Kazakhstan’s 20 Years of Independent Development:Proactive Engagement with International Community Key to Success

By Yerzhan Kazykhanov - Minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is a young nation with a vibrant society and dynamic economy. Yet, 20 years ago in December 1991, when Kazakhstan had just regained its independence, it wasn’t at all clear that, two decades later, it will be like that.
I have been fortunate enough to be a witness to some watershed developments that have turned an obscure constituent republic of the former Soviet Union into a fast growing economy, a recognized leader of the Central Asian region and a reliable international partner. We have demonstrated the efficiency of our public administration, implemented market reforms and established an institutional framework of an open democracy.  
Preserving peace and stability in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society has always been our priority. Establishing inter-faith dialogue and tolerance, we tried to follow a classical principle of democracy: expressing the will of the majority while safeguarding the interests of the minority. With more than 130 ethnic groups living in the country, representing 46 confessions, each having its own cultural codes and traditions, we have opted for a controlled pace of social changes and thus we have managed to avoid serious inter-ethnic or inter-religious conflicts.
Kazakhstan’s practices of inter-confessional interaction gained approval of leaders of world religions attending triennial Congresses of World and Traditional Religions held in Astana. The first such Congress took place in Astana in 2003, becoming a significant contribution to inter-civilization and intercultural dialogue.
We strongly believe that the liberalization of social systems can be successfully achieved only on the solid basis of economic development. Poverty, being a bad partner for democracy, often becomes the first precondition for society’s fragmentation and the triumph of instability. The intrinsic connection between liberal economy and open society is quite clear to us. 
Following the major liberalization of the economy in the 1990s, Kazakhstan has seen its economy doubling in size by 2008, compared to 2000. With solid foundations and sound economic policies, Kazakhstan managed to prevent the recession, seen in many countries due to the global economic crisis, and in 2010-2011 our economic growth was as high as 7 per cent. Today, we conduct the strategy of economic modernization and post-crisis industrialization.
Our efforts to transform Kazakhstan into one of the world’s top 50 most competitive economies include opening up the national economy to international investors. Foreign direct investment into Kazakhstan account for about 80% of all capital inflows into the Central Asian economies, with EU countries being the most important source of investments. The highly developed banking system, stable institutions and investment-friendly government policies further encourage foreign investment.
Kazakhstan continues to deepen its integration into the global economy. The treaty founding the Eurasian Economic Community (EEC) was signed in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana in 2000. The Customs Union, bringing together Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus, is an important part of Kazakhstan’s integration initiatives. Customs barriers between the three member states were abolished in July 2011. This opens up greater opportunities for Kazakh companies to increase their sales on the global market and expand opportunities for foreign companies working in our country. The establishment of the Customs Union and the subsequent creation of a Single Economic Space will mark a real turning point in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy and external economic strategy, aimed at genuine integration in the interests of our people. For several years, we have also been working towards accession to the WTO, and we believe we are getting closer to that goal with every single day.
Since the first days of our independence, Kazakhstan has firmly and consistently built on its efforts to strengthen stability and security in our region and globally. For more than forty years, Kazakhstan had been an “epicenter” of the Soviet nuclear-weapons testing. The people and the land of Kazakhstan suffered pain and losses, when from 1949 through 1991 more than 450 nuclear tests were carried out by the Soviet Union at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. That sad legacy explains Kazakhstan’s firm and consistent anti-nuclear stance and the decision by our people and our President to renounce the nuclear weapons. Back in 1991, our President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, by his Decree shut down that notorious testing site. From then on, Kazakhstan has been pursuing a principled policy of demilitarization and nuclear disarmament. Kazakhstan has set a commendable example by voluntarily giving up its nuclear arsenal, the fourth largest in the world, which was larger than that of the UK, France and China combined, thus making a historic contribution to the strengthening of global security and showing a way toward a nuclear-weapons-free world.
By taking such decisive steps, Kazakhstan has established itself as a truly peace-loving nation, a responsible participant of the nuclear disarmament process and a contributor to global security. We firmly stand for the strengthening of the non-proliferation regime and an enhanced disarmament process. In 2009, the UN General Assembly declared August 29, the day the test site was closed, as the International Day against Nuclear Tests.
The Central Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty signed by five countries of our region in Semipalatinsk is of great importance. This measure was supported by Russia and China, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
It has already become clear that the security system shouldn’t be regarded as purely European or Asian in the rapidly changing and globalized world. Upheavals and uprisings in various parts of the world, including those in the Middle East, are clear example. And modern Kazakhstan, combining the characteristics of two cultures and even geographically located on two continents, is being called “Europe in Asia” and “Asia in Europe.” President Nazarbayev, having synthesized Asian traditionalism and European pragmatism and commitment to democracy, has been leading Kazakhstan along the path of evolutionary development without upheavals and hesitations during all the years of independence.
Since the first days of our independence, we have been true to a multi-vector and balanced foreign policy aimed at the development of strategic partnerships with Russia and China, our two great neighbours, the United States and the European Union. Naturally, our priorities include integration and cooperation with the Central Asian countries and mutually beneficial ties with the Islamic world and other interested countries.
Based on such priorities, Kazakhstan currently has 46 embassies, six diplomatic missions, eight general consulates, and six consulates worldwide. In the next three years, Kazakhstan will considerably expand its diplomatic footprint. The opening of new embassies reflects the growth in trade and cultural links with numerous countries around the world
In recent decades, active processes in the Asian part of the continent further highlighted the need to develop and implement new, non-conventional solutions to emerging security problems. With this understanding in mind, Kazakhstan has proposed and pushed for the establishment of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA). Today, this is a reputable security forum bringing together 24 countries with half of the world’s population. Kazakhstan is also one of the founder members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), whose goals include maintaining peace, security and stability in the region.
Kazakhstan believes its development and prosperity is closely linked to that of its immediate neighbours. That is why we have always promoted regional integration and cooperation. And that is why we have always extended a helping hand to our neighbours in need.
Kazakhstan, as both a close neighbour and a brotherly nation, helped stabilize the situation in Kyrgyzstan which last year saw major upheavals and violence. Kazakhstan spent million worth of assistance and coordinated various efforts within the international organizations, including the OSCE. Recently, Kazakhstan has set up a joint investment fund with Tajikistan worth 0 million.
Kazakhstan seeks to promote peace, stability and rehabilitation in Afghanistan. Kazakhstan and NATO signed an agreement on the land transit of NATO cargo in support of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). At the same time, we believe that it is now essential for the international community to “demilitarize” its approach to resolving the Afghan problem, to move towards humanitarian initiatives and to strengthen the economic component so as to enable the Afghan people to return more quickly to a peaceful and productive life. This is important for the entire Central Asian region in terms of reducing the threats of terrorism, drug trafficking, and religious extremism. In addition to working with the international community, Kazakhstan is providing bilateral assistance to Afghanistan to support the country’s post-war reconstruction, supplying grain, flour, rice, rebuilding schools and hospitals, and training 1,000 Afghans at our universities.
Regionally, we have also made substantial progress in combating drug trafficking in the past decade. The Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, which began operations in 2007, was established with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to improve cooperation in counter-narcotics between national and regional law enforcement agencies.
The international community has recognised Kazakhstan’s emerging role on the international arena by choosing our country as the first Muslim, Turkic-speaking, Eurasian, and post-Soviet country to chair the OSCE in 2010. The year culminated with the OSCE summit in Astana in December 2010 and the signing of the Astana Commemorative Declaration. In 2011, Kazakhstan also holds the chair of two other important organizations – the SCO and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
As chair of the OIC, Kazakhstan has worked hard to build bridges of understanding between the Islamic world and the Western world, and we have worked with our partners to have alleviate hunger and stife in areas from the Horan of Africa to Afghanistan. Under Kazakhstan’s chairmanship, the OIC convened an extraordinary meeting in August 2011 and set up the Somalia assistance fund, to which 57 member countries have already contributed 0 million.
Overall, Kazakhstan is actively pursuing a multilateral strategic dialogue with all partners, and is bidding to become UN Security Council non-permanent member in 2017-2018.
In today’s conditions, marked by globalization and new unprecedented challenges, Kazakhstan remains committed to a proactive engagement with the international community as we believe it is only through greater cooperation that we could build a better and more prosperous world for all.