazakh grain to China, the Eastern part of Asia and the states of
the Arabia Gulf and Europe. This
year, the construction of railroads
and electric supply systems will be
finished.
economy
news in brief
The Kazakh government approved a new forecast of social and
economic development for 2016
on Feb. 23, Tengrinews reports.
Minister of National Economy Yerbolat Dossayev said that the newly
revised budget is now calculated at
the exchange rate of 360 tenge per
$1, as opposed to 300 tenge per $1,
which was accepted in November
2015. The annual average price of
oil, as used in budget calculations,
is also changed from $40 to $30
per barrel, taking into consideration the forecasts of international
financial organisations and investment banks. In November 2015,
the government was projecting the
GDP growth to reach 2.1 percent in
2016 provided oil prices stay above
$40 per barrel. The new forecast of
oil price led to the downward revision of Kazakhstan’s GDP growth
forecast to 0.5 percent. The National Bank expects inflation to make
6-8 percent this year.
Kazakhstan is going to export
meat to Iran as part of a new $30
million deal. The lifting of sanctions on Iran helped both states
conclude their first long-term commercial contract on meat exports
during the visit of a Kazakh delegation to Tehran in early February,
according to the Kazakh Chamber
of Commerce. Chair of the chamber Meirbek Mazhitov said that
Kazakh and Iranian businessmen
are very interested in bilateral cooperation and highlighted that the
states will step up commercial and
economic cooperation.
Chairman of the Astana International Financial Centre Kairat
Kelimbetov held negotiations with
Abu Dhabi Global Market Ahmed
Ali Al Sayegh and Director General of the Abu Dhabi Fund for
Development Mohamed Saif Al
Suwaidi in Abu Dhabi, Kazinform
reports. Kelimbetov travelled to
Abu Dhabi in order to implement
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev’s instructions and
discuss the United Arab Emirates’
participation in the establishment
of the Astana International Financial Centre. Nazarbayev has highlighted the importance of attracting
private investment to the project
and the need to create a favourable
environment to attract complex investments.
The Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture has kicked off
in Abu Dhabi, Kazinform reports.
At the forum, Vice Minister of
Agriculture of Kazakhstan Yermek Kosherbayev presented the
concept for the implementation of
President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s
initiative to establish an Islamic
Organisation for Food Security
headquartered in Astana. The forum drew 4,500 representatives
from 85 countries and brings together public decision-makers, private sector champions and leaders
of civil society to support development and innovation in sustainable
agriculture.
In 2015, the credit portfolio of the
Development Bank of Kazakhstan
grew by 20 percent, according to
Chair of the Development Bank of
Kazakhstan Bolat Zhamishev, who
made the announcement at a briefing at the Central Communications
Service. He said that the planned
loan portfolio size was 943 billion
tenge (US$2.7 billion); however, it
reached 1.5 trillion tenge (US$4.2
billion). Zhamishev also added that
the share of the loan portfolio in the
bank’s assets increased from 62 to
68 percent, highlighting that these
results have been obtained due to
the decision to finance 42 projects
in the amount of 280 billion tenge
(US$785 million). In 2014, only 14
projects in the amount of 226 billion tenge (US$634 million) were
financed.
Chairman of the National Agency for Export and Investment Kaznex Invest Borisbiy Zhangurazov
told a Central Communications
Service press briefing that during the first months of 2015, the
volume of exports of processed
products to China amounted to
$2.7 billion. Kazakhstan’s exports
to China included metals, chemicals and uranium. Over the first
11 months of 2015, the volume of
exports of processed products to
China reached $2.7 billion. This is
16 percent higher than in the same
period of 2014. Kaznex Invest has
also named more than 20 commodity items that are in high demand
in China.
A5
Business
Tengizchevroil operating at the
Tengiz and Korolevskoye deposits
in Atyrau region spent $2.4 billion
on the purchase of Kazakh goods
and services in 2015, reported Kazinform. Since 1993, the company
has purchased goods and services
from local suppliers amounting to
$20 billion. During this period, the
share of local residents among the
company’s employees has reached
86 percent compared to 50 percent
in 1993. The share of Kazakh managers in the company reached 74
percent of the total number in the
managerial workforce.
Plans are underway to launch
25 new projects in Kazakh special
economic zones (SEZs) this year,
said Kaznex Invest Deputy Chairman Almas Aidarov at a Central
Communications Service (CCS)
press conference. The projects are
expected to create nearly 2,000
new jobs. Aidarov stated Kaznex
Invest has a clear strategy to further
develop the SEZs. He noted every
SEZ focuses on a definite field of
the economy. For example, Khorgos – Eastern Gates SEZ has been
developed as the most up-to-date
logistics centre and Astana – New
City SEZ has been constructed as
a railway building cluster. Ontustik SEZ is reviving the textile industry. The official reported that as
of today, 147 companies operate in
SEZs and another 100 projects are
to be implemented. Aidarov added
the government expects 25 projects totalling more than 100 billion tenge (US$285.3 million) are
to be put into operation this year.
The China-Kazakhstan Silk
Road joint foundation will be financing Kazakh investment projects in agriculture, mechanical
engineering and the chemical industry, reported Kazinform. The
Silk Road Fund was established
by the Central Bank of China to finance the projects. Kaznex Invest
Chairman Borisbiy Zhangurazov
said total capitalisation of the fund
will reach $2 billion. He also emphasised Kazakhstan and China
are currently implementing a programme for industrial and investment cooperation, which includes
a variety of projects in agriculture,
the chemical industry and mechanical engineering. The programme
is expected to create approximately 19,000 new jobs.
Kaznex Invest has created a
list of 20 products made in Kazakhstan which are very popular
in China, according to almaty.tv.
China imports a number of Kazakh products worth more than
$100 billion per year. Kaznex Invest Chairman Borisbiy Zhangurazov said Kazakh confectioneries, fat and oil products, soft
drinks and turkey meat are very
popular in China, especially confectioneries made in the Rakhat
factory in Almaty. He stressed
Kazakhstan boasts high potential
in terms of producing confectioneries and fat and oil products and
can carve out these two niches
in the Chinese market. Zhangurazov also noted China can import lamb meat from Kazakhstan
if certain sanitary barriers are
lifted, adding the government is
working on this issue.
By Michelle Witte
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has
extended a $103 million loan to
support upgrades to a stretch of the
highway that connects Kazakhstan’s capital with its largest city,
the bank announced in a Feb. 18
press release.
The loan, to national road operator Kazavtozhol, is to be used
to widen and upgrade the 80-kilometre Kurty-Buribaital stretch of
the highway that connects Almaty
and Astana. It comes as part of a
larger programme to rehabilitate
and upgrade a 228-km stretch
of the highway that remains unmodernised, the press release
said. It also falls under a broad
programme co-financed by the
World Bank and the government
of Kazakhstan to rehabilitate road
infrastructure.
“For Kazakhstan, the project we
are signing today with the EBRD
is much more than just a financing
package. The project also envisages reforms in the road sector that
will improve the entire sector’s financial sustainability,” said Minister of Finance Bakhyt Sultanov at
(L-R) EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti, Minister of Finance of Kazakhstan Bakhyt Sultanov and CEO of Kazavtozhol
Yermek Kizatov at the signing ceremony in Istanbul on Feb. 18.
the signing ceremony, the EBRD
reported.
The agreement was signed by
Sultanov, EBRD President Suma
Chakrabarti and CEO of Kazavtozhol Yermek Kizatov during the
Feb. 18 Central Asia Investment
Forum in Istanbul. Organised
by the EBRD and the Financial
Times, the forum invited investors, policymakers and other experts to discuss investment oppor-
tunities and challenges in Central
Asia.
“The EBRD and Kazakhstan have
recently agreed to further increase
investment in infrastructure, and
I am very pleased that only three
months later we are signing this
project, hopefully the first of many,”
said Chakrabarti at the signing ceremony, per the EBRD. “The EBRD
believes that modern road infrastructure in Kazakhstan is crucial for
the country’s own economy as well
as for boosting regional trade.”
Infrastructure development, including transit infrastructure, underpins Kazakhstan’s Strategic
Plan 2020, and many roads linked
to the Centre-South Corridor have
already been upgraded, the press
release noted. The EBRD is also
working with the government of
Kazakhstan on road financing and
maintenance solutions, including
tolls and heavy-vehicle charges.
The Kurty-Buribaital road project
falls under the umbrella of an agreement to increase cooperation on
road sector reform and investment
signed by the EBRD and the Kazakh
government in London this past November. The EBRD announced in
January that it had invested a record
$1.55 billion in Central Asia in 2015,
with nearly $800 million going to
Kazakhstan. The bank has said it
plans to invest $1 billion in Kazakhstan before the end of 2016. To date,
the EBRD has invested more than
$7 billion in the Kazakh economy.
‘Khorgos-Eastern Gate’ Intends to Create Favourable
Business Environment for Investors
By Aiman Turebekova
The Khorgos Dry Port on the
border with China plans to update
its operations to better attract investment to the region, reported
the press office of the Kazakhstan
Temir Zholy (KTZ) National Railway Company.
It is required to improve the
structure of procedures and processes, starting from the date of application for registration and ending with a delivery of a product, its
officials believe. For instance, this
year the dry port plans to process
about 200,000 containers, and by
2020, reach 500,000 containers annually.
“All conditions are done for
transit growth. The Khorgos-Eastern Gate Special Economic Zone
is crucial for the entire transport
and logistics sector of Kazakhstan.
Therefore, we cannot slow down
tempos,” said President of KTZ
Askar Mamin.
According to President of KTZ
Express
Sanzhar
Yelubayev,
which manages the Khorgos Dry
Port project, the company has accelerated the volume of containers shipped by rail by almost 100
percent due to a combination of
signed contracts, fair participation
in tenders and direct investment.
Today, construction of 80 percent of the second complex of the
Khorgos Dry Port has been finished. The works are scheduled to
be completed in May 2016.
Director General of KTZ Khorgos – Gateway LLP Karl Geisen
said DP World, a company contracted to provide managerial expertise, has developed and implemented modern IT technologies
that will synchronise internal and
external business processes of the
dry port and work on the principle
of “single window.” In addition,
he reported that training sessions
were provided for the staff on an
ongoing basis, most of whom, incidentally, are residents of the adjacent Almaty region.
Furthermore, relating to the
Khorgos International Centre for
Border Cooperation (ICBC), six
Kazakhstan’s Major Banks Seek
Innovations with ‘Hackathons’
ASTANA – The development
time for new technologies dictates
its rules to the financial sector. The
country’s two major banks – Halyk Bank and Kazkommertsbank
– organised trending hackathons
to attract brilliant young minds to
create and develop new ideas and
business solutions in an effort to
improve their services and performance.
A hackathon, derived from the
words “hack” and “marathon,”
aims to go from concept to prototype in a limited period of time.
Banks use the events to develop
new banking products using information and communications
technologies. Hackathons in the
financial area are very popular
around the world and players who
pay special attention to the trend
will be able to become the banks
of the new generation, according
to Kapital.kz.
Halyk Bank organised HalykFintech Feb. 13-14 in Almaty.
Management board chairwoman
Umut Shayakhmetova noted Kazakh banks need to develop stateof-the-art technologies and Halyk
Bank intends to work with young
innovators.
“Today, the banking industry is
under the pressure of technological factors. Previously, the steady
sales were the foundation of banks,
but now the traditional business
processes go online and to mobile
devices. In this connection, Halyk Bank has felt the need to become more user-friendly in terms
of technology. But we should not
forget that the main function is
still traditional banking, which lies
in the reliability and safety of the
trusted funds, the ability to take
risks in lending and the ability to
absorb certain losses,” she said,
noted Kapital.kz.
A total of 25 teams took part in
the event, including 80 young specialists registered for the hackathon.
They presented projects focused on
online payments and transfers, controlling and tracking the electronic
queue, creating various bots in instant messengers, social networks
for employees and other ideas.
The winning solutions included
Halyk Wi-Pay, a mobile app that
allows turning a smartphone not
only into a payment instrument,
but also a terminal to receive payments, and WhatsApp Assistant, a
contactless payment technology.
The bot is made for WhatsApp
messenger, which sends push notifications, news, promotions and
bonuses, consults, accepts appli-
cations for credit, deposits and replaces SMS banking.
The projects will be implemented in pilot mode in the Halyk
Group of companies. The bank’s
management noted other interesting developments, applications
and participant services. Implementing them will be discussed on
an individual basis.
Kazkommertsbank, in conjunction with Visa payment system,
organised a banking services hackathon in early February.
“As a financial institution focused on the use of modern information technology, we have enthusiastically started the first FinTech
hackathon in Kazakhstan. We hope
that it will help us not only to discover new talents in the field of IT,
but also to see the original ideas
that we hope to implement in the
future work of the bank. Our main
goal is to make the banking services of Kazkommertsbank simple
and convenient for the customers,
and a fresh perspective view of
young and experienced programmers will give us invaluable help
in this work,” said Kazkommertsbank Managing Director Nurlan
Zhagiparov during the hackathon
opening, according to Kapital.kz.
Kazkommertsbank’s hackathon
participants were asked to devel-
op ideas in two main directions –
using iBeacon technology – data
exchange service between wireless devices (beacons) and their
subsequent use – and open banking. The winning team received a
trip for two to the Silicon Valley
investment projects have been
launched for development of export-import trading operations as
well as a logistics contract worth
$300 million. Another 26 projects
are under consideration.
Creation of the ICBC opens up
additional possibilities to expand
international trade and develop
tourism industry with the formation of a visa exemption territory
for Kazakhstan and Chinese citizens, which is an attractive offer
for entrepreneurs and tourists from
near and far abroad.
Implemented by KTZ within the
framework of Nurly Zhol new economic policy, the Khorgos-Eastern
Gate gives a powerful impetus to
the development of the transittransport potential of Kazakhstan
and allows it to fully contribute
to the formation of the Silk Road
Economic Belt, an initiative promoted by neighbouring China.
in the United States, with visits
to the offices of leading IT companies such as Google, Facebook
and Twitter. In addition, the best
projects have the opportunity to
obtain a contract to develop and
execute their ideas.
Photo by wired.com.
Construction of a metallurgic
plant with the participation of Chinese investors has been brought to
a halt in South Kazakhstan region
because of adverse conjuncture
in the metal market, reported Kazinkom news agency. Kaznex Invest Chairman Borisbiy Zhangurazov said initiators did a lot to
launch the project and held negotiations with Chinese partners. He
expressed hope that after the situation gets back to normal, the work
will be started again.
EBRD Loans $103 Million to Upgrade
Almaty-Astana Highway
Photo credit: cyprus-mail.com
Samruk Kazyna Real Estate
Fund Chairman Bolat Palymbetov
was relieved of his duties Feb. 1 at
his own request, according to the
company press service. As a result,
the board of directors appointed
Baurzhan Mamytaliev to the post.
Mamytaliev has an MBA and held
different positions in state bodies, financial institutions, national
companies and large private companies. Before the appointment, he
served as deputy chairman of Samruk Kazyna Real Estate Fund.
Photo credit: total.kz
BUSINESS
news in brief
A6
EDITORIAL&opinion
Excitement Builds for New Trajectories of Civil
Broadcast of ‘Kazakh Service Reform in Kazakhstan
Game of Thrones’
I
t has been an extraordinary hit. With
fans in 170 countries and said to be the
most pirated programme in TV history,
the team behind Game of Thrones must
be astonished by its growing and global
success. Excitement is already building for
the sixth series which starts broadcasting in
April.
Given its worldwide impact, it is no surprise that any programme featuring swords,
exotic landscapes, big casts and even bigger
story lines finds itself compared to Game of
Thrones. And that’s certainly been the case
with the Kazakh Khanate TV drama.
No Kazakh TV programme before has ever
received such international attention. There
has been coverage in papers and websites
around the world – and that’s before the lavish series has even been shown. Broadcast is
scheduled for this spring.
But there is one fundamental difference, of
course, between the events depicted in Game
of Thrones and its Kazakh counterpart. While
the hugely successful HBO epic is very much
a work of fantasy, Kazakh Khanate is based on
the real story of how our country came to be
formed.
It means that the writers did not have the opportunity to introduce dragons to spice up the
plot. But, fortunately, for the show’s creators
the early history of Kazakhstan has enough
twists and turns of its own to grab audiences
without the need for mythical creatures.
The series shows how, as the Mongol-led
Golden Horde disintegrated, charismatic
leaders brought their tribes people to settle
in what is now Kazakhstan. It is a land that
got its name, literally, from being the home
of “outsiders” from the Uzbek nomadic clans
they left.
Over 10 programmes, it reveals how the Kazakhs fought to protect their land from outside
enemies and, through trial, forged a strong
and lasting identity. There are enough heroes,
villains, battle scenes and intrigues in this real
story to keep everyone satisfied without the
need for fire-eating dragons.
It is a history, too, which, during Soviet
times, lay largely untold. The focus during this
period was on a much more modern, common
narrative. So the series continues the education process which got such a big boost from
the successful celebrations around the 550th
anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate last year.
This is important. Knowing and understanding the origins of a country and its
citizens is vital for the health and growth of
all nations. A better knowledge of this history gives a society a stronger platform for
progress.
What is extraordinary, in many ways, for
a country that only gained independence 25
years ago and a population made up of so
many different ethnic groups, is the strong
sense of national purpose and pride already
found in Kazakhstan. These are qualities that
have been critical in building a modern nation
from the most difficult of beginnings and in
the face of many subsequent challenges.
But we can’t be complacent. It would be
foolish, of course, to place too much focus on
a TV series that has to mix facts with drama.
But if it can play its part in raising interest in
the beginnings of our nation, it will have the
positive impact its creators want which goes
beyond entertainment.
It is not just within Kazakhstan, of course,
that the series will bring benefits. Talks are
already underway with a variety of foreign
TV stations who want to show it to their own
audiences. This will help increase knowledge
and interest in our country, which can only be
good.
The series should also have a more direct
economic impact by showcasing the natural
beauty of our country. The series was filmed
in southern Kazakhstan where the incredible
landscapes are certain to make a big impression.
The popularity of Game of Thrones has
already led to a big increase in tourism in
Northern Ireland, Iceland, Malta, Spain,
Croatia and Morocco as the show’s fans have
travelled to see the real locations used in the
series. Increased visits to Northern Ireland,
whose landscapes feature heavily, have played
a major part in what has been estimated as a
$100 million boost to the local economy the
show has brought.
No one should be surprised by these figures.
Research showed that in 2014 around 45
million people chose their holiday destination
because they saw it featured on a film or TV
programme. As Kazakh Khanate is shown to
foreign audiences, we can expect more people
to discover our country’s natural beauty for
themselves. It’s another reason to sit back and
enjoy the series.
Historic Meeting in
Havana to Help Eliminate
Misunderstandings
H
istoric is an adjective all too often
applied to many events, occasionally even in this newspaper. But
no one can doubt the historic
nature of the meeting between Pope Francis
and Patriarch Kirill on Feb. 12.
It was the first meeting between the head
of the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since the schism in 1054. As
the thousand year divide was bridged, Pope
Francis said, with typical under-stated humour: “Finally, we meet as brothers.”
Both leaders deserve huge credit for putting
a millennium of distrust behind them. It is
likely that prominent figures in both churches
would have urged caution, but Pope Francis
and Patriarch Kirill over-ruled this opposition.
Their meeting in Cuba – which willingly
agreed to host the talks – was full of significance and not only for the hundreds of millions who belong to the two biggest churches
in Christianity. It has also helped provide an
answer to those who try to paint faith as a
source of increased division and tension.
It is an accusation which has sadly, in recent times, been all too easy to make. Across
the world, we have witnessed the hijacking
of religious beliefs by violent extremists who
have used them to justify their barbarism and
hatred. The result has been great loss of life,
destruction and despair.
We cannot allow the extremists to succeed
in their efforts to abuse religion for their own
perverted goals. As President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said, it is states and people who
are in conflict not religions. It is clear for all
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who want to see that the great religions share
far more than divides them.
Kazakhstan takes great pride in being a
society that demonstrates this common purpose. Followers of all the great faiths live in
our country in harmony. Freedom of worship
is guaranteed not only by our Constitution
but in the genuine respect for the common,
decent values which underpin our religions
and have provided the foundation for humanity’s progress over many centuries.
Under the leadership of President Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan has worked tirelessly
to promote religious understanding and
tolerance at both a regional and international
level. These efforts include the triennial Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional
Religions, which is an increasingly influential forum since it first met in Astana in 2003.
The Fifth Congress last summer drew
high representatives of all the main religions
and more than 70 delegations as well as UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Its role in
providing a platform for dialogue for political
and faith leaders has never been more valuable.
A stable, prosperous and peaceful world
can only be built if we eliminate misunderstandings and suspicions between religions
and countries. It is why the meeting between
Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill in Havana
was so important. In a week when we also
learned that U.S. President Barak Obama is
to visit Cuba – another major step in ending a damaging diplomatic rift, which itself
stretches back over half a century – it sent a
powerful message of hope to the world.
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In December 2012, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev presented his vision of Kazakhstan in 2050,
which aims to enter the country in the
top 30 most-developed countries. One
of the priorities of this strategy is the
formation of a professional state apparatus for which “serving the people and
the state should be above all.”
Civil service reform is not a new
phenomenon for Kazakhstan, which
has positioned itself as a leader among
Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) states in terms of improving the
civil service system. However, despite
the rapid socio-economic development
of Kazakhstan until the fall of oil prices,
the civil service system has experienced
systemic problems such as bureaucracy,
corruption and low ethics morale. In
the context of financial crisis, when the
President called on Kazakh citizens to
“tighten their belts” and “learn to live
within their means,” the role and professionalism of the state apparatus, its
ability to respond to the modern external and internal challenges have become
even more critical.
Kazakhstan has not been immune to
the so-called New Public Management
reforms, which encouraged many Western European countries to transfer business management tools to the public
sector. In May 2015, the head of state
announced the Plan of the Nation “100
concrete steps” to join the top 30 developed countries and further enhance
the country’s competitiveness. The plan
consists of five national institutional
reforms, including the first, in order of
priority, the reform of the formation of
the modern (professional) state apparatus. In order to implement these reforms
the National Commission for Modernisation of the country was established
under Prime Minister Karim Massimov.
The commission is composed of five
working groups consisting of local and
foreign experts. The law “On civil service” which was in force since 1999 has
played an important historical role in the
development of the civil service at the
early stages of independence. However,
it was unable to respond to the changing conditions and systemic problems in
the government to a full extent, despite
regular legislative amendments.
The new law “On Civil Service of the
Republic of Kazakhstan” was adopted
on Nov. 23, 2015, offering a number of
new measures for the Kazakh civil service system. Prior to the adoption of a
new law, the civil service system in Kazakhstan was characterised as a position
providing talented employees the right
to hold executive positions on a competitive basis, even in the absence of previous job experience in the civil service.
The position system allowed the recruitment for managerial positions immediately without previous experience in the
public sector, which has led to frequent
cases of abuse of a position system.
The new law provides a shift from the
position to the career model, where admission to the civil service for the first
time is made only at the entry-career,
low-level positions. For further promotion, a candidate will require specific
expertise, work experience in the lower
positions and continuous training. Some
articles of the law apply now to the law
enforcement agencies. Starting from
January 2017, citizens who join the law
enforcement system for the first time,
except those who study at the educational organisations of law enforcement,
will be tested in the authorised body of
civil service, including assessment of
their personal characteristics.
The new law has introduced a threestage recruitment process: first – testing
of knowledge of the law; the second
stage – assessment of personal qualities; and final stage – an interview in
state agencies for specialised (sectoral)
knowledge. However, previous experience has shown that testing, interviewing and a probation period do not
always guarantee a transparent, meritocratic selection process of the candidates. Serious concerns can be raised
with regard to the possibility of assessing ethical values during an interview
with the candidate. In order to eliminate
Photo aboutkazakhstan.com
By Saltanat Janenova
protectionism at the recruitment stage,
introduction of an additional stage of the
selection process is not enough. Deep
cultural changes are required to transform the way of thinking of government
officials who should be interested in hiring decent, ethical and dynamic candidates, instead of searching for loopholes
to hire “their” loyal person.
The main problems of Kazakh society that have been acknowledged by
the political leadership and international
experts are nepotism, corruption and the
principle of “personal loyalty”. Kazakh
civil service is characterised by “command movement” when the first head
of the government body moves with
the whole “team” of loyal people, thus
forcing the re-shuffling of government
officials. To reduce “command movement” during the new political appointments, the new law tries to minimise the
potential for recruitment on the basis
of transfer of candidates: transfer will
be carried out only within government
bodies, while transfer between government bodies will be conducted only on a
competitive basis.
Another innovation of the new law
is the introduction of the performancebased remuneration system for government officials which was recommended
by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Review of the Central Administration
in Kazakhstan (2014). The new law introduced a differentiated system of payment depending on the nature, scope
and results of the work performed.
Every civil servant will be evaluated
by the results of a year-long period of
work, and productive employees will
get bonuses. The experience of developed countries in implementing performance-based payment system suggests
that this system should be implemented
with great caution and on a step-by-step
basis. In the Kazakh context distribution
of undeserved bonuses and allowances
may lead to demotivation of staff, poor
working atmosphere in the organisation
and even more corruption.
One of the most radical innovations of
the law is a permit to work in the civil
service for foreign managers following
the example of Ukraine, where recently
foreign managers started to be appointed to high government posts. This provision received mixed reactions from
the experts. Some experts believe that
recruitment of foreign consultants to
manage state affairs is not desirable and
express concerns from the perspective
of national security and protection of
specific national interests. However, the
government claims that the appointment
of foreign experts in some sectors where
there is a shortage of local experts can
be carried out applying specific requirements and the list of positions. The top
managers of the government bodies will
hold personal responsibility for hiring
and performance of the foreign managers.
The new civil service law pays special attention to the moral principles
of civil servants. In view of the changing values and attitudes in the society,
a new Ethics Code was introduced on
Dec. 29, 2015 which replaced the former Code of Honour of civil servants
of Kazakhstan. The new Ethics Code
extends the standards of conduct with
situational examples of appropriate
behaviour of civil servants, including the cases of conflict of interest
with others. One of the mechanisms
to support the Ethics Code is the introduction of a new position of “ethics commissioner” following U.S. and
Canadian models. Civil servants and
citizens should now consult with an
ethics commissioner in case of prob-
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lems of an ethical nature. To some
extent, the functions of the ethics
commissioner duplicate those of the
executive secretary of the government
bodies as both positions have been introduced to act as an ombudsman for
government officials and protect their
interests and rights. The Ethics Code
needs to be supported by practical effective mechanisms such as the moral
climate of the government apparatus
and the personal example of leaders
at all levels of the government, who
should demonstrate the values of integrity and morality to the colleagues,
citizens and family members, otherwise the code of ethics risks remaining on paper only.
An important aspect of administrative
reform is the establishment of an effective training system of civil servants. As
a consequence, the role of the Academy
of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan as a
training centre will increase. There is a
new player in the market of civil servants
training, such as the Graduate School of
Public Policy of Nazarbayev University
(NU GSPP), which offers professional
programmes in public policy and public
administration at the Master’s level in
English language as well as carrying out
policy research studies. GSPP’s strategic partner is Lee Kuan Yew School of
the National University of Singapore. It
is recommended to distinguish the target group of civil servants between the
two institutions and provide differentiation of training programmes in order to
ensure more efficient use of budgetary
funds.
The new Ministry of Civil Service
headed by the former Deputy Head of
the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan Talgat Donakov was created in
December 2015, replacing the Agency
for Civil Service and Anti-Corruption
in order to implement a new model of
civil service in Kazakhstan. The National Bureau of Anti-Corruption, which
was established within the structure of
the new ministry, was assigned with the
functions of prevention, detection, suppression and investigation of corruption
offenses. Creation of a new ministry to
coordinate civil service reform reflects
the serious position of the government
with regard to the importance of administrative reform. However, frequent
reorganisations may not have a positive
impact on the effectiveness of reform:
moving employees from one structure
to another, legislative changes, organisational issues require time, budget
and efforts by the civil service managers who have to be distracted from the
reform implementation. It is necessary
to allow time for the new government
body to achieve certain results, avoiding
frequent reorganisations.
To “re-charge” the government and
create mobile, transparent and cost-effective government apparatus, it is not
enough to adopt the new law and establish the new ministry. There is a need for
cultural shift in the government, change
of moral and ethical values of civil servants and the establishment of relationships with citizens, business, and academia. We need a massive cultural shift
in the direction of openness, public accountability, and ethics in favour of the
provision of better-quality public services eliminating civil servants’ service
for their own personal interests. It is
important to build cooperation between
researchers and civil servants: policy
research should directly feed policy design, implementation and evaluation of
government policies. When the cultural
transformation of mindsets, attitudes
and perceptions of the government officials is implemented, the civil service
reform in Kazakhstan will be able to
create a professional state apparatus to
overcome the crisis and implement ambitious political plans to guide the country to join the top 30 developed countries by 2050.
The author is a PhD in Social Policy (UK) and works as an Assistant
Professor in the Graduate School of
Public Policy at Nazarbayev University. The views expressed here are her
own and not the official positions of
Nazarbayev University or The Astana
Times.
The Astana Times is published since November 2010. The Astana Times is
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of Kazakhstan under the registration No. 14037-G of 20 December 2013.
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A7
opinionS
FM Idrissov: The World Supports a Vision
of a Nuclear-Weapons-Free Planet
By Sadyk Karim
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly session
last September, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev put
forward a number of major international initiatives, including
adopting the Universal Declaration for the Achievement of a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World. Less
than three months later, on Dec.
7, the declaration was adopted at
the plenary session of the General Assembly. The Astana Times
asked Kazakh Foreign Minister
Erlan Idrissov about the meaning
of this step.
How do you assess the road to
adopting the declaration on such
an important issue? Could you
explain the main principles of this
document?
In my view, President Nazarbayev’s speech at the UN demonstrated a new level of participation
for Kazakhstan in global policies,
and the initiatives have become important landmarks for the international community.
The key initiatives, such as
achieving a nuclear-weapons-free
world by 2045 when the UN will
turn 100, creating a single global
anti-terrorist network, allocating 1
percent of countries’ defence budgets to sustainable development, organising a high-level international
conference on reaffirming the principles of international law and coordinating international efforts under
the UN on promoting green technologies, drew considerable interest
among our fellow diplomats, scholars, experts and the wider public.
For the citizens of Kazakhstan, of
special importance is the fact that
from the UN platform, Nazarbayev
promoted making a world without nuclear weapons humanity’s
ultimate goal in the 21st century.
Adopting the Universal Declaration
for the Achievement of a NuclearWeapons-Free World is a new, important step in realising this goal.
For five years, Kazakh diplomats
promoted this draft declaration. As
the result of this work, at the end of
Erlan Idrissov
last year, we reached a stage when
the draft was put to a vote by the UN
General Assembly. An overwhelming majority of UN member states
approved the declaration: 133 countries voted for the adoption of the
document, while 23 countries voted
against and 28 abstained.
I believe that the general principles and obligations established in
the document, already supported
by the community of nations, can
and must become a bridge between
different and sometimes opposing
views on the future shape of a world
without nuclear weapons.
At this stage, not all countries
are ready to support the declaration. What are the next steps for its
implementation?
Despite the fact that the Universal Declaration was developed as a
consensus document based on universally accepted principles and earlier agreements, it is evident that at
this stage, not all countries are ready
to support it. This is demonstrated
by the approaches of a number of
nuclear-weapons countries and their
allies that depend on their nuclear
umbrella. They are not ready to renounce nuclear weapons.
In the coming years, we expect a
long process of universalising the
declaration. It is particularly important to conduct targeted work with
those countries that did not support
the declaration, to convince them to
change their position.
To this end, we suggested that the
resolution be reconfirmed on a regular basis, once every three years. A
reporting mechanism of the member states to the UN and of the UN
Secretariat to the General Assembly
on the implementation of the goals
and objectives set in the declaration
is envisaged.
Reconfirming the goals and principles of the declaration will also help
keep the attention of the international
community on the declaration and
keep the achievement of a nuclear-weapon-free world on the UN
agenda. It should be mentioned that,
despite the complexity of achieving
the goal of making the declaration
universal, it is not unachievable.
Nuclear countries have rejected
the need to establish time frames
for eliminating nuclear weapons. To what extent is this goal is
achievable?
The logic is simple – without
defining time frames for the elimination of nuclear weapons, they
will be there indefinitely. As President Nazarbayev noted in his book
“Epicentre of Peace,” indefinitely
prolonging the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1995 demonstrated
that nuclear countries are required
to negotiate about disarmament
‘permanently,’ and they will never
be able to disarm. This provision
satisfies only the nuclear counties,
but it is of grave concern for the majority of the world community.
Nuclear countries think that it
is unrealistic to set time frames
for nuclear disarmament. At the
same time, non-nuclear countries
completely disagree with such approaches and demand concrete time
frames to save humankind from
nuclear weapons. The declaration
reflects a balanced and realistic
approach. Recognising the necessity of having a structured nuclear
disarmament process, it does not
set concrete time periods, which is
unrealistic today, but at the same
time acknowledges that time frames
for nuclear disarmament must be
agreed upon with countries.
The document includes two references to the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons.
Why?
Nuclear weapons have enormous
destructive power. Their direct effects de facto cannot be controlled;
they do not discriminate. They kill
and bring unbelievable suffering
to even those at a great distance
from the epicentre. Moreover, as
the tragic stories of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, as well as hundreds of
Soviet nuclear tests on the Kazakh
land, have shown, nuclear weapons
have long-lasting implications for
people’s health reaching into future
generations, for the environment
and for the economy of the affected
territories. Broadly speaking, nuclear weapons threaten the survival
of humanity and the existence of
civilisation.
Kazakhstan, as a country that has
been directly affected by the deadly
force of nuclear weapons, more than
anyone else sees and understands
their disastrous humanitarian consequences. Humanitarian considerations are the strongest and most
powerful argument in favour of the
early destruction and prohibition of
nuclear weapons.
Nevertheless, nuclear countries
are not willing to renounce possession of them and the possibility of
using them in certain circumstances, arguing that nuclear weapons are
not prohibited by international law.
However, the absolute majority
of the world is confident that nuclear weapons must be destroyed and
banned as inhumane, indiscriminate
in nature, inflicting excessive suffering and violating international
humanitarian law and laws of humanity.
On Oct. 21, 2014, the Joint Statement on the Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons was
joined by 155 countries. In 20122014, several similar statements
were adopted and three international conferences on the humanitarian
consequences of nuclear weapons
were held in Norway, Mexico and
Austria.
At the end of 2015, Austria prepared the so-called Humanitarian
Pledge to fill the legal gap for the
prohibition of the latest type of
weapons of mass destruction – nuclear weapons. A UN resolution was
adopted in support of the statement.
The recognition of the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons can form the basis of a process
aimed at the total prohibition of nuclear weapons and their complete
disarmament.
A significant contribution to the
dissemination of information on
the humanitarian consequences of
nuclear weapons comes from The
ATOM (Abolish Testing. Our Mission) Project. The initiative, voiced
by President Nazarbayev in August
2012, aims to inform to the public
around the world about the tragedy
of Kazakh people living near the
Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, as
well as other people of the world
who have been victims of nuclear
testing. Anyone who wants to get
acquainted with the content of The
ATOM Project can visit its website
and personally support it by signing the online petition to the heads
of states and governments of the
world to ensure the speedy entry
into force of the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Today,
nearly 220,000 people from more
than 100 countries have already
signed the petition and supported
it. In this context, we intend to continue the work on the implementation of another important initiative
of President Nazarbayev concerning the formation of a Global AntiNuclear Movement. It also requires
a hard work, which the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs intends to do.
What role can civil society play
in achieving the goals of the declaration?
Today, civil society, social movements and public opinion in general
have a significant impact on certain
political decision-making processes. When in August 1991, President
Nazarbayev decided to close the
Semipalatinsk Test Site, he relied on
the will of the people. And this support of the people helped overcome
the enormous pressure of the Soviet
military lobby. Raising awareness
of the catastrophic consequences
of nuclear weapons; disarmament
education; and the active efforts of
public associations, nongovernmental organisations and scientific and
educational institutions can break
the passivity of the majority of the
population and persuade governments to take more decisive steps
towards nuclear disarmament.
Civil society has played a significant role in bringing environmental
issues, climate change and sustainable development to the forefront
of the global agenda. It can make
nuclear disarmament a priority for
governments. The Nevada-Semip-
Where and How to Holiday in Kazakhstan
homeland and an increase in a
number of tourists visiting from
Russia, China, India and Iran.
By Kseniya Voronina
How do economic difficulties
impact the choices of Kazakhs regarding travel destinations? What
are the prospects for stronger
domestic tourism development?
What are attractive elements of
visiting Kazakhstan for foreigners? Which destinations are expected to increase in popularity
with Kazakh vacationers this year?
First Vice-Minister of Investments
and Development of the Republic
of Kazakhstan Zhenis Kassymbek
answered these and many other
questions in the following interview.
Let’s start with an issue that is
a concern for many in Kazakhstan. In your opinion, what impact will the difficult situation in
the world economy have on the
choice of Kazakhstan’s citizens
on travel destinations? Will our
citizens have to limit their holidays abroad?
According to the data of the
Border Service of Kazakhstan’s
National Security Committee the
number of our citizens travelling
abroad for tourism purposes has
been decreasing since 2012. For
instance, if in 2012 it amounted to
373,407, then in 2013 the figure
was 311,152, and in 2014 it was
287,526. In other words, in 2014
the number of citizens travelling
abroad as tourists has fallen by
85,881 against the year 2012. We
expect the continuation of the tendency towards reduction of visitors due to the unfavourable global
economic situation. According
to representatives of the Kazakhstan’s tourism industry, sales of
foreign tour packages dropped by
80 percent. Citizens of Kazakh-
Zhenis Kassymbek
stan, travelling for tourism, traditionally prefer Russia, Kyrgyzstan,
Uzbekistan, as well as Turkey,
China and the United Arab Emirates as destinations.
So, all those who do not go
abroad to rest, can they find suitable alternatives in Kazakhstan?
To what extent has the number of
internal tourists increased over
the last few years?
The number of visitors, served
by the domestic tourism industry,
is growing year by year. If in 2012
the number of Kazakh residents
using tourist accommodations
amounted to 2,507,005, then in
2013 the figure grew by 214,709
and equalled 2,721,714 visitors,
and in 2014 it reached 3,129,876.
Thus, in 2014 the number of visitors served within the domestic
tourism industry, increased by 15
percent compared to 2012. According to data coming from nine
months of 2015, the number of
people engaged in domestic tourism reached 2,385,023.
In the current economic situation, the ministry forecasts further
expansion of domestic tourism,
in other words, more travels of
Kazakhstan’s citizens inside our
In this case, are local resorts
ready for a massive influx of holiday makers?
Local resorts are ready to accommodate holiday makers within
the framework of their recreational capacities and number of
bedrooms. In this regard, business
needs to pay more attention to further improving the infrastructure
of hotels and recreation facilities
and foreign language training for
staff.
Over nine months of 2015, Kazakh resorts had served 451,217
domestic visitors. In particular,
the most popular resort areas are
the Lake Alakol area, Almaty and
Shchuchinsk-Borovoye.
These
regions received 261,838 visitors
over the nine months of 2015, in
other words 58 percent out of total
number of holiday makers.
The number of tourists, visiting
Kazakhstan from abroad, is also
growing from year to year. If in
2012, the number of non-residents
served by accommodations was
519,222, then in 2013 it increased
by 66,816 and was 586,038 visitors
and 679,018 in 2014. This means
that the number of incoming tourists, serviced by hotels, motels,
recreational facilities increased by
30.8 percent as compared to 2012.
In the nine months of 2015, the
number of incoming tourism visitors received by accommodations
was 504,215.
So where do you recommend to
holiday in Kazakhstan? Are there
new specific destinations, places
in the country that you would
draw our readers’ attention to?
Demand for services of the do-
mestic tourism industry is growing
on a yearly basis, and a number of
progressive and far-seeing tourist
companies are developing their
own routes and products.
Annually, new tourism facilities, hotels, entertainment centres,
restaurants and others are put into
operation; overhauls of existing facilities are done. The state conducts
work on a regular basis towards improving road-transport infrastructure, which gives entrepreneurs the
opportunity to expand the range of
tourist services countrywide.
Tourist companies in Kazakhstan
constantly develop new thematic
products for foreign guests. Visits to the space port Baikonur for
rocket launches, development of
industrial-technical tourism – tours
to formers facilities of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, beach tourism and many others are very popular among foreign tourists.
It is important to advance ethnographic tourism in Kazakhstan,
since foreign guests are interested
in the traditions, customs, social
life and cuisine of the Eurasian
nomads. To this end, businessmen
begin to actively implement new
projects. Whereas Astana is a Eurasian capital with modern buildings and infrastructure, it is crucial
to have ethno-auls (or skansens)
near the capital, where it can be
possible to submerge oneself into
an atmosphere of an ancient civilisation of the Great Steppe.
In order to advance this area,
akimats of regions and cities of
Almaty and Astana develop media
plans to further promote tourism in
regions, within which events being
conducted to make progress in the
ecotourism and ethnic tourism.
Ecotourism groups are formed
to foster a proper tourist culture
and
environmentally-conscious
behaviour principles among children and youth. Environmental
actions, expeditions, festival-fairs
to study the tourist-recreational
potential are being carried out.
Skansen-type ethnographic centres
are being developed. It is an essential segment in the development of
ethnographic tourism.
What are the most popular
routes in Kazakhstan?
The notion of “popular routes”
is a very conditional one, because
each location has its own weekend
routes. For example, the Almaty
region has the Charyn Canyon,
the Turgen waterfalls, the Kolsai
lakes, short trips to the famous Medeu skating rink, ski resort Shymbulak. The Karaganda Oblast has
Lake Balkhash, while Kyzylorda
has Lake Kambash, as well as traditional favourites of the Caspian
Sea and the Shchuchinsk-Borovoe
resort zone. Kazakhstan has plenty
of places for recreation so the list
can be continued.
Will flights to Lake Alakol be
launched in 2016?
For the summer period, the ministry subsidises Almaty-UrdzharAlmaty flights, as well as flights to
Lake Balkhash from Almaty and
Astana twice a week.
What will be the average expenses per person for a domestic
tourist on a holiday to be spent in
Kazakhstan in 2016?
As reported by the statistical
bulletin “On Travel Expenditures
of Households in the Republic of
Kazakhstan” of the Statistics Committee of the Ministry of National
Economy, in 2014 travel expenditures of 21,000 households were
examined. The number of domestic tourists was 31,845 and domes-
alatinsk international anti-nuclear
movement and The ATOM Project
are evidence of the power and real
potential of civil initiatives.
Some countries believe that nuclear weapons are a guarantee of security and stability, but the declaration
says the very existence of nuclear
weapons poses a threat to humanity.
Could you comment on this?
The only guarantee of security is
total and universal nuclear disarmament.
The idea of the deterrent role of
nuclear weapons is a dangerous misconception that encourages more
countries to possess them. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his
speech on Oct. 24, 2008, called this
doctrine “contagious.” If countries
with nuclear weapons see them as a
guarantee of their own security, then
countries that currently do not possess nuclear weapons may think the
same. This increases the temptation
to own them and develop military
nuclear programmes. Continuing
to invoke the importance of nuclear
weapons and their indefinite preservation will only make them spread
further. If we do not start to disarm,
the number of nuclear-weapon possessors will rise dramatically.
Kazakhstan has repeatedly stated
that the concept of nuclear deterrence
is outdated. President Nazarbayev in
one of his speeches during his visit to
the United States in 2006 said, “The
obsolete concept of achieving security through mutual nuclear deterrence between rival states has been
fully proven to be archaic.” It has its
roots in the Cold War era and reflects
the realities of that bipolar world. At
that time, there were probably good
reasons for this. Today, when the
world has become multipolar, nuclear weapons are increasingly used as
an argument to solve regional problems, become a factor of regional
deterrence, a means of promoting
political and geopolitical interests.
All this increases the risk of using
nuclear weapons.
The final document adopted by
consensus at the UN General Assembly Special Session devoted to
Disarmament in 1978 says, “The
most effective guarantee against the
danger of nuclear war and the use
of nuclear weapons is nuclear disarmament and the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.” It seems
that this is the most comprehensive
answer to all supporters of nuclear
deterrence.
tic tourism expenditures constituted 1,000,240,000 tenge (US$2.79
million). Consequently, the average cost for recreation in Kazakhstan per person was 31,409.6 tenge
(US$88) in 2014.
Where can children best spend
their vacation in Kazakhstan?
What sport, educational and other recreation zones and camps for
children are recommended by the
Ministry of Investments and Development of Kazakhstan?
A nationwide tourist expedition
“Menin Otanym – Kazakhstan”
(My Homeland is Kazakhstan) is
popular among students and many
akimats (local government bodies)
implement this programme. Contests, all-round tourist, mountain
hiking and trekking championships
are regularly being offered in all the
regions. Annually, tourist gatherings
are also held to support childrenoriented domestic tourism industry,
tourist camps for schoolchildren
are arranged, extra-curricular childyouth tourist institutions are opening including special tourist facilities for children and youth, tourist
clubs and children’s camping sites.
What revenues does tourism
bring to Kazakhstan?
The revenues from sales of
products and financial-economic
services in the tourism industry
in 2014 totalled 205,564 million
tenge (US$570 million). The sum
includes revenue from activities
of tour operators, tour agents and
other organisations, rendering of
services in the sphere of tourism
(29,586 million tenge/US$8.09
million), from accommodation
services (83,896 million tenge/
US$234 million), from recreational, entertainment, cultural and
sport activities (89 million tenge/
US$248 million). Compared to
2013, the total revenue has increased by 30 percent and by 60
percent when compared to 2012.
A8
EXpo 2017
Successfully Hosting
EXPO 2017 Is Very
Important for Kazakhstan
By Akhmetzhan Yessimov
Astana EXPO 2017 is a priority
project for Kazakhstan. This is the
first time an international exhibition of this kind will be held in the
former Soviet Union area.
The theme of the exhibition reflects Kazakhstan’s commitment
to “greening” its economy and will
serve as a good platform to showcase the achievements and latest
developments in the field of energy.
As we are speeding up preparations for the event, I want to emphasise that construction works
are being conducted in line with
the planned schedule and will be
completed this year. During his
visit to Astana in October 2015,
Secretary General of the International Exhibition Bureau (BIE) Vicente Loscertales commended the
pace of work on the preparations
for the exhibition. Filling the pavilions with content can start from
Nov. 1, 2016.
In November 2015, during President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s official visit to Paris, an agreement
was signed between the government of Kazakhstan and BIE,
which includes a number of visa,
tax, customs and other preferences
for international participants at the
EXPO 2017. Domestic procedures
for the ratification of this agreement are in progress.
In terms of international representation, 74 states have so far officially confirmed their participation
in EXPO 2017, 26 of them signed
country participation agreements.
In total, we plan to ensure participation of more than 100 countries
and 13 international organisations,
a target that we expect to reach by
the end of this year.
In order to clarify the requirements for participation, annual
meetings of the international participants are being held.
On Feb. 24-25, we are hosting the second meeting in Astana
where more than 200 delegates
from 80 countries are expected.
We believe this event will play an
important role in further improving the quality of preparations in
Kazakhstan and the participating
countries for the exhibition, so that
it captures the imagination of all
visitors to the EXPO.
Kazakhstan took an active part
in EXPO 2015 Milano, where the
Kazakh pavilion was visited by
over a million people. At the end
of the exhibition, our country’s pavilion was ranked among the top
three and earned a medal for the
best explanation of the theme and
content.
EXPO 2017 Astana will not only
serve as an effective platform for
the discussion and development
of proposals on energy. As with
every other host country before
us, for Kazakhstan it will also be
an opportunity to attract a large
number of tourists. According to
the registration dossier, we expect
about 5 million visits to the exhibition. It is predicted that the largest
number of tourists will be coming
from Russia, China, European and
Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) countries. For visitors’ entertainment, we have prepared a schedule of 3,000 events
during EXPO 2017.
To provide the best service during the event, the organising committee has selected 3,000 volunteers in 2015 and this year they
will go through special training. In
addition, the upcoming exhibition
has already created at least 7,600
new jobs in construction alone,
which is a significant number for
the local economy.
I would like to underline that we
view EXPO 2017 as a great opportunity to showcase to the world
Kazakhstan’s great potential. That
is why holding the exhibition at
the highest level is so important
for my country.
The author is Chair of the
Board of the Astana EXPO 2017
National Company.
Why Changing Energy
Markets Add Relevance
to EXPO 2017 Astana
By Rapil Zhoshybayev
When Kazakhstan bid to host the
EXPO 2017 in its capital Astana, it
must have surprised many observers. It was not just that no country
from the former Soviet Union had
yet to host EXPO, but the theme
we chose was future energy.
After all, Kazakhstan is one
of the world’s largest oil and gas
producers. Promoting new energy
sources and solutions may have
seemed a strange decision for a
country with such large fossil fuel
reserves.
But five years after the historic
vote by the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) delegates for
Astana, that theme seems more
timely and relevant than ever. Energy security is an increasing concern for many countries with governments worried about how they
can meet the needs of their economies and citizens in future decades.
Around the world, too, the damaging impact of climate change is
clearer every year, increasing fears
about the legacy we are leaving for
future generations. As I write this
text in my office in mid-February
in Astana, I think to myself that
winters are clearly not as cold as
they used to be when Kazakhstan’s
administrative capital moved here
18 years ago.
The agreement reached at the
COP 21 conference in December
was a vital step in tackling this
potentially catastrophic challenge.
But commitments to reduce carbon
emissions now have to be turned
into concrete, deliverable policies.
Green energy – affordable, reliable and environmentally sustainable – is at the heart of the answer
to how we protect our planet while
enabling prosperity to spread. It
is why, despite its oil and gas reserves, Kazakhstan has set itself a
target of meeting 50 percent of its
own energy needs from alternative
and renewable sources by the middle of the century.
Not surprisingly given these
major global challenges, international attention on EXPO 2017
has been strong. Last month Latvia, although not a member of the
BIE, became the 70th country to
formally confirm its participation.
More than 30 nations are expected
to follow in its footsteps in the
coming weeks.
Last week, I visited New Delhi
where we signed a country participation agreement with India.
The fact that one of the largest
economies in Asia and the world
will present its green technologies agenda at EXPO 2017 will
add great value to the event’s attractiveness to both professionals
in the field and numerous tourists.
Sovereign nations will be joined
by many of the world’s largest
companies, particularly in the energy field, who see EXPO 2017 as
an important opportunity to showcase their technology and ideas
to a global audience. Businesses
know from previous EXPOs what
a unique platform exhibitions provide to excite interest in products
and services, to drive innovation
and forge new partnerships.
This interest, the importance
of the subject, as well as the trust
placed in it by the BIE, puts a lot
of responsibility on Kazakhstan.
We have an obligation to ensure
everything is ready for the exhibition’s opening in June next year
and for the many hundreds of
thousands of people who will visit
Astana during the three months it
will run.
As the Second Meeting of EXPO
2017 International Participants in
Astana this week will hear, we are
confident of meeting this responsibility. The large exhibition site, ideally situated between the city centre
and international airport, is rapidly
taking shape. National and international pavilions are being designed
by renowned architects while the
entire infrastructure that such a
large event will need is in place.
A similar pace of development
can be seen outside the site. There
are, for instance, a good number
of new hotels close to completion
with major investment taking place
to improve transport in the city and
its links to the rest of the country.
Nor is it just the physical barriers to
success that are being removed. We
have already scrapped the need for
visas for citizens from more than 20
nations to make it easier for them to
visit.
But while the first priority is to
ensure the site and city can meet
the needs of the hundreds of thousands of visitors during the exhibition, we recognise that its success
will also be judged on its longterm impact. From the beginning,
we saw EXPO as a national project that can help us achieve our
ambition to become one of the
world’s most advanced economies
by 2050.
Our aim is to use EXPO to drive
the next stage of our industrial development and diversification with
a new emphasis on sustainability,
high-tech and skills. The exhibition
site and its buildings will, wherever
possible, use the latest renewable
power sources, smart energy networks and sustainable construction techniques. Their use will
embed these skills and knowledge
throughout our wider industry.
We have also been determined
that the site will have a life long
after the exhibition closes. It will,
for example, host an International
Centre for the development of
green technologies and investment projects under the auspices
of the UN. The site will also be
the home of the new Astana International Financial Centre which is
being developed along the lines of
its counterpart in Dubai. With its
modern buildings and infrastructure along with the housing being
constructed, it will form a new
vibrant quarter in our capital city
as well as a permanent home for
high-tech firms, research centres
and academic institutions.
By raising our international profile and improving the facilities in
our capital city, we expect as well
that EXPO 2017 will provide a
long-term boost to tourism to our
country. Astana is a gateway to a
land of remarkable natural beauty
and we hope the exhibition will
help show just what we can offer
to visitors from around the world.
It is now just over a year until
EXPO 2017 opens its doors for
the first time. By focusing on how
we power our world in a sustainable way, we are playing our part
in finding solutions to one of the
major challenges of the century. It
is why I hope that many countries,
companies and individuals come
to Astana next summer. You can be
sure of the warmest of welcomes.
The author is Kazakhstan’s
First Deputy Foreign Minister
and EXPO 2017 Commissioner.
This opinion first appeared online at TheDiplomat.com on Feb.
22, 2016.
France Supports, Seeks Inspiration from EXPO 2017
By Pascal Lorot
France stands by Kazakhstan in
the perspective of the upcoming
international exhibition in Astana
in 2017, whose candidacy has always been supported by my country to the Office of International
Exhibitions (BIE). In 2014, President Hollande reaffirmed the participation of France in EXPO 2017
during his official visit to Kazakhstan. In April 2015, I was appointed as one of the first general commissioners, which demonstrates
the high interest that France takes
in this major event. EXPO 2017 is
indeed a tremendous opportunity
to strengthen the links between our
two countries and is in line with
the success of the Paris Climate
Change Conference COP21.
COP21 ended with the adoption,
by consensus, of the Paris Agreement on Dec. 12, 2015. This universal, fair, differentiated, lasting,
dynamic, balanced and legallybinding agreement constitutes a
major progress in the fight against
climate change. It notably sets out
the long-term goal of keeping the
increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above
preindustrial levels.
In order to reach this goal, innovation, development and green tech-
nologies must be bolstered. There
are now a great number of technologies and practices that enable
companies and states to reduce their
carbon footprint. As part of the fight
against climate change, it is important to identify these innovative solutions and make them known to the
public and private organisations facing environmental issues. Presented
in Paris for a week on the margins
of the major COP21’s political and
institutional debates, these solutions
will take advantage during the international exhibition of an absolutelyunique media resonance in terms of
audience and duration alike.
Echoing the theme of EXPO
2017 on Energy of the Future, the
issue of energy transition for green
growth will be at the heart of the
French pavilion during EXPO
2017. Adopted during summer
2015, the Energy Transition for
Green Growth Act aims to increase
the share of renewable energy to
over 30 percent of the total energy
consumption by 2030 and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions
by 40 percent by 2030 compared
to 1990. France, thanks to this act,
has entered the era of the energy
transition of the new century.
In general, EXPO 2017 should
also help initiate a more comprehensive debate on the modernisation of urban infrastructure in
Kazakhstan and thus serve as an
experiment and even as an urban
development model for the country. French companies boast knowhow and globally-recognised
expertise in the fields of sustainable cities – energy efficiency, renewables, smart grids, treatment
and distribution of water, pollution
control, new materials, urban planning, urban transport management
and waste recovery, etc., as shown
by the success abroad of our large
corporate entities and our small or
medium enterprises (SMEs).
In these sectors, French companies including Veolia, Suez Environnement, Vinci, Saint-Gobain,
Schneider Electric, Bureau Veritas,
Urbasolar, Fonroche and Beten are
already engaged in projects under
consideration or underway in Kazakhstan. Several of them have
already expressed a strong interest
in the projects initiated within the
framework of the preparation of
the city to host EXPO 2017.
The French state, notably
through the financing programme
of the Ministry for Economy and
Finance (FASEP), also supports
the development of a sustainable
and green economy in Kazakhstan.
Thanks to FASEP and by an
export-credit guaranteed by the
French credit assurance agency
(COFACE), the Astana Solar project has led to the emergence of
a production chain of solar panels in Kazakhstan. In partnership
with the national nuclear operator
KazAtomProm, several French
companies – CEIS, CEA, ECM
Technologies and SEMCO, –
have carried out the conception,
engineering and equipment of an
assembly plant of photovoltaic
modules in Astana inaugurated in
December 2012 by President Nazarbayev and also of a manufacturing complex of photovoltaic modules in Ust–Kamenogorsk with
Kazakhstan-produced silicon.
More recently, France has financed the Astainable project,
which consists of a 3D digital
mockup of the city of Astana
performed by French companies
EGIS, Eiffage and Engie (previously GDF Suez). Delivered to
the Astana Akimat over the summer in 2015, Astainable constitutes a powerful tool for the public decision-making process for a
sustainable city and will also be, I
am sure, a wonderful asset for the
development of Astana and for the
prestige of EXPO 2017.
Lastly, in order to improve energy efficiency, the French company
Seureca (Véolia) has just unveiled
the results of its studies aimed at
implementing a more efficient
management scheme for energy,
electricity and heat in Almaty.
In addition to the sectors previously identified, France must also
position its expertise in security,
logistics, event management and
most importantly, communication.
In this difficult economic context,
Astana EXPO 2017 is indeed a
major opportunity to enhance Kazakhstan’s visibility. As the world’s
most important tourist destination,
France boasts knowhow and great
experience which, of course, we
would be ready to share with Kazakhstan. Companies such as Havas
or GL Events or the state agency
Atout France have the necessary
skills to implement an ambitious
and efficient event communication,
which is essential to inform and attract many visitors from across the
country or around the world.
I would like therefore to high-
light the existence of an international agenda full of opportunities
to promote and enhance the progress that will be achieved in the
next months during the preparation of EXPO 2017: the signing
ceremony of the Paris Agreement
on climate on April 22, 2016 at
the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York, the Astana
Economic Forum in May, the
commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the visit of Général de
Gaulle at Baikonur in June 2016,
the Summer Olympic Games in
Rio, the celebration of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations
between France and Kazakhstan in
January 2017 and so on.
Finally, EXPO 2017 will be an
inspiration for the French candidacy of Expo 2025, for which we are
naturally counting on your support.
The author is France’s Commissioner for EXPO 2017, as
well as an economics PhD from
l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques
de Paris and a political science
PhD from Panthéon-Assas University. He has also been the
President of l’Institut Choiseul
for International Politics and
Geoeconomics since 2003, and a
member of the French Commission of Energy Regulation since
November 2003.
B
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B3
B5
B8
Nature, Health
Famous Artist Creates Sand
Therapy Combine
Animation about Kazakhstan
at Country’s Top
Therapeutic
Wellness Resorts
People
SOCIETY
capital
Kazakh Painter Conquers European
Art Scene, Brings Inspiring Story
to World
New Online Store Sells Products
Made by the Physically Challenged
Mysteries of One of Capital’s
Creepiest Escape Rooms
Shots from the film “Astana, My Love.”
By Staff Report
ASTANA – Famous Crimean
artist and sand animation performer Kseniya Simonova has dedicated her new film to Kazakhstan,
reported Kazpravda.kz on Feb. 9,
citing Argumenty I Fakty Crimea.
The five-minute film “Astana, My
Love” is gaining popularity among
Internet users.
“Astana is a beautiful, new, totally unique city. I was honoured to
be able to visit it a few years ago. It
is a subtle and marvellous combi-
nation of Central Asian traditions
with European innovations in architecture and urban planning. It
is a little known and, therefore, attractive culture for me… A culture
of long-term nomadism, which is
at the same time open to the new,”
said Simonova.
The short film shows the main
historical stages of Kazakhstan
and Central Asia and the ethnic
and cultural features of the country. It starts with pictures of the
steppe, the animation continues
with the illustrations of nomads
riding horses. Then a picture of
a hunter with an eagle appears
on the screen. A beautiful transformation into Baiterek follows.
Astana’s main sites are shown
in the film as well. The film ends
with the portrait of President Nursultan Nazarbayev with the capital
behind him.
In 2010, Simonova was a special
guest during the celebrations of
Astana Day, where she presented
her animation film to the Kazakh
President and his guests, including
the heads of 12 countries.
Sand animations of Simonova
are known worldwide. Presidents
and kings have witnessed her
films, including the Royal house of
Thailand, the royal Danish family,
members of the British royal family, the President of Malta and others. Three months ago, Simonova
performed in Bhutan, where her
audience was members of the royal family and current King Jigme
Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
ASTANA – Health and wellness
resorts are an excellent getaway
from a dusty, noisy and stressdriven urban life. Many residents
living in the capital and other big
cities pack their backs to enjoy the
stunning nature of Borovoye, mineral water of Saryagash and the
all-therapeutic treatments offered
by the resorts. The escapes have
become a tradition in many families, especially during the summer
season.
The large flow of cars driving
from the capital to Borovoye indicates just how popular this destination is during the warmer months.
“It is better to visit Borovoye
resorts in the spring, when bourgeons start blossoming on pine
trees and a very pleasant and
healthy air is coming from them.
You can sunbathe, swim and ride
boats in summer, while in winter
you can go skiing and in autumn
pick berries and mushrooms,
climb the mountains and look
down at Borovoye from a bird’seye view,” Gulnara Ashirbayeva,
a vacationer who has been to the
region’s Ok Zhetpes and Zhumbaktas resorts several times, told
The Astana Times.
The area is known to have more
than 80 different lakes located
among the mountains – enormous
natural repositories of freshwater
that create distinctive climate conditions.
Fresh, ecologically-clean and
fragrant air coming from the pine
forests start filling one’s lungs as
the person enters the Shchuchinsk
territory.
Essential oils from pine needles
are effective in healing pulmonary
and other diseases, notes the Silktour travel agency website. Therapeutic mud, mineral water and
kumis (fermented mare’s milk) are
other powerful curative factors of
the region.
Kazakhstan, China to Cooperate on JAC
Bulgarians
‘Sprinkled
Vehicle Production, Other Industrial Projects
Kazakh Steppes with
Sweat and Blood’,
Community Leader Says
Kostanai region Akim (Governor) Arkhimed Mukhambetov announced plans to implement nine
projects to attract foreign direct investments to the region during 2016.
He noted the main inflow of foreign
investments is expected from neighbouring China and Russia and indicated cooperation plays a special
role in mechanical engineering.
“An agreement on strategic partnership and development of the national Kazakh automobile brand was
signed among SaryarkaAvtoProm,
China Machinery Company and
JAC Motors in August of last year.
SaryarkaAvtoProm, together with
the Chinese company JAC Motors,
is planning to start producing JAC
vehicles by the small parts assembly
method,” said the governor.
Chinese partners have already
invested $5 million, but there are
plans to increase the share up to
$40 million. Delivery and installa-
tion of technological equipment is
scheduled for June-July.
The delegation from China Machinery Company is expected to
visit Kostanai to discuss the details
and terms of the industrial zone
construction, said Mukhambetov.
The sides will also sign a trilateral agreement among the Chinese
company, regional akimat and SaryarkaAvtoProm to launch the project. A license agreement on industrial assembly, as well as an export
contract between SaryarkaAvtoProm and IVECO Russia to deliver the first Daily to Russia, will
be also inked.
“Kostanai automobile enterprises will produce Peugeot and JAC
vehicles. The combiners’ assembly
will be increased by 35 percent.
Taking into account the results of
the current year, the industrial production volume index is expected
to reach 100.6 percent,” said the
region head.
Mukhambetov also recalled
By Dmitry Lee
Photo: jaccars.ru
By Azamat Syzdykbayev
other projects, such as those with
Russian businessmen to construct
ceramic tile factories and covered
greenhouse complexes, as well as
to develop the printing industry.
Preliminary agreements to construct hot briquetted iron plants
and complexes to liquefy natural
gas on Kazakh territory have been
reached with Chinese partners.
Another project on the cultivating,
deep processing and sale of flax
and other crops is currently under
development.
Domestic Oncology Not Perfect
But Developing, Expert Says
ASTANA – While Kazakh cancer care is not yet delivered in fivestar surroundings, the quality of
treatment has improved by leaps
and bounds in the last few years,
thanks to government investment.
Now, instead of seeing citizens
cross the border in search of better care, Kazakhstan is receiving
patients from nearby countries at
its newly outfitted clinics, Director of the Kazakh Scientific-Research Institute of Oncology and
Radiology Kuanysh Nurgaziyev
told The Astana Times.
“The development of Kazakhstan’s oncological service over the
past decades can be conditionally
divided into periods before and after 2012,” Nurgaziyev explained.
The launch of the Oncological
Aid Development programme for
2012-2016 led to a wave of development in the field, the director
said. “This was an unprecedented
event in the oncological service
development of not only Kazakhstan, but the entire post-Soviet
area.”
According to the director, six
screening programmes are being implemented; vaccinations
against human papilloma virus
for teenage girls are being offered
in four regions; new, high-tech
diagnosis and treatment methods
are being used; five high-tech
radiation oncology centres and
three pathomorphologic reference centres have been created;
ASTANA – Although Bulgaria
and Kazakhstan might seem to
have little but the Soviet Union to
link them, Bulgarians actually first
arrived on the territory of modern
Kazakhstan more than 100 years
ago and faced, with the Kazakhs
and other peoples living on the
steppe, the dangers posed by the
harsh climate and clashes over territory.
“There are a little over 7 million Bulgarians living in different
parts of the world and about 4,000
of them still live in Kazakhstan,”
Chair of the Bulgarian Ethno-Cul-
tural Association of Astana Olga
Andriyevskaya explained.
It was in the early 20th century
that Bulgarians from Ukraine and
Bessarabia, then part of the Russian empire and now part of current-day Moldova and Ukraine,
first settled in Kazakhstan, due to
land shortages elsewhere, Andriyevskaya said. “Now it is the fifth
generation of Bulgarians that lives
and works on the fertile land of
Kazakhstan. [This land] contains
the remains of our ancestors and
fathers, all those who, with their
sweat and blood, generously sprinkled the steppes.”
Things to Watch &
Places to go
oncological dispensaries are being equipped with new therapeutic diagnostic equipment; and 245
specialists have received training
in world’s leading oncological
clinics with the help of this programme.
“Drug provision for oncological patients was improved while
rehabilitation and palliative care
is also being developed. All of
these measures allowed us to improve early diagnosis and outline stable tendency on reducing
mortality from oncological pathology. About 210 billion tenge
[US$595.6 million] was allotted
to implement these activities,”
Nurgaziyev said.
“Domestic oncology is certainly not perfect, there are backlogs
from leading overseas clinics,
but we look forward with confidence and will be developing in a
planned manner,” he said.
Nazarbayev University
February 27 at 10 a.m.
Nazarbayev University Model
United Nations
Astana opera
February 27, 28 at 6 p.m. La Bayadère
Zhastar Theatre
March 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Jazz Flowers
March 15 at 7 p.m.
French Music Evening
Sary arka movie theatre
March 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses,
feature film with Russian subtitles
March 13 at 6 p.m.
Feature film Spartacus
(in French and English)
Congress hall
March 11 at 7 p.m.
Music of Symphony
B2
Nation&Capital
people
Hungarian Books Kazakh Journalists Promote 2017
Reflecting Historic Winter Universiade in Qatar
Ties with Turkic
Peoples Presented
in Astana
By Arsen Dilim
DOHA – Qatar’s capital recently
hosted the 79th congress of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS).
The latest annual event gathered more than 200 delegates from
more than 100 countries. Kazakhstan Association of Sports Press
(ASPK) President Ilyas Omarov
and General Secretary Stanislav
Filippov represented their nation.
The participants discussed the
most urgent problems of modern
sports journalism, including security at major athletic events and
further enhancing conditions for
efficient media coverage, gender
equality in the industry and various
ethical aspects of sports reporting.
The speakers included International University Sports Federation (FISU) President Oleg Matytsin, International Federation of
Gymnastics (FIG) President Bruno Grandi, senior managers from
the Fédération Internationale de
By Galiaskar Seitzhan
ASTANA – The scientific legacy of Hungarian orientalists and
the Magyar people’s historical ties
with Turkic-speaking peoples were
discussed at a roundtable in the
city’s International Turkic Academy’s (ITA) conference hall. The
forum was arranged in cooperation
with the Hungarian Embassy in
Kazakhstan, according to a Feb. 4
report by Kazinform.
László Marácz argues against
the traditional classification of
Hungarian as an Uralic/Finno-Ugric language as there are a number
of lexical, morphological and syntactic parallels between Hungarian
and Turkic which are of a more
fundamental nature
ITA President Darkhan Kydyrali
opened the event, highlighting the
Hungarian orientalists’ remarkable contribution to Turkological
studies worldwide, as well as the
deep roots and strength of historical and cultural relations between
Hungary and the Turkic-speaking
peoples. Other presenters included
the Hungarian and Azerbaijani
ambassadors, prominent Kazakh
linguists and historians including Ambassador Adil Akhmetov
(Ret.), numerous academics, diplomats and mass media.
As recorded in medieval history, the ancestors of the Magyar
(Hungarian) people moved to the
Danube valley from central areas
of the Eurasian continent. Speakers of Ugric languages related to
Hungarians still live in the Ural
and Volga areas in Russia. The
Madiar tribe (part of the Argyn
clan) also exists among northwestern Kazakhs. In the 13th century
the Kun tribes, part of the Turkicspeaking Kypchak people closely
related to modern Kazakhs, settled
in Eastern Hungary to escape from
the armies of Genghis Khan.
As a result, it is not surprising
that the modern Hungarian language contains hundreds of words
of Turkic origin clearly older than
the Ottoman influences. Starting in
the early 19th century, Hungarian
scholars studied the history, archaeology and languages of Eurasia and pointed at the region as the
cradle of the Hungarians and their
ancient language.
The three new editions presented at the roundtable were “Newcomers from the East: Hungarians
and Kypchak-Turks in Europe” by
the late Hungarian Turkologist Istvan Kongyr Mandoki, “Towards
Eurasian Linguistics Isoglosses:
László Marácz
the Case of Hungarian and Turkic”
by University of Amsterdam Professor László Károly Marácz and a
collection of folk legends and fairy
tales of the Hungarian people. The
latter are reportedly in their first
direct translation from Hungarian
to Kazakh.
Mandoki, who died in 1992, was
one of the first European scholars
to pay particular attention to the
study of Kazakh language and
culture. A descendant of the Kun
people, he felt a personal affinity
for the Great Steppe. Married to a
Kazakh woman, Mandoki actively
engaged in efforts to revive the
Kazakh language in the late Soviet
years and expand its use in public
life by participating in the foundation of the Qazaq Tili (Kazakh language) association. When he died
at age 48, the academic was buried in Kazakhstan according to his
will. Since 2005, one of the public
schools in Almaty bears his name.
The new edition of some of his
studies is likely to draw renewed
attention from those interested in
the historical ties between Hungarians and the Turkic peoples.
Marácz’s book reflects his novel
approach to the Ural-Altaic language classification. He argues
against the traditional designation
of Hungarian as a Uralic/FinnoUgric language, as he feels there are
no convincing arguments to justify
a classification in this framework.
Further, the professor contends, the
Uralic/Finno-Ugric theory degenerates the deep linguistic contacts
between Hungarian and Turkic
to secondary, unidirectional borrowings. Marácz, however, sees a
number of lexical, morphological
and syntactic parallels of a more
fundamental nature between Hungarian and Turkic languages.
Ilyas Omarov
Football Association (FIFA) and
International Athletics Federation
(IAAF) and the organising committees for the Union of European
Football Associations (UEFA)
Euro 2016 in France and Winter
Olympics 2018 in Pyeongchang,
South Korea.
During the congress, the participants visited the Qatar Foundation
and the city’s well-known Aspire
Academy and became acquainted
with construction of facilities for
the FIFA World Cup to be held in
the capital in 2022.
The Kazakh delegation used the
plenary and regional sessions, as
well as numerous bilateral meetings with foreign counterparts,
to promote EXPO 2017 Astana
and Winter Universiade 2017 Almaty. Many delegates noted Kazakhstan’s sports achievements,
including those of boxers Gennady Golovkin and Serik Sapiyev, weightlifter Ilya Ilyin, tennis
player Zarina Diyas, cross-country
skier Alexey Poltoranin and figure
skater Denis Ten, as well as the
country’s experience in organising
international sports events.
“Kazakhstan has made impressive progress, not only in political
and economical spheres but also in
sports, having at the same time a
lot of potential for further development,” said AIPS President Giovanni Merlo, who added he hopes
to visit the exposition in 2017.
Following the event, participants representing Asian countries
gathered in Manama, the capital of
neighbouring Bahrain, for the 18th
congress of AIPS Asia, or Asian
Sports Press Union (ASPU).
During the general meeting,
Omarov made a presentation about
the Universiade and expo. The delegates noted the events are valuable platforms to discuss relevant
international issues and elaborate
on practical solutions where each
participant, including small developing nations, can contribute to
the debate.
One of the important meeting
moments was the election of new
members to the ASPU executive
committee for 2016-2020. Omarov
garnered the most votes, along
with representatives of United
Arab Emirates, and became Central Asia’s first representative in
the congress’ governing body.
Commenting on the results,
Omarov noted the election of a
Kazakh delegate reflected the
Asian sports journalism community’s recognition of the country’s
sports achievements and its role in
the international sports movement.
Bulgarians ‘Sprinkled Kazakh Steppes with
Sweat and Blood,’ Community Leader Says
Continued from Page B1
“[Back then] almost no one had
horses,” states an excerpt from the
account of one of the first Bulgarian settlers, Konstantin Dymov,
who described in detail the search
for new settlements for Bulgarians
in the late 19th century. “Oxen and
cows were harnessed to the wagon, they drove women and children. We had seen various challenges – the cold [winter], hunger,
diseases – many were buried along
the way.”
Dymov continues his memoirs
in Pavlodar, where their small
peasant group was opposed by local Cossacks, who had been given
lands from today’s territories of
Omsk to Semipalatinsk. “These
are our lands. … Leave to the left
bank of Irtysh River or else we will
chop you all to pieces,” the Cossack commander shouted, backed
by five dozen men with sabres.
The settlers calmed their women
and children, made wooden rafts
and crossed to the left bank of Irtysh River.
“The left bank has been occupied by Kazakhs for quite some
time,” Dymov said in his book.
“From time to time we did run
into them along the way. … At
first we avoided any contact with
the [Kazakhs], but after getting to
know their peace-loving nature,
befriended them. They advised us
on how to prepare for the winter,
we taught them our craft-making,
how to construct houses and farms
for livestock.”
In the early 20th century, Bulgarians founded three small villages: Razumovka and Andriyanovka
in today’s Pavlodar region and
Bolgarka in today’s Aktobe region.
Bulgarian settlers quickly adapted
to their new home and the new climate and worked their farmland
until the drought in the 1930s that
slowed down agriculture.
In 1944, Bulgarians, along with
many others, were caught up in Joseph Stalin’s rounds of collective
punishment and about 12,000 Bulgarians were deported to Kazakhstan from Crimea.
“All Bulgarians, no matter the
social status and especially the
‘intelligencia,’ were forcefully
deported to the east. This was the
second migration wave of Bulgarians to Kazakhstan,” Andriyevskaya explained.
“The Bulgarian diaspora nearly
lost its national traits due to assimilation throughout the last four
decades, but the strong will to return to our historical roots [and]
revive our culture, language and
traditions helped us form our cultural centres in Aktobe and Atyrau
regions,” Andrieyvskaya stated.
One of the most memorable
events in the lives of Bulgarians in
Kazakhstan was the meeting with
then-President of Bulgaria Georgi
Parvanov in 2003. Parvanov at the
time was on an official visit to Kazakhstan. He gave the association
national costumes and musical instruments, videos and audio tapes
and, most importantly, outlined
measures to promote the native
Bulgarian language and culture in
Kazakhstan.
Today, there are about 100 ethnic
Bulgarians in the capital’s community, who are mostly in mixed marriages or are elders. There are 24
people in the association.
“Despite our small numbers, we
have always been active and gladly
welcome whoever wants to work
with us. We take part in the city’s
events, holidays, roundtables, conferences, exhibitions and concerts
held by the Assembly of the Peo-
ple of Kazakhstan. We have a children’s vocal band, Tsvetanka, and
the adult band, Zlata, who sing in
Bulgarian, wear colourful national
costumes and show our lifestyle.
Last year we also formed a dance
group, Izvor.”
Traditionally Bulgarians have
been engaged in agriculture, growing corn, beans, tobacco, vegetables, fruits and livestock like
cattle, sheep and pigs, according
to the chair of the association in
Astana.
Chair of Bulgarian Ethnic Association in Astana Olga Andriyevskaya.
B3
Nation&Capital
Culture
Kazakh Painter Conquers European Art Scene, Brings
Inspiring Story to World
ASTANA – Almaty native
Tolkyn Sakbayeva, 25, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a
child. Yet the artist has overcome
her physical challenges to allow
her talent and inner drive to find
the way to success and the hearts
of the European art world.
Currently living in Barcelona,
Sakbayeva had her own charity exhibition at the end of last
year at the city’s Espacio Espronceda. The showing, known
as Kaleidoscope, consisted of approximately 30 works, “among
which are portraits, still lifes and
many works depicting nature and
it wraps up with a small space
where the work she calls ‘Amor’
(Love) hangs,” according to latino.foxnews.com.
Her works, full of colour and
light, were sold for 400 Euros
(US$442)-7,000 Euros ($7,768)
and one masterpiece was priced at
10,000 Euros (US$11,121) for collectors of contemporary art. Four
works were sold even before the
official opening of the exhibition,
according to the news outlet.
In an interview with the Kazakh
media, Sakbayeva stressed she
does not want to be labelled as “a
physically challenged person who
can draw.”
“I am an artist, but I walk a little bit differently than others,” she
said.
Kaleidoscope was her second
exhibition in Spain, where she has
created her paintings since moving
to the country in 2013, and where
“she found all the colours of her life
and finally her harmony and freedom,” according to the interview.
“At the last exhibition, one man
came to me and said that his son
had committed suicide and he told
me that my paintings inspire him
to live. It was more important than
critics’ acclaim and laudatory articles,” she said.
According to her website, “Sakbayeva was 4 years old when she
showed a strong desire to express on
paper personages from her favourite books. That was the reason she
first learned to hold the pencil in her
hand and started to draw a line… It
took her several months to draw a
simple line, because her hands were
not listening to her. But she did it,
she drew a line! Her life began taking a totally different course.”
The doctors she visited said her
diagnosis was a verdict and she
had to be ready not to expect any
miracles, saying she would not be
able to walk, sit, talk, understand
reality, even hold a pencil or read.
“But it was that line which gave
her a new hope and new dreams.
Since then her pencils, brushes,
papers and canvases are always
with her,” noted the biography on
her website.
From a young age, Sakbayeva
has shown a great interest and passion for learning.
“I believe that every person has
the right to knowledge and I feel
very sad that, unfortunately, people with special physical abilities
are limited in this very important
aspect of life. But I have received
a good education thanks to my father, who studied mathematics, and
later algebra and geometry with me
every day. Also I studied English
by myself at home, then I got interested in literature thanks to my
teacher from a special school that
I attended during my high school
years,” said Sakbayeva in an interview with gazeta.caravan.kz.
The painter has overcome the
physical obstacles of her diagnosis to become the artist she always
dreamed she would be.
“Being an inspirational drive for
many other kids with special needs
and her peers, she was an activist in promoting art as a means to
Tolkyn Sakbayeva poses with one of her art works.
discover the world, inner power,
harmony and freedom,” noted her
website.
Sakbayeva created “the group
‘New Wave” and later ‘Artwave
Kazakhstan’ with the mission to
make world shine brighter,” it
added.
As a young artist, she has been
participating in and winning dif-
and genres and at the same time
complete withdrawal from them,”
she added.
The artist is currently in free
flight.
“I can draw whatever I like,
changing styles every day, improvising, experimenting conceptually and not being tied to trends or
styles,” she said.
ferent international exhibitions
and contests. Sakbayeva plans to
open her own studio, ARTolerance, where the true potential of
Kazakh and Spanish artists can be
discovered, noted 365info.kz.
Sakbayeva said she does not follow any particular style.
“It is rather a combination and
puzzle of different styles, schools
Short Film
Astana Opera Dedicates Project to 25th
by Kazakh Director Anniversary of Kazakhstan’s Independence
to be Shown at Cannes
ASTANA – The Astana Opera
Theatre will release an anthology
of symphonic music by Kazakh
composers of the 20th century to
celebrate the 25th anniversary of
Kazakhstan’s independence.
The management noted that the
theatre dedicates the symphonic
music anthology to Kazakhstan’s
independence through which national awareness, interest in the
past, national music and culture
was revived.
“We have to carry out a very big
analytical work that aims to gather
and preserve symphonic musical
legacy for future generations,”
noted Musicologist Marzhan
Zhakenova, according to a Feb. 10
Kazinform report. “Unfortunately,
some of the compositions are not
being played, others, kept on vinyl records for example, have lost
their quality.”
a unique anthology that will become a part of the world musical
heritage. It will include high quality CD-discs, musical scores, abstracts in three languages for each
composition.
“We set ourselves the task to
perform and record these compositions, but there is also preliminary
Principal Conductor of Astana Opera Alan Buribayev.
work like finding notes (making
an adjustment) and full reprinting of music material if necessary.
And only later compositions will
be performed on this basis by the
Astana Opera symphonic orchestra under the direction of renowned
conductor Alan Buribayev,” Zhakenova stressed.
The theatre’s creative team and
symphonic orchestra under the direction of Buribayev will carry out
the project, while project organisers will also collaborate with experts and scholars.
The theatre’s musicologists will
have to work together with musical educational institutions, libraries and Almaty and Astana archives; in addition, they will need
to seek information from private
individuals and relatives of prominent composers.
Organisers are currently putting
together the lists of composers and
compositions that will be included
in the collection.
British Superb Films to Shoot
Genghis Khan Movie in Kazakhstan
Staff Report
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Sports and British company Superb Films have
agreed to cooperate in the field of
culture and film arts, according to
a Feb. 8 report by Kazpravda.kz
with reference to the ministry’s
press service.
“Agreements were signed for
2016-2017 in arranging the ‘We
will rock you’ musical and filming arrangements of the ‘Genghis
Khan’ feature film on Kazakhstan’s territory, as well as two documentary films about Jesus, as part
of strengthening inter-confessional
relations,” noted the message.
When signing the documents,
the parties expressed an opinion
that the ties are an important channel of deep mutual understanding
and cultural exchange between the
countries.
“We understand the importance
of culture, arts and film production for the social and economic
development of our state and implementing the 100 concrete steps
Plan of the Nation,” noted Minister of Culture and Sports Arystanbek Mukhamediuly. “Show-
ing willingness to an equal and
beneficial partnership, we will be
promoting and supporting cultural
cooperation between Kazakhstan
and the United Kingdom.”
Mukhamediuly and Superb
Films head Kent Walwin also
discussed distributing the film in
Kazakhstan and abroad. A British film producer who has backed
more than 100 movies in his career, he became interested in Kazakh cinematography a while ago.
He visited Kazakhstan several
times and making historic feature films is among his upcoming
plans.
“One of the films I would want
to shoot is a historic type of feature film about Genghis Khan,”
said Walwin. “According to the
film’s plot, young Genghis Khan
meets knights and crusaders from
Western Europe and this story presumably occurred on the territory
of modern Kazakhstan.”
During an extended board meeting in the capital, Mukhamediuly
said the Mangilik El comprehensive plan was adopted under the
100 steps Plan of the Nation to
create a series of large-scale television and film projects whose tasks
include popularising the country’s
Photo: Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sports.
ASTANA – “Tragiometry,”
a short film by Kazakh director
Tatyana Kim, will participate in
Short Movie Corner (The Court
Metrage) within the 69th annual
Cannes Film Festival. The event
will be held May 11-22.
“There is no need to make a
movie on a given topic. The more
genres, styles and directors in Kazakhstan, the deeper and more
unique the film industry in the
country will become. ‘Tragiometry’ is a tribute of my love of the
Victorian era. It was interesting for
me to take a topic that is versatile
for every epoch and culture and
to shift it to the mystical space of
England of the 19th century. ‘Tragiometry’ is a black comedy. It is
the key genre in the development
of history, because I believe in a
person’s unique ability to transform personal tragedy into comedy and use his inner power to win
life issues,” said Kim, according to
Tengrinews.
The film’s main character is an
undertaker named Albert Vizor,
portrayed by Clayton Nemrow,
whose life is as cold and heartless
as the bodies of the dead people
with whom he works. One day he
discovers Mr. Moore, a man who
awakens from a lethargic sleep.
To Vizor’s surprise, the man is utterly unhappy about being brought
back to life and desperately wishes
to die again and go to the gates of
Hades. The unexpected meeting of
the two opposites leads to a revision of values and may even save
their lives.
“‘Tragiometry’ is a film about
the opposition of the characters
Photo given by Tatyana Kim
and attitudes about life. I am inspired by the events of the present:
everything around is changing rapidly, but more and more people are
choosing to go forward with their
heads held high, do what they like
and choose not to go with the flow.
I think such people are loved by
life and they get a second chance,”
said Kim in an interview with
Look.tm.
The short received a positive
review from Tmff.net, the online
film festival and screenplay competition.
“If we analyse the chain of events
taking place in ‘Tragiometry,’ we
observe the director serving the
characters exactly what they deserve and very accordingly to their
condition and nature, but in a very
ironic way. It’s Tatyana Kim’s way
of saying that each one’s nature
and condition is responsible for
whatever tragedy may be happening out there. Death gains different
meanings and statutes depending on whom it embraces. From
some, it takes the form of a second
chance… or maybe rather a punishment by refusing to ‘arrive;’
for others, it arrives unexpectedly
to take away from them whatever
they seem not to be treasuring at
its true value: life, of course. We
find ‘Tragiometry’ a highly-entertaining film, unpredictable, twisted and undoubtedly meaningful.
It has good music, excellent sets,
good acting and cinematography.
We definitely recommend it,” noted the review.
Kim is a graduate of Art Centre
College of Design, where she received her Master’s degree in filmmaking. A former copywriter, she
now lives in the United States and
is continuing her art career.
According to the theatre’s press
service, the rich musical culture of
Kazakhstan accumulated a treasury of genius works. Outstanding
works of 20th century Kazakh
composers will be presented in the
anthology.
It is planned that the third millennium generation will be handed
Photo: astanaopera.kz
unique cultural heritage, according
to a Jan. 28 article on the film website Brod.kz.
“Now, work is underway on developing and promoting domestic
cinematography,” said the minister, noted the website. “Mangilik
El, the comprehensive plan on
creating large-scale television and
film projects adopted for 2015 and
2020, will allow us to tell about
the best examples of Kazakhstan’s
cultural heritage, events and personalities.”
Mukhamediuly added developments are being arranged to attract
investments to pool Kazakhfilm
studio and private companies’ resources, including foreign investments, under a 50/50, co-financing
scheme, noted Brod.kz.
B4
Nation&Capital
COUNTRY
Domestic Oncology Not New Kazakh Education and Science
Perfect But Developing, Minister Brings Private Sector Experience
Expert Says
Kazakhstan is second to Belarus in
oncology care in post-Soviet countries, according to Nurgaziyev. The
doctor says that being able to choose
where to get treatment “is a right of
any citizen of our country.”
Within Kazakhstan, oncological
diseases have been added to the list
of socially significant diseases and
the state takes on all expenditures for
cancer treatments for citizens.
According to Nurgaziyev, there
was a period in Kazakhstan when
modern diagnostic methods and
treatment were not available for
citizens, resulting in the need to go
abroad for high quality care. Introducing new methods into domestic
practice was one of the tasks of the
country’s oncological programme.
“Our specialists were exploring
new methods overseas, and 34 of
Kazakhstan’s oncologists studied at
the Roussy Institute of Oncology in
Paris and later returned back to the
country’s regions and began to introduce modern treatment methods
there,” he noted.
Global leaders in a number of specialities were invited to the Kazakh
Scientific-Research Institute of Oncology and Radiology and master
classes were held.
“Our oncological organisations
were equipped with modern medical facilities with the help of allotted budget funds,” Nurgaziyev said.
“For instance, high-energy linear accelerators for conducting high-tech
radiation therapy that corresponds to
international standards were placed
at oncological dispensaries of Astana, Aktobe and Semey and Kazakh
institute of oncology.”
According to him, leading overseas oncological centres present
themselves as five-star hotels with
high-level service, while most of
Kazakhstan’s oncological clinics
were built during the Soviet period
according to Soviet standards and
cannot provide the same conditions.
However, Nurgaziyev said, “domestic oncology is equal to foreign treatment in all the rest relating to treatment methods and availability of
chemotherapy drugs.”
“Moreover, there has been an increasing flow of patients from countries
of the Commonwealth of Independent
States who wish to receive treatment in
Kazakhstan in recent years,” he added.
Foreign citizens wishing to undergo
medical examinations or treatment can
do so on a fee basis, he said. They can
be examined and treated in state or private medical centres.
According to data from World
Health Organisation, 14 million people are diagnosed with cancer each
year worldwide, but it is assumed
the number will reach 19 million per
year by 2025, 22 million by 2030
and 24 million by 2035, the director
explained.
“About 100 new cases of malignant growth are being registered in
Kazakhstan daily. According to last
year’s results, 36,438 new cases were
revealed and put on record,” he said.
The North Kazakhstan, as well
as East Kazakhstan and Pavlodar
regions, both of which straddle the
infamous former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, have the highest morbidity rates, while South Kazakhstan
and Mangistau regions have the lowest.
“In instances of certain diseases,
skin cancer came out on top for the
first time, breast cancer is second and
lung cancer is in third place,” the director explained.
More than half – 57.3 percent –
of cases are being revealed at early
stages. This is an improvement on
rates from 2011, when 49.5 percent
of cases were caught early.
“Mortality rates have a tendency
to stabilise. Cancer was the cause of
death for 15,763 people, according to
last year’s results,” he said.
The institute determined that in
2013, out of the total number of patients diagnosed with a malignant
growth for the first time in their
lives, 41 percent were 65 years old
and above, including 51.6 percent
of women and 48.4 percent of men.
Morbidity rates in this age group are
10 times higher than for people under the age of 65.
According to Nurgaziyev, the
many lawsuits filed against doctors
across the world are proof that it is
not possible to completely eliminate
the risk of medical error. However,
Kazakhstan is doing its best to limit
the possibility of error by incorporating best global practices into its clinics.
“By the experience of developed
countries, we introduced a multidisciplinary approach to our practice.
Multidisciplinary groups of doctors, whose main task is collective
decision-making on diagnosing and
determining treatment tactics, function in every oncological clinic,” he
explained.
Moreover, each clinic also has a
quality management service where
expert doctors control the quality
of medical aid given to oncological
patients. All of these measures are
aimed at decreasing medical error,
according to Nurgaziyev.
“Just as foreign doctors do, Kazakhstan’s oncologists closely monitor the results of fundamental and
applied scientific research that can
bring dramatic changes to prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
oncological diseases,” he stressed.
“They introduce innovative diagnostic methods; for instance, practically all oncological centres have the
immune histochemical method of
research that allows them to select
chemotherapy drugs based on the individual sensitiveness of each cancer
patient.”
Erlan Sagadiyev
nical subjects are taught in English,
history and culture of Kazakhstan in
Kazakh and history and culture of
the (Commonwealth of Independent States) CIS countries in Russian.
There have to be three mandatory
languages in order to have access
to a large stack of books,” said Sagadiyev at TEDxAlmaty 2013.
An alumni of the University of
Minnesota, Sagadiyev started his
career as a second secretary of the
department of applied economics of
the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1990.
From 1993 to 1994, he worked at
the World Bank in the department
of agriculture as a curator of Eastern
Europe, the CIS and the U.S. Afterwards, he moved to America as the
head of a project in the field of marketing of technologies.
He is one of the founders of the
International IT University and the
University of International Business in Almaty. He has been working as a public official since 2012,
starting as an adviser to the Prime
Minister of Kazakhstan and then
appointed Vice Minister of Industry
and New Technologies. On Feb.10,
Sagadiyev replaced Aslan Sarinzhipov as education minister.
In turn, on Feb. 11 Sarinzhipov
was appointed President of the
Nazarbayev Fund, an organisation
established in 1998, and a member
of the Board of Trustees of Nazarbayev University. He had served
as a Minister of Education and Science since 2013.
Kazakhstan Changes Army’s
Style of Marching
By Georg R. Vassilenko
ASTANA – Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev has
ordered a new way the country’s
soldiers should march.
Nazarbayev issued a decree on
Feb. 3 saying that from now on,
Kazakhstan’s soldiers will march
at a tempo of 95 to 105 steps per
minute, with each step measuring
from 60 to 70 centimetres. According to newly revised drill regulations, “the forward leg should be
raised 10-15 centimetres from the
ground and placed firmly on the
entire sole, the toe held more freely, not extended.”
According to Eurasianet.org,
this might seem to be an issue understood by few, but there are po-
Photo by vechastana.kz
ASTANA
– Kazakh President
Nursultan Nazarbayev appointed
Erlan Sagadiyev new Minister of
Education and Science, the Akorda
press service reported Feb. 10.
Erlan Sagadiyev, the newly appointed Minister of Education and
Science of Kazakhstan, spoke at
TEDx Almaty on challenges of education in Kazakhstan back in 2013.
Sagadiyev believes it is necessary
to share goals and tasks to improve
the education system. “Speaking
about reforms in the field of education in Kazakhstan, we need one
type of school, in which all the tech-
Photocredit: tengrinews.kz
By Aiman Turebekova
litical nuances. Russia and many
other post-Soviet militaries use the
so-called “goose step,” which uses
a tempo of 120 steps per minute, at
a maximum of 80 centimetres and
a straight leg.
“The hands are to make a movement next to the body from the
shoulder: moving forward – bending them at the elbows, the hand
to rise freely above the belt buckle
on the width of the palm, and the
palm to be at a distance from the
body, and the arm to be at the hand
level; moving backwards – freely
without stress in the shoulder joint,
at an angle 25-30 degrees (15-20
cm from the middle of the thigh).
Fingers are to be half-bent, head is
to be kept straight, looking ahead,”
read the new drill regulations.
Some other post-Soviet countries like Georgia (in 2007), Estonia (2008), and Ukraine (in 2009)
abandoned the goose step. This
was done in order to distance themselves from their Soviet legacies.
The office of the Kazakh President didn’t offer any reason for the
change.
During last year’s 70th anniversary Victory Parade in Moscow, it
seemed that many ex-Soviet states
seemed to use the same type of
march.
The new wording changes the
Statutes of Internal Garrison,
Guard Services and Disciplinary
Regulations. The decree comes
into force upon expiry of ten calendar days after its first official
publication.
Almost One Million People Receive
Kazakhstan Citizenship since 1992
By Aiman Turebekova
ASTANA – A total of 963,540
people received Kazakhstan citizenship from 1992-2015, with the
vast majority (858,661) being ethnic Kazakhs wishing to immigrate
back to Kazakhstan (known in Kazakh as oralmandar or “returnees”).
From 2010 to 2015, the largest
flow of oralmandar came from
China (77,810) and Uzbekistan
(77,629). A smaller number of
ethnic Kazakhs (14,237) returned
from Mongolia, while almost
5,000 people immigrated to their
homeland from Russia, reported
tengrinews.kz.
Considering individuals who re-
ceived Kazakhstan citizenship on
a general basis, Uzbekistan is the
leader in terms of migrants, followed by Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
Currently, there are 170,115
foreigners in Kazakhstan. In addition, 692 refugees are living in the
country, according to the Kazakh
Ministry of Internal Affairs. The
country has assumed obligations to
accept refugees under the United
Nations 1951 Refugee Convention
and 1967 Protocol.
The Kazakh Ministries of Internal Affairs and Finance did not
provide any information about
financial content of refugee’s allowances; however, the authorities
explained that, according to the
law “On refugees,” foreigners re-
ceive refugee status by decision of
a special commission within three
months of registering an asylum
application.
According to the law, asylum
seekers have the following obligations: provide complete and truthful
information of an asylum claim, undergo a mandatory medical examination according to the terms and
procedures provided by the authorised healthcare body, comply with
Kazakh legislation, de-register with
the authorised body and interior affairs bodies in the case of a change
of address in Kazakh territory and
respectively re-register within five
working days after arriving at the
new place of residence.
In terms of rights in accordance
with Kazakhstan laws, asylum
seekers are able to access free interpretation/translation
services
and information about the refugee
status determination procedure,
reside in Kazakhstan until a final
decision is made on refugee status application, including appeal
periods, use health services in accordance with Kazakh healthcare
legislation, freedom of employment and entrepreneurship in accordance with Kazakh legislation
and judicial protection of property
and personal non-property rights
and benefits. Refugees also have
other rights and freedoms as well
as responsibilities provided by the
country’s Constitution and laws
and international treaties.
Young Kazakh Entrepreneurs Seek to Save Aport Apple
“Gardening is very fundamental
to humanity; thus, all we had to do
was to remember our biology classes from high school. However, we
obviously faced some obstacles we
couldn’t overcome – then, we had
to hire professional gardeners,” the
pair said. “But most of our knowledge comes from the Internet. Even
though it is a rare and special kind
of apple, it is still an apple. First,
we planned to plant new trees, but
after studying further, we realised
that the first harvest comes only 10
years after planting, which is not
reasonable for an investment in a
social project. So we bought some
land with abandoned trees on it. The
trees were in a very weak condition.
We had to work hard for a year and
still have to do more work to restore
the rest of the trees, but most of the
work is already finished.”
They are able to combine their
passion with their careers by working seasonally, Kim and Takabayev
explained.
“Gardening is a seasonal activity,
where the peak time comes in midSeptember. The harvest needs to be
collected within two weeks. Therefore, we both take vacations from
our full-time jobs for this period.
However, during the off season, we
work in our garden on weekends
and public holidays. And there is
not much work to do in the garden
in winter. Of course, it is hard to
have two jobs at the same time, but
we are truly passionate about farming,” they said.
According to Kim and Takabayev, the Aport apple project is
their attempt to contribute to the
country’s development by revitalising the famous apples. The species
is much closer to extinction than
people realise.
The farmers were pleased with
their harvest last season, and their
produce was delivered to Almaty
and Astana supermarkets.
Kim and Takabayev participated in the Slow Food Asia Pacific
Festival 2015, held in Seoul Nov.
18–22. Their organic products from
Kazakhstan caught the attention of
visitors, including Korean businessmen, who made a proposal to invest
in an Aport apple garden and support expanding the project.
The managers were invited to
participate in the festival by representatives of this organisation in
Kazakhstan, who noticed their support of the slow food philosophy.
“We knew the main idea of the
festival is similar to what we have
been doing. … We do share the values of slow food and lifestyle. In addition, it was really useful to meet
people from different gardening industries. We gained some additional
practice and will try to implement
some marketing techniques in order
to become even more efficient in the
local market,” they said.
The scale of the event also helped
the budding farmers. Five hundred
exhibitors from 44 countries took
part in the event, Kim and Takabayev explained. “Even though our
Aport apple is nearly extinct, much
of the audience already knew about
it and we only had to share our ex-
perience, rather than explain why it
is different from other species,” they
said.
Social networking is a big part of
their marketing campaign and the
project has been receiving a lot of
attention on social media. The Aport
apples Facebook page gained 3,000
users nearly overnight, and people
have been offering to help with harvesting and transportation.
“Nowadays, we can spread the
word to people without making
them leave their homes or offices.
Even office workers have a few
spare minutes to visit Facebook or
Instagram. We decided to create an
account to inform local people about
our startup project and to show how
devoted we are,” they said.
“We did not know then how
much, if any, harvest we would
have that year, but we wanted to
show people that we are real, that
we are doing what we advertise,”
they noted.
“Transparency in business is
what we advocate. Some people
asked if the apples that we sell are
real Aport, the same apples they
tasted a few decades ago, as they
could not believe what they saw
at first. But then we told them to
follow our social media pages and
they have become fans of what we
do and started to endorse our principles, the farmers said.
Being eco-friendly and using sustainable packaging is also one of the
essential principles of the project.
“Unfortunately, we cannot label
each apple with our logos for promotion purposes, as this doesn’t fit in
with our eco-friendly concept. However, we have made a compromise
that no one has come up with before.
We developed a special packaging in
the shape of pentagon from the side
with a handle on top, which holds
three or four of our apples. The packaging itself is made of recycled cardboard, which matches our concept.
This way we can write our branding,
vision and concept on our packaging
for those who are unfamiliar with our
products,” they said.
The young businessmen consider
themselves part of the next genera-
tion of Kazakhs, who are eager to
motivate people and prove that everyone has the potential to be useful
and help create a better world.
In the nearest future, they would
like to grow their garden. They have
apple species other than Aport, but
not enough to supply a supermarket.
“We have enough space in our
garden to plant more Aport trees
and we are planning to do this in
the next few years,” Kim and Takabayev said. “We would like to expand our total harvest but, of course,
there is a natural limit to our garden.
We will have to buy more land at
some point. The main restriction for
us is that Aport apples require high
altitudes, [and high-altitude land] is
expensive in Almaty. That is why
we are currently looking for investors.”
“Our ultimate goal is to export
Aport apples to other countries and
restore the famous Aport brand
name to the world market and
make it competitive among species
brought from China and Eastern Europe,” they said.
B5
Nation&Capital
SOCIETY
New Online Store Sells
Products Made by the
Physically Challenged
‘Winter Look’ by Marina
Guskova
Children’s head band byLarissa
Kiselyova
By Dmitry Lee
ASTANA – InvaMade, a new
online store launched Feb. 5 in
Almaty, is hoping to serve as a
window of opportunity for Kazakh
citizens with physical challenges
to earn extra cash.
“I have heard of social entrepreneurship and started to collect
more information about what it
was,” said creator Aizhan Khalilova-Borsukbayeva in a phone
interview with The Astana Times.
“Unfortunately, in Kazakhstan it
is not as developed. The first thing
that came to my mind was to build
a platform, a link between the
skilled people who can’t work in
offices and consumers, and that’s
how I thought of opening the online store. I decided to occupy this
niche.”
The site has about 220 items
for sale, including various paintings and crafts like head bands,
ear rings, bracelets, frames, clothing items, toys, clocks and decorations. Khalilova-Borsukbayeva
intends to work hard for her cause
and is already engaged in numerous discussions to extend the line.
“I am in talks with different
Wooden clock by Nikolai Bashkirtsev
Most people make their crafts at
home and just give them as gifts.
“People were not sure of how
the sales would go and were somewhat doubtful about everything.
But then, after we made the first
sales, people got more confidence
and now are inspired to create,
paint more and work hard. They’re
under a different emotional state
now. Now they know that people
are interested in their works; their
creations can bring profit and are
in demand,” she said.
Comments from customers are
important for her companions.
“Our people get feedback from
real clients and not friends or relatives. Clients’ reactions matter to
them a lot. It gives them confidence and inspiration.
“In the future, I want to unite
all the handicapped in Kazakhstan
and expand the sales. I would also
like to hold master classes to help
create brand names, for instance,
for the creators to leave signatures
on their works, etc.,” said Khalilova-Borsukbayeva.
InvaMade currently makes deliveries in Almay for a fee of 400
tenge (US$1.11). The store’s commission is 30 percent.
companies and individuals to join
our project and expand the item
list within the next few weeks,”
she said.
She is currently looking for new
talented people who are physically
challenged to join her project.
“I hear about them, get their
contacts and offer for them to be
a part of InvaMade. We meet,
talk and agree on terms; I look at
their products and whoever agrees
is using our online store. Then, I
visit them to take photos or some
send their own photos and I upload
them online,” said Khalilova-Borsukbayeva.
The young entrepreneur is thinking big and positive in the prospect
and wants to attract large companies.
“There is an association for
the blind, for instance, and we
could work together. Another society is the library for the blind; I
am also in talks with them. They
have books that they could sell on
our site. There are also boarding
schools and foster cares that have
talented kids. They don’t sell their
products, or sell them at seldom
exhibitions or just give them away.
I offer them to sell it on our website,” she said.
A Touching Documentary
on Children Who Defeated
Cancer Filmed in Almaty
was with us,” says the mother of
another boy, who defeated cancer.
Children say that they had difficulty in school and in the playground because as people learned
they have cancer, they started to
stay away despite the fact that it
is well-known cancer is not contagious.
“We have worked closely with
Photo Vasilina Atoyants
Photo Vasilina Atoyants
ASTANA – A film created with
the assistance of the Amila public fund, which assists cancer patients, has been produced within
the framework of a project for the
psychosocial rehabilitation of cancer patients in Kazakhstan.
The film, “I’ll water you, my
flower,” is sad but at times funny.
It is the story of a girl and a boy
whose parents once found out that
their children have cancer and did
not give up.
“My daughter told me not to
cry,” says the mother of the heroine of the film interviewed by informburo.kz. “She told me that if I
cried, she would not let herself be
treated! I got myself together and
we won!”
“One day my child went to bed
with hair but in the morning got up
and the hair was left on the pillow.
Nobody can be prepared for this.
We lived through so much. Now it
seems that none of what happened
research institutes. This is where
the heroes were found. Ilmira
Khussainova helped a lot. We
filmed everywhere, talked a lot.
Actually, there were supposed to
be three characters in the film, but
a young man died. But not from
cancer as one might think. Accidents also happen,” said the film’s
Director Ruben Ghazaryan.
International Day of Children
with Cancer is celebrated worldwide on Feb. 15. It is an initiative
of the International Confederation
of Parents of Children with Cancer.
“There are over 200 different
forms of cancer that can begin
anywhere. Even an experienced
paediatrician is quite challenged
to detect cancer in children. This is
why parents need to be very careful,” say experts.
In Kazakhstan, every year more
than 400 children are diagnosed
with cancer.
Last year, 15,000 people died
from cancer in Kazakhstan. However, experts say mortality is reducing.
Tea vs. Coffee: Comparing Cultures
and their Role in Kazakh Society
The tea drinking culture among
Kazakhs is a tradition that brings
family members together for dinner discussions; however, the enterpreneur stressed these days it
gets harder to find the time.
“It is pleasant to gather over a
dining table as a family after the
working day is over. Family matters and news are usually discussed
during tea drinking together and
our family is not an exception.
Of course, we don’t always manage to gather in our modern days;
each family member has their own
priorities and preferences,” noted
Ashirbayeva.
Nearly everyone in her family
loves tea and very rarely does anyone drink coffee. Her grown children are not very bound to having
tea time with the family.
“It is very important to be mobile
nowadays and that is why our children sometimes snack in cafes and
coffee houses,” she said.
Kazakhs drink tea more often
than coffee because a lot of attention is paid to tea drinking in the
Oriental civilisation.
“A family gathers at a dining
table and drinks plenty of this
beverage when discussing family matters, while it is simply not
acceptable to drink this much coffee and perhaps that is why Muslims usually prefer to drink tea
during an unhurried chat,” added
Ashirbayeva.
She finds tea to be a compulsory
element of a daily ration.
“Tea has a big role as an enlivening moisture, without which it is
impossible to fully spend a day,”
she said.
Tourist Ahmed Saif Ali agreed
Kazakhs fancy drinking tea quite
a bit.
“I notice that some Kazakhs prefer tea more than water; some don’t
like the taste of coffee and stick
with the tea,” he noted.
The drink is also considered an
essential beverage offered at any
function; however, it is not always
his primary choice.
“Tea might not be the driving force
of our family, but we enjoy having a
cup or two of a sweetened tea with
milk or cold with lime and honey. For
me, tea does not give a jolt like coffee, so I would less likely have it as
my primary morning drink,” he said.
Some specific teas like green and
jasmine are known to have calming
properties. Drinking hot tea can be
helpful in the cold climate or give a
soothing effect not found with coffee.
For Saif Ali, it doesn’t really
matter which brand of coffee is the
best, as long as it is freshly brewed.
“Depending on quality, flavoured coffees like Starbucks, Illy
or Lavazza are among those that
will definitely get me out of bed in
the morning and instantly refresh
my mood,” he said. “My morning
alarm is the thought of a hot coffee
aroma. It makes me sharp quickly
and gives a ‘nostalgic’ feeling.”
There are many ways to enjoying coffee. Saif Ali mostly prefers
black coffee (Americano), which
he said gives a bold and pure taste
compared to cappuccino or mocha.
Even though coffee is his favourite beverage, having more than
three cups a day could be bad for
one’s health, he stressed, while if
consumed moderately, fresh and
in good quality, coffee can surely
have more benefits.
“A good coffee moment relieves
stress and makes you more productive. The scent of coffee can make
a place feel cozy as well,” he added. “I think an excessive amount of
anything would be harmful. Caffeine, which can be found in many
other products, is the substance that
makes it addictive,” said Saif Ali.
Daniyar Issakanov, who works
as a barista at Costa Coffee in
Keruen Shopping Centre, noted
coffee has been in America and
Europe for a very long time and
became a tradition. For some, living without it is impossible.
“To be honest, I have been working in this field for about three
years and I miss coffee when I am
not at work for two or three days.
Coffee invigorates. I might have a
biased opinion about tea, which I
also love very much,” he said.
The tendency among Kazakhs to
drink coffee has started to develop
because of the number of foreigners in the city who come to coffee
houses for business meetings.
“It can be pleasant to discuss
something over a cup of coffee.
Foreigners are used to it and Kazakhs seem to start getting used to
doing so, too,” he said.
“Coffee is a magic beverage for
me. You didn’t get enough sleep,
have a bad mood, – it all goes away
after you have some coffee,” said
Issakanov.
He added one has to take time to
become accustomed to coffee.
“Even latte was strong for me
when I first tried pure grain coffee,
because I wasn’t used to it. Now,
I drink espresso and sometimes
Americano,” he said.
Keruen’s Mamma Bunz coffee
house manager Aigerim Orynaly
agreed coffee houses and the coffee
business in Kazakhstan are only
starting to develop. Many people
crowded the recently-opened Starbucks in Almaty.
Most non-Kazakhs start their day
with coffee, while natives drink a
strong hot tea with milk. Orynaly
noted nearly all American and
Turkish workers in the capital’s
foreign construction companies order black espresso or Americano.
“They laugh if you ask with or
without milk because there is no
Americano with milk in other
countries, while we offer it here
anyway,” she said.
Some people add milk, cream or
caramel, walnut and other flavoured
syrups because black Americano,
where espresso is diluted with hot
water, tastes too strong, she added.
Adding milk or cream is also recommended for those who cannot
physically tolerate the strong taste
of black coffee, which can induce
nausea or sickness.
B6
Nation&Capital
Tourism&EXPO 2017
Nature, Health Therapy Combine at Country’s
Top Therapeutic Wellness Resorts
“It was nice to vacation in this
sanatorium, because therapy and
rest in such an ecologically-clean
region where even the air helps
the overall treatment only benefits
you. I like that Ok Zhetpes is located in the most pine forest array.
The sensation in the forest is hard
to express and it is good to be in
solitude with nature sometimes,”
said the vacationer.
Complemented by a modern
medical-diagnostic base of health
and wellness resorts, the area
works to heal and rehabilitate a
wide range of diseases including
cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, digestive, circulatory, endocrine, nervous system,
urological and gynecological, according to the Kazakh President’s
Administrative Department Medical Centre website.
Ok Zhetpes is an award-winning
system certified by German TUV
and is state licensed to render 17
types of medical services. It is believed to be one of the best in the
Borovoye resort area and the entire
nation.
The resort is a year-round therapeutic and wellness complex
where the use of mineral waters
and mud are the main type of treat-
Photo credit: riviera.kz
ment. Therapeutic mud heated in
special thermal units, hydro tubs,
underwater massage, power and
circular showers and automatic
intestinal cleaning are efficiently
used within the medical base of the
complex, according to the website.
The sanatorium has a four-a-day
meal regimen plus kumis. Based
on medical reasons, additional
meals established by doctor’s prescription or an individual special
regimen is appointed for specific
groups of patients needing more
frequent meals.
Prices for Ok Zhetpes tours
this year range between 35,000103,000 tenge (US$93-273) depending on the type of accommodation and the time of year. The
rates are higher (42,000-112,700
tenge [US$111-299]) during the
summer season (June, July and
August.)
The resort is 250 kilometres from
Astana and 70 kilometres from the
regional centre of Kokshetau city
in Shchuschinsk Borovoye resort
area in the Borovoye tract, Central
Kazakhstan. Visitors can travel to
the complex in three-four hours by
bus or train or two-two and a-half
hours by car.
The resort can be conveniently
reached from Astana, thanks to
the spacious and direct Astana
Shuschinsk highway. One will
never have problems no matter
how many other cars share the
road.
The complex is surrounded by
the Kokshetau foothills and the
west shore of Borovoye Lake. The
Okzhetpes and Zhumbaktas rocks
are a few metres away.
The unique properties of Saryagash reservoir’s mineral waters are
well known and comprise the main
therapeutic feature of its health
and rehabilitation centre.
The mineral water relieves
stomach, intestine and gallbladder
inflammation, favourably affects
the function of the nervous system and endocrine glands, helps
restore the immunity system and
improve metabolism, decreases
the total level of cholesterol in the
blood, helps normalise liver function and regulates sugar levels in
the blood. Standard procedures
such as hydro, physio therapy, lab
tests and doctor consults are also
available.
Prices at Saryagash are lower
compared to Ok Zhetpes, rang-
India Willing to Samsung Becomes Official
Demonstrate its EXPO 2017 Partner
Innovation-Led Growth
at EXPO 2017
By Aiman Turebekova
Indian officials told EXPO 2017
Commissioner and Kazakhstan’s
First Deputy Foreign Minister
Rapil Zhoshybayev during his
Feb. 12 visit that India, one of the
top 10 states generating alternative
energy, would like to share its innovations at EXPO 2017.
Meanwhile, 74 states
and 14 international
organisations have
officially confirmed
participation in
EXPO 2017.
Zhoshybayev held meetings
with the Additional Secretary of
External Affairs of India Ajay
Gondane, Chairman of the India
Trade Promotion Organisation
and the Indian Expo Commissioner Shri L.C. Goyal as well
as representatives of Indian business circles.
According to Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry, at the Ministry of
External Affairs, the sides discussed bilateral cooperation in all
directions. Zhoshybayev presented
a letter of appreciation on behalf
of President of the Republic of
Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev
addressed to President of India
Pranab Kumar Mukherjee for the
support of Kazakhstan’s bid to
secure a seat as a non-permanent
member of the UN Security Council for 2017-2018.
In addition, the parties discussed
simplifying the visa regime for
tourists and business persons, taking into account the upcoming
EXPO 2017.
To increase tourism, the sides
considered signing an inter-agency
document on mutual simplification of group tours for citizens of
Kazakhstan and India based on
the example of the signed SinoKazakh Memorandum.
At the meeting with the Indian
commissioner, the sides discussed
cooperation within EXPO 2017
and technical terms of participation. Goyal noted India is willing
to demonstrate innovations in the
sphere of green energy. The country set a task to increase renewable capacity five times to reach
175,000MW by 2022. Following
the meeting, Zhoshybayev and
Goyal signed the Agreement on
Participation of India in EXPO
2017.
Meanwhile, 74 states and 14 international organisations have officially confirmed participation in
EXPO 2017.
Furthermore, taking into account the interest of Indian entrepreneurs in trade cooperation, the
Indian Chamber of Commerce
and Industry and the Embassy of
Kazakhstan in India provided a
presentation of EXPO 2017 and
investment projects in the East Kazakhstan region for representatives
of major Indian companies.
enter a list of the most world’s
prominent capitals.”
Moreover, among other large
companies, which have already
Photo credit: inform.kz
ASTANA – The Astana EXPO
2017 National Company and Samsung Electronics Central Eurasia
have signed a memorandum of cooperation making the South Korean multinational electronics company an official partner of EXPO
2017.
“Samsung is a world famous
multinational company, which is
known for its advanced technology and innovation. Therefore,
it is a great honour for our company to work with Samsung that
will take a contributive part in the
exhibition,” highlighted Astana
EXPO 2017 National Company
Chairman Akhmetzhan Yessimov.
President of Samsung Electron-
ics Central Eurasia Yoonsoo Kim
shared his view that Samsung is
able to assist the event with its innovative products. “Astana will
President of Samsung Electronics Central Eurasia Yoonsoo Kim (L) and Astana
EXPO 2017 National Company Chairman Akhmetzhan Yessimov (C).
EXPO 2017 to Select Best
Achievements in Energy
By Aiman Turebekova
ASTANA – Selection of best
practices in the field of energy for
a pavilion “Energy Best Practices
Area” (eBPa) has started on the
website http://www.ebpa2017.org/
ebpa.
The idea of such a pavilion at
EXPO 2017 aims at demonstrat-
ing best technologies and proposals under thematic areas, such
as renewable and alternative energy, energy efficiency and traditional energy, energy storage and
distribution and use of energy of
natural resources.
Kazakhstan chose “Future Energy” as the theme of EXPO 2017
to bring together the global com-
munity in their efforts to take action in response to global energy
challenges and the eBPa is closely associated with this theme.
The eBPa will be located in a
two-floor pavilion with a total area
of 3000 square metres at the EXPO
2017 site. EXPO 2017 in Astana
will last three months, from June
10 to Sept. 10 next year.
Photo: netpulse.ru
Photo credit: kapital.kz
By Aiman Turebekova
ing from 7,500 to 12,000 tenge
(US$20-32) per day and 75,000 to
120,000 tenge (US$199-318) for
10 days.
Saryagash sanatorium is 130
kilometres to the south of Shymkent’s regional centre and 18
kilometres from Tashkent city,
Uzbekistan. The centre is situated in a garden park area of the
Kokterek settlement, near the Keles River in South Kazakhstan’s
Saryagash district. About 16,00020,000 people visit the sanatorium
each year, according to its website
sariagash.kz.
The Koktem sanatorium, in
the foothills of Zailiyskiy Alatau
gorge in Almaty, also has its own
mineral water reservoir. Its therapeutic procedures include mineral,
whirlpool and four-chamber baths,
underwater shower massage and
mineral water swimming pools.
The course of treatment lasts 10,
14 or 20 days.
Three to five meals are offered
per day from the menu and buffetstyle salads are also available.
Depending on the type of
accommodation and time of
year, prices range from 8,200
tenge (US$21) to 26,000 tenge
(US$69).
become official sponsors of the exhibition, such as NCOC, Shell, Air
Astana, Cisco Systems, Kazkommertsbank, Samruk Energy and
Kazpochta, the largest communications provider of Kazakhstan
Transtelekom was awarded the
status “Partner for the Exhibition”
on Feb. 10.
“Being ‘IT Partner’ of the international specialised exhibition
means to become a part of the
national key project. It’s a great
honour. EXPO 2017 will be a
landmark event, and we fully understand the importance of the project,” said President of Kazakhstan
Transtelekom Dauren Pshembaev.
The IT company is ready to
sponsor Astana EXPO 2017 in the
form of the provision of telephony
services and Internet access for the
entire period of the exhibition.
Corporations and businesses,
international and public organisations, educational/research organisations, individuals and inventors can participate in the eBPa.
This platform will enable participants not only to show their best
achievements in the field of energy, but also to exchange views
and experiences in the promotion
of these technologies, policies
and projects that will be thematic
worth of EXPO 2017.
Members of the International
Selection Committee are Nobel
Laureate in Physics George Smoot,
Director General of the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) Bernard Bigot,
Director of an Energy and Extractives Global Practice Charles Feinstein, Director General of TERI
University Rajendra K. Pachauri
and other eminent adjudicators.
Each application is evaluated
by at least three experts, who are
selected based on their experience
and competence.
Applications will be accepted
until May 15. Approval of the final
list of selected projects and participants of the eBPa will be submitted in September 2016. The organiser will send official invitations to
the authors of the selected eBPa’s
projects or participants.
B7
Nation&Capital
Sports
Kazakhstan Takes Astana to Host AIBA Women’s
Bronze at Euro
World Boxing Championship
Futsal 2016
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national team caused a sport sensation, taking bronze in their debut at
the European Futsal Championship
(Euro Futsal 2016) held in Belgrade Feb. 2–13.
Kazakhstan’s team, led by coach
Ricardo Camara Sobral, better
known in futsal as Cacau, defeated
their Serbian hosts 5:2 to take third
place and enter the top 10 in the
FIFA rankings.
Thanks to the success of the
Almaty Kairat team in the UEFA
Cup, Kazakh club futsal has become well known in Europe.
Kairat, the country’s leading club,
won twice in the UEFA Cup, with
this being as many times Kazakhstan has played in the tournament
finals, and won the Super Cup Futsal world in 2014.
Kazakhstan was overjoyed to
climb so high in their first appearance in international competition.
Forward Pavel Taku said “Am I
happy with bronze in the European Championship? Previously, we
could only dream to win the Tour!”
Kazakhstan began their run in a
meeting with Russia – who would
go on to compete in the final – and
lost the bitter struggle, 1:2. They
recovered, however, to defeat Croatia 4:2, earning themselves a place
in the playoffs against winners of
the last European Championship,
Italy. Experts did not predict a victory for Kazakhstan, but the team
surprised the world, beating Italy
with a score of 5:2.
In the following semifinal game,
Kazakhstan lost to the Spanish national team, 3:5. Spain, six-time
European champions and two-time
world champions, would go on to
win Euro Futsal 2016, defeating
Russia in the final match 7:3.
In the game against Spain, Kazakhstan showed some fighting
spirit, but their rival’s experience
and skill prevailed. Kazakhstan
was also certainly hindered by the
absence of two of their leaders:
striker Chingiz Yessenamanov and
goalkeeper Higuita, who play key
roles in Cacau’s “fifth field” tactics,
in which the goalkeeper also plays
an attacking role.
Before the game with Kazakhstan, Serbian fans hung a huge banner saying, “For us, you are already
winners,” and actively supported
their team throughout the match.
Kazakhstan played the game under
constant psychological pressure
from the crowds.
The first half was a crowd pleaser, with repeated attacks, great
goalkeeping and no clear advantage. It was not until the last minute of the first half that Douglas Jr.
scored, making it 1:0 for Kazakh-
year and its introduction during
the London 2012 Olympic Games
was hugely important for the sport.
People love boxing in Kazakhstan,
so it will be great for them to be
able to witness its stars compete
and gives another reason for more
women in our country to get involved in this great sport,” said
Abdrakhmanov.
Female boxing dates back to
the 1720s, however, women were
allowed to box for the first time
during the 2012 Summer Olympics, producing the world’s first
12 female Olympic medalist boxers.
“I’m hungry for a shot at the
World Championship title in
Astana but I know that it’s going
Barys Fails to Reach Gagarin Cup
Playoffs for First Time in Eight Years
By Ilyas Omarov
The Barys Astana hockey club
has missed the Continental Hockey League (KHL) Gagarin Cup
playoffs for the first time in eight
years despite a Feb. 18 shootout
victory over hockey club Avangard
Omsk in the last game of the regular season.
The Kazakh team missed the
playoffs by one point as, two days
prior, Barys was crushed by Ak
Bars Kazan 2:5, while its main ri-
val for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, Neftekhimik of
Neftekamsk, collected the necessary points in its parallel games.
Today, pundits argue about
what caused the failure. Among
the main reasons, one should note
coaching reshuffles in Barys during the season.
At the beginning of the season,
the club appointed local specialist Yerlan Sagymbayev, after the
previous coach Andrei Nazarov
unexpectedly departed Astana for
a coaching job with the reigning
Gagarin Cup holders SKA St. Petersburg.
Sagymbayev began giving more
playing time to the younger homegrown players, perhaps with the
upcoming 2016 IIHF World Championships in Russia in mind. However, Barys lost a good number of
points at the start, so the club management decided to replace Sagymbayev with his assistant Evgeniy
Koreshkov. In November, as soon
as Nazarov was fired from SKA after a failed start there too, he was
reinstated as the Astana coach.
Another reason for Barys’s
lacklustre performance this season may have been a generational
change. A lack of strong centres
in the attacking line played a role,
too. Dmitry Upper did not recover
well from an injury and Nikolai
Antropov had to miss the season
due to family reasons.
The goaltenders’ play was a
drawback too. Slovak Ján Laco
did not save as many times as he
should have had, and the same lack
of stability plagued his younger
backup Pavel Poluektov.
The bright spot was the roaster’s
North American line whose play-
ers ended up in the top individual
rankings of the KHL season. For
example, the Minnesotan Brandon
Bochenski, who is the captain of
Barys, with 61 points ranked third
in goals plus assists (21 goals and
40 assists) and had the season’s
longest run of matches (15) with
points earned in each match.
Bochenski’s fellow winger from
the first line, the Manitoban Nigel
Dawes, scored the second highest
number of goals (31) in the league,
only one goal shy of the ranking
leader Sergei Mozyakin. The Ontarian Barys veteran Kevin Dallman ranked second among defenders with 40 points.
Hockey is a team game, however, so individual skills too often
prove insufficient for an overall
success.
Now, the Kazakh fans are left
only with the hope that their national team would do better than
Barys in the upcoming IIHF World
Championships in May. Team Kazakhstan’s main goal in Moscow
and St. Petersburg will be to avoid
relegation back to the lower division while naturally more pleasant
surprises would be welcome too.
Kazakh Epee Team Wins Silver at World Cup
By Erzat Sergazin
Kazakhstan’s national men’s
fencing team won silver medals at
the recent Epee World Cup held in
Vancouver, Canada.
The Kazakh epeeists started the
tournament with a confident victory over their rivals from Hong
Kong, 45:22. In the next round, the
athletes broke the resistance of the
Russian team with a score of 45:39.
In the quarterfinal, they were able
to defeat their major Asian rivals –
Japanese, 45:33. The Kazakh team
also beat current world champions,
the Ukrainians (45:43).
However, in the final, the representatives from Hungary performed better, beating the Kazakhstan team with the score 42:36.
The second place allowed the
national team of Kazakhstan to
earn 52 ranking points, which
count toward the Olympic Games
in Rio de Janeiro.
To win silver medals in the
World Cup is a great success for
Kazakhstan’s national fencing
team.
Photo: facebook.com
By Anuar Abdrakhmanov
stan. Then Serbian goalkeeper Miodrag Aksentijević could not hold
the ball after a strong shot from the
Kazakh side.
In the second half, the Kazakhs
settled all questions about the winner of the match with goals by
Serik Zhamankulov and Douglas
Jr. Zhamankulov, indeed, was one
of the best snipers of the tournament, with six goals scored. In the
course of the Serbian match, he had
several opportunities to excel, but
hit the bar three times and had two
shots saved by Aksentijević.
Higuita, who truly demonstrates
the futsal adage that the goalkeeper
is half the team, secured Kazakhstan’s advantage. Higuita was the
author of one of the most beautiful
goals of the championship: having
saved the first strike at his gate,
he immediately sent the ball into
Serbia’s empty goal. A few minutes later, Douglas Jr. scored a fifth
goal for Kazakhstan. By the end of
the match, the Serbians had scored
twice but that was not enough, and
Kazakhstan took the match, 5:2 –
and the bronze.
“I do not have the strength nor
the emotions to celebrate. We’re
just happy for our team! Thanks
to all our fans for your support! It
spurs us to achieve our goals! Once
again I congratulate all of us!” Zhamankulov told The Astana Times.
Without a doubt, much of the
credit for the victory must go to
Cacau. With the arrival of the
42-year-old Brazilian professional
as head coach, the quality of Kazakhstan’s game has improved and
become much more spectacular.
“I have been working in Kazakhstan for nine years, five as a
player, four as a coach. I won two
big tournaments with Kairat, but
today is a special day in my career.
Perhaps someone had doubts about
our game, but today once again Kazakhstan has shown their best football. I am proud of my players,”
Cacau said of the historical victory.
“I would like to thank our close
friends and relatives for supporting and rooting for us throughout
the tournament. I think we properly represented Kazakhstan in the
international arena, and now many
know about us. We are happy to
make history. One of my dreams
has come true. Winning the bronze
medal of the European Championship is a great honour. And my second dream is, of course, the World
Cup. There will still be playoffs,
and we will need to try very hard to
make it in the World Cup,” said the
captain of Kazakhstan’s national
team Dinmuhambet Suleimenov.
In March, Kazakhstan will play
Poland for the right to go to the
FIFA Futsal World Cup, which will
be held from Sept. 14 to Oct. 2 in
Colombia.
ASTANA – More than 300 professional female boxers will have a
chance to take part in the 2016 AIBA
Women’s World championship in
the Kazakh capital May 19-27.
The competition will be held in
one of the most stunning places of
Astana, Barys Arena. “The 2016
AIBA Women’s World Boxing
Championships are set to light up
Astana, a beautiful city with vast
experience of hosting major sporting events, in particular a successful 2013 AIBA World Boxing
Championships in Almaty,” said
AIBA President Ching-Kuo Wu.
President of the tournament’s
Organising Committee Bolat Abdrakhmanov says this event is going to be one of the most memorable events on the sporting calendar
this year.
“Women’s boxing is becoming more and more popular every
Photo: eurohockey.com
Photo by Kapital.kz
By Aiman Turebekova
to be tough against such a strong
field,” said Britain’s Olympic flyweight champion Nicola Adams,
adding that “women’s boxing deserves events of this scale and the
team can’t wait to get going. This
year is going to provide the perfect showcase for our sport and
we are ready to show what we
can do.”
“This will be a true showcase
of the incredible skill, power and
elegance of our sport, determining
not only the best women boxers in
the world across ten weight categories, but also the first 12 qualifiers
for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games,”
highlighted AIBA’s president.
AIBA and Kazakhstan’s Boxing
Federation have strong ties such
as the World Boxing Academy,
which is a sports-study complex
built over 29,500 square metres of
land in an environmentally friendly zone of Almaty. The academy is
the first sports-study complex to
possess everything necessary for
the organisation of quality training processes that meets the most
modern preparation requirements
of boxers.
Boxing is one of the most popular sport in Kazakhstan, and its
boxers often collect top spots in
international championships.
Astana Pro Team Cyclist
Andriy Grivko Wins La
Méditerranéenne
By Anuar Abdrakhmanov
ASTANA – Astana Pro Team
rider Andriy Grivko won the overall standings of the stage race La
Méditerranéenne, which recently
took place on the roads of Spain,
France and Italy.
The 32-year-old Ukrainian national took the lead after the third
stage, which he won. In the fourth
and last stage, he did not lose the
leader’s yellow jersey. Second
place in the overall standings went
to Frenchman Matthieu Ladagnous
of the FDJ team and third went to
Belgian Jan Bakelants of AG2R La
Mondiale. This is the first victory
for the Astana Pro Team in a multiple stage bicycle race in the new
season.
“I am very happy about this victory and I would like to dedicate it
to my family and to my teammates.
Everything went as expected. My
team did a terrific job of controlling the race, starting from the start
until the last kilometres, leading
the group throughout the entire
route. I stayed at the head of the
peloton throughout the whole day
until the final sprint. I controlled
the situation and finished eleventh.
This double victory (yesterday on
the stage and today in the general
classification) is a great motivation to start the season on a better
note,” said Grivko.
B8
Nation&Capital
capital
Kazakhstan’s First
Kazakh Poet Presents New
McDonald’s to Open in 2016 Collection of Poems in Astana
By Yerbolat Uatkhanov
ASTANA – For quite a long time
it was uncertain if McDonald’s
would appear in Kazakhstan. After
many years of debate, two McDonald’s fast-food restaurants will now
finally open in Astana, the capital’s
Department of Architecture and Urban Planning announced.
McDonald’s fast-food restaurants
are one of the world’s largest networks. Restaurants will open both
on the right and left banks of the
capital Tengrinews.kz reported.
The official opening of McDonald’s in Kazakhstan became known
in November 2014. The capital’s
akimat (city administration) gave
permission to Food Solutions KZ
LLP (McDonald’s Kazakhstan) to
build the restaurants at the following addresses: 26 Kabanbai Batyr
Avenue and 49 Bogenbai Batyr
Avenue. In addition, one fast-food
restaurant will be built in Almaty
on the premises of the former Alatau Cinema.
“McDonald’s is developing its
business as a good neighbour, so
ASTANA – Kazakh poet Tamara Salimova and 40A Studio,
supported by Marriot Hotel, held
a presentation of a new book of
poems in Astana on Feb. 11. The
book called “Candle won’t burn
down in the night” is nicely illustrated with black and white photos
by talented Astana photographer
Yelena Sorokina.
“I wanted to create a book where
illustrations will be the prolongations of poetic characters. We did it
with Yelena. Poetry and photography interact with each other like a
breath in and a breath out on every
page of the book,” Salimova said.
The book is filled with a unique
synthesis of life, poetry and photographs. Readers can find living
people on its pages. The people are
our contemporaries, who can be
seen in theatres, in the streets and
offices.
The poet said the book is the
third one in her life, but it is the
first book she presented in Kazakhstan. She characterised the event
preservation of the architectural
ensemble of the city is of great importance for us. The Alatau Cinema
building has not been working for
many years, but we certainly understand that it is an iconic place for
the residents. Therefore, in the construction of the restaurant and landscaping of the adjacent territory,
we will make every effort to ensure
that the McDonald’s in the centre
of Almaty becomes an integral part
of the urban landscape and a genuine point of attraction, a favourite
recreation spot for the locals,” said
Alex Filippenko, General Director
of Food Solutions KZ LLP.
The opening dates for McDon-
ald’s in Kazakhstan are still not confirmed but they will open in the first
half of 2016. It was reported that
Kairat Boranbayev, a prominent
businessman, bought the franchise.
The Department of Architecture
and Urban Planning of Astana provided sketches of the capital’s new
McDonald’s.
McDonald’s is one of the world’s
leading brands in the catering field.
Numbering more than 35,000 enterprises worldwide, it serves about
70 million people in more than 100
countries every day. As noted by
the company, more than 80 percent of the world’s McDonald’s are
owned by the franchisees.
Tamara Salimova (L) and a guest at the Feb. 11 book launch.
as a very important one for people
who see value in the atmosphere of
poetic readings and classic music.
Visitors had the opportunity to buy
the books with autographs of the
authors. Some of the visitors said
they bought the books as presents
for Valentine’s Day.
“Love, which was born in the
sky, feelings, made of rainbows,
moonlight, rain, snow and the sun.
It is hard to say whether the author
lives in the centre of this world or
the world is located in her. Harmo-
ny and pursuance of the harmony
there, where it is broken, acceptance of severe reality and internal healing transformation. You
haven’t read such poems!” candidate of Philological Sciences Mark
Shtilman said about the book.
Laureate of Daryn State Prize
Olzhas Kaptagayev also said of
the book, “allegories, comparisons
and epithets are beautiful. The
book is distinguished by specific
philosophy and discussions, making it unique.”
Mysteries of One of Capital’s Creepiest Escape Rooms
By Dmitry Lee
ASTANA – They say only great
despair may bring light to treasures of the human intellect, but
what if aside from despair alone,
you’re being chased by the serial
killer Ghostface and only have 60
minutes to get away?
The popularity of the city’s
real-time escape rooms is undoubtedly on the rise. Residents
currently have a wide choice of
scenarios for their pastime, such
as Annabelle’s Secret, Saw and
Bank Robbery. The feeling that
“everyone chooses to be driven
by fear” was expressed to The
Astana Times by Alexey Soldatenko, owner of the horror escape room Scream.
“On my birthday last December,
[my friends and I] didn’t know
what to do and went to try a realtime escape room, or as they call
them here, ‘quest.’ We loved and
then tried another one and another
and then we decided to open our
own horror adventure,” he said.
Soldatenko, 19, and his three
friends began their quest Feb. 1
and have been promoting their
creation.
“There were four of us since the
beginning that launched this project. At first, we spent a couple of
weeks thinking about all the details
and puzzles that our visitors would
go through to get out, the vibe and
the environment. And then we
started looking for the facility and
in 10 days we built the room with
puzzles,” he said.
Soldatenko admitted the room
has really nothing to do with the
actual movie’s setting.
“We chose Ghostface from the
feature ‘Scream’ because we understood that people prefer to oppose a killer with an axe or a chain
instead of ghosts. But unfortunately, all such serial killers are being
used by others. Perhaps not every
person has seen the film, but everyone knows this character. Besides,
our puzzles don’t actually follow
the film’s scenario,” he said.
Primal Fear
Fear is a phenomenal feeling.
People want to avoid it at all costs,
yet desperately crave it. When it
seemed no horror film could still
scare, people found another way
of getting the feeling of fear.
“Although I knew everything
was fake and it was just a game,
I was still so scared,” said Zhazira Dyussembekova, The Astana
Times reporter, who took up the
challenge along with the editorial
team. “It was dark and I kept holding my co-workers’ hands when
I was scared and at times when
the lights went off I screamed for
real.”
What made Dyussembekova
scream for real? The quest room is
filled with dozens of well-thoughtout puzzles and teams up to five
people must solve them to get out
in 60 minutes. Unforeseen circumstances, the eerie environment and
trembling heart, however, somehow sidetrack players. In addition,
Ghostface always watches his
trapped victims.
Almaz Kartoyev, 17, a third-year
university student, plays Ghostface because he likes to joke and
scare others. He has seen many
people’s reactions, but a few stand
out in his memory.
“We had a group with one lockopener, a policeman and two girls.
They didn’t solve our puzzles but
picked all the locks and the policeman was not affected by a sense of
fear. Once there were people who
cried and we had to let them out.
Sometimes even children want to
play. In that case, we don’t scare
them and just let them play and
solve puzzles,” he said.
The Drive
Real passion and dedication are
the main drives for the project,
said Soldatenko.
“Some of us are in it for the money, some are in it for fun. When we
were thinking about this in the beginning, though, we thought about
having fun first of all,” he said.
The creative team is currently
working on opening a new room.
While they preferred not to spoil
the concept by revealing it to The
Astana Times, they mentioned “it
would be another horror room with
werewolves.”
“A simple, logical, get-out-ofthe-room concept is not in high
demand and we want to stay in the
horror-type of quests,” added Soldatenko.
The popularity of quest rooms
in Moscow saw highs and lows in
the past few years. As a result, the
niche is presently overwhelmed.
The Kazakh capital has about 25
quest rooms in addition to Scream,
said Soldatenko, who is not afraid
of the ever-growing competition.
“People want to play but are
apprehensive to build their own
rooms, so I don’t think that in Kazakhstan quests will be as big in
popularity as in Moscow, for instance. People will not grow tired
of them. We have a lot of youth;
they crave something new, interesting and unusual,” he added.
Among the visitors are children
from age 10, adults and elders up
to 60 years old and the quest is
looking forward to foreign guests.
“We can arrange games in English, as we have an English-speaking staff,” said Soldatenko.
The city is just stepping into the
big quest scene, while Almaty has
been through the challenges for a
few years and has advanced several levels.
“Almaty has more quests. For
instance, there is one where people
are put in coffins. They’re handed
flashlights and walkie-talkies and
have to work together to get out.
There is a quest in Moscow about
a maniac-collector; its territory is
about 200-something square metres and they spend tonnes of cash
just on puzzles,” said Soldatenko,
adding the team is planning to
travel to Moscow to experience
various scenarios themselves.
Whoever is lucky enough to get
in before 7 p.m. the cost is 8,000
tenge (US$22.25) per hour to get
out of the room; 7-11 p.m., 10,000
tenge (US$27.81) and 11 p.m.-3
a.m., 12,000 tenge (US$33.38)
For information, details and photos, subscribe to “outlast_quest_
astana” on Instagram (no spoilers).

The Astana Times No. 4(94) of 24 February 2016

Transcription

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