Strengthening the non-proliferation regime
EDITORIAL by Yerzhan Kazykhanov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Austria and Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the International Organizations in Vienna
On 13 January, President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a law ratifying the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia. The Treaty was signed by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in September 2006 in Semey (formerly Semipalatinsk) and became a significant contribution of the countries of the region to stability and security in Eurasia.
As for Kazakhstan, this Treaty represents yet another step towards universalizing the international instruments in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation. We support the creation of zones free from nuclear weapons around the world.
Kazakhstan’s policy in the area of disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is marked by the country’s foreign-policy course, based on adherence to the strengthening of international security, development of cooperation between states, and promotion of the role of international organizations in resolving global problems and conflicts.
In the years since it became independent, Kazakhstan has taken a number of steps that demonstrate our country’s firm commitment to strengthening the non-proliferation regime. Among these are:
- Closing of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site;
- Accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear state;
- Withdrawal of all nuclear warheads from the territory of Kazakhstan;
- Participation as a successor to the USSR in the Soviet-US Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty;
- Participation as a successor to the USSR in the Soviet-US Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles;
- Accession to the IAEA and placing of all nuclear sites under the IAEA’s safety guarantees;
- Accession to the Additional Protocol to the Agreement with the IAEA for the Application of Safeguards in Connection with the NPT;
- Conversion of the infrastructure of former test sites and scientific/technical infrastructure used in the former military complexes;
- Signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and active work on modernization of the seismological stations located on the territory of Kazakhstan and involved in the global monitoring network.
Kazakhstan inherited a large amount of nuclear armaments after the collapse of the USSR – strategic missiles, long-range bomber aircraft and the attendant nuclear and thermonuclear devices. Up to that time, all that deadly potential was fourth in the world in terms of capacity. A total of 148 intercontinental ballistic missiles/silo launchers and 104 ICBMs with nuclear warheads were concentrated in Kazakhstan.
The renunciation of the nuclear arsenal and the firm adherence to the country’s international commitments have in fact ensured Kazakhstan’s security and provided the conditions for its economic growth.
Kazakhstan distinguishes itself by a steady and gradual disarmament through implementation of the commitments of all the NPT signatory states, both nuclear and non-nuclear. It is necessary to ensure a rigorous control over arms and extremely dangerous materials and technologies as a key element of, and the foundation for, any security system.
By our actions, we have shown the way forward to a more secure future. We call upon the whole world–loud and clear–to emulate Kazakhstan and other countries that have also chosen the road of disarmament.
We believe that this is the only way we can ensure a more peaceful and secure future for future generations.
At the picture: Memorial in commemoration of victims of nuclear tragedy in Semey
Year of Kazakhstan in Germany inaugurated
President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Berlin to attend the opening events of the Year of Kazakhstan in Germany. The agreement to hold this Year was reached during the state visit of Federal President Horst Koehler to Astana in September 2008.
Germany has long been Kazakhstan’s largest economic partner. More than 540 enterprises have been opened with the participation of German capital. The total volume of German investments in Kazakhstan’s economy amounts to about $3.5 billion.
Addressing the participants in the Kazakh-German business forum in Berlin, President Nazarbayev stressed that Kazakhstan has a direct interest in the expansion of business cooperation with Germany, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing, mechanical engineering, agriculture and the food industry. In Berlin, the Kazakh leader also met with Federal President Horst Koehler, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Chancellor Hans-Dietrich Genscher.
The programme of the Year of Kazakhstan in Germany includes a great number of events, such as political meetings at a high level, economic forums, scientific conferences, and cultural, humanitarian and educational projects. Besides Berlin, the events will take place in many parts of Germany.
At the picture: The Federal President of Germany Horst Koehler and the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. Berlin, January 2009
Czech Republic promotes further EU – Central Asia partnership
The Czech EU Presidency features a continuation of the Union’s policy of intensifying its cooperation with Central Asia.
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek paid an official visit to Kazakhstan on 12 February and held talks with President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Karim Massimov in Astana.
“We discussed a number of important issues concerning our bilateral ties, such as the relations between Kazakhstan and the EU”, the Kazakh Prime Minister said after the meeting.
“The Czech Republic currently holds the Presidency of the European Union, and the EU is Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner and consumer of its energy resources”, he added.
In his turn, the Czech Prime Minister expressed the EU’s interest in expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan. “We look favourably upon your OSCE Chairmanship in 2010, and your ambition to join the WTO, and we appreciate your efforts in Afghanistan and in the ensuring of regional security”, said Mr. Topolánek.
Prior the visit of Prime Minister Topolánek, Kazakh Foreign Minister Marat Tazhin met with the First Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, Tomash Poyar, in Astana on 20 January.
During the meeting, the two ministers exchanged views on topical issues of contemporary international relations and discussed key aspects relating to the Czech EU Presidency, in particular in the context of the Central Asia – EU dialogue, as well as the prospects for bilateral relations between the two countries. Minister Tazhin provided information about the implementation of Kazakhstan’s “Path to Europe” State Programme.
On 29 January, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, speaking to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, also emphasized the significance of partnership with Central Asia, especially in the energy field. He also stressed the necessity of further intensifying and expanding cooperation between the EU and Kazakhstan over a wide spectrum of partnership.
At the picture: Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov in Astana, February 2009
Kazakh-EU trade turnover in 2008
In 2008, mutual trade reached 39.1 billion dollars, including Kazakhstan’s exports to the EU – $30.5 billion – and its imports from the EU – $8.6 billion.
Among Kazakhstan’s major European trade partners are Italy (18.3%), France (7.5%), the Netherlands (5.5%), Spain (1.6%), Romania (1.4%) and the UK (1.2%).
At the graph: dynamics of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and the European Union, in billions of USD
Kazakhstan, US give new impetus to relations
Kazakhstan’s Secretary of State, Kanat Saudabayev, paid a visit to Washington at the beginning of February and held a series of meetings with members of Congress, State Department officials, prominent politicians and experts.
“Kazakhstan and the US are time-tested strategic partners with a successful experience of working together in such critical areas as non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the fight against terrorism, energy, and democracy”, Mr. Saudabayev wrote in his recent article, published in The Washington Times newspaper.
During his meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Mr. Saudabayev conveyed the congratulations of President Nursultan Nazarbayev on her appointment. He noted that Kazakhstan is optimistic about the prospects for strengthening the cooperation with the new US Administration. Ms. Clinton conveyed her gratitude to the Kazakh President for his congratulations and best wishes and expressed her hopes for a consolidation of partnership.
Kanat Saudabayev also met with the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, William Burns. The American diplomat said that the Administration of US President Barack Obama attaches great significance to close and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. The US President confirmed this in a telephone conversation with President Nazarbayev. They defined stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ensuring Kazakhstan’s successful chairmanship of the OSCE as the most important areas for cooperation.
The Kazakh Secretary of State also attended a National Prayer Breakfast with the participation of US President Obama. Then he delivered a report on “The Growing Role of Kazakhstan in Eurasia” at a round-table meeting at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in which US politicians, experts and businessmen participated. The prospects for strengthening relations between the two countries in the spheres of security and regional development, energy, trade and investments were discussed.
The Secretary of State of Kazakhstan reports directly to the President and develops proposals on the main dimensions of domestic and foreign policy for him. At the request of the President, the Secretary of State represents his interests in international affairs, and in relations with the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, state bodies, political parties and other public organizations.
Chairman of Senate to visit Vienna
The Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, will visit Vienna from 18 to 21 February to participate in the Winter Meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
During last year’s OSCE PA session in Astana in July, Mr. Tokayev was elected Vice-President of the Assembly.
Mr. Tokayev became the Chairman of the Parliament’s Senate in 2007 after a long career in diplomacy and politics. He has been Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister (1994-1999, 2002-2007) and Prime Minister (1999-2002). A Doctor of Political Science, Mr. Tokayev is the author of a number of books on foreign policy and international affairs. He is fluent in English, French, and Chinese, as well as Kazakh and Russian.
Improving legislation
On 12 February, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the OSCE, Ambassador Kairat Abdrakhmanov, informed the Organization’s Permanent Council of recent improvements in Kazakhstan’s legislation.
The legislative package includes amendments and additions to the law on political parties aimed at further liberalizing the legislation on political parties, simplifying their registration procedures, and increasing the transparency of the political system in the country. Through the amendments, the enumeration census for political parties was decreased.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev also signed the law on amendments and additions to the Kazakhstan media law. The amendments are designed to further improve the legislation on the media, and as such considerably simplify administrative barriers for print and electronic media and enhance the professional rights of journalists. In general, the law responds to the interests of Kazakhstan’s society in the sphere of development of a competitive and flexible media environment in the country.
Amendments to the legislation on elections make it possible to avoid a single-party Parliament through legal provisions stipulating that the political party receiving the second largest number of votes will be seated in Parliament even if it has not reached a threshold.
The new legislation on local self-government is intended to further improve the activity of the local bodies of self-government, and local representative and executive bodies.
The Ambassador stressed that that these laws had been elaborated by the Government and the Parliament in close cooperation with civil society, journalists, international experts and other stakeholders. Mr. Abdrakhmanov expressed gratitude to the ODIHR experts for their contribution to the elaboration of the draft laws.
He also informed the Council about the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that would further strengthen legal protections and improve the human rights situation in Kazakhstan.
“As regards the draft law on religions, which had given rise to so many concerns and so much criticism, I would like to inform the Permanent Council that yesterday the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to which the draft law had been forwarded by the President for comment a month ago, declared it unconstitutional”, the Ambassador said.
“We consider all these measures to be yet another very important step in our determined progress towards political improvement and democratic modernization in Kazakhstan, and we count on the continuing support of all our partners, including the participating states and the OSCE institutions”, he stressed.
The way out of the global crisis
In his article, “The Keys to the Crisis”, in the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, President Nursultan Nazarbayev urged that ways to overcome the global crisis should be sought, rather looking for the guilty parties. "Now it is more important to focus on defining the underlying defects in the system that brought about such powerful global cataclysms and on the search for ways to eradicate them", Mr. Nazarbayev said.
"We are on the brink of creating a totally new global economic, policy and security model. If we really intend to grasp this unique opportunity to overcome the deficiencies of the Old World and build a New World, an enormous effort by the entire world community, the mobilization of intellectual and material resources and a lot of time will be required. We will have to build a totally new logic and work out new 'traffic rules' for this transition, which could be called the Global (or Great) Transit", he said.
In the article, the President shares his thoughts on the idea of a future world currency that will have to be accepted as legal tender by the majority of states and adopted as such by parliaments. Users of the new world currency could create democratic bodies to govern its issue and issuers, on the basis of strictly democratic procedures.
“It is evident that the current world currency market is not competitive and cannot be said to be such until world institutions are created, laying down the rules for all the market participants’ activities. Competitiveness could be ensured and strictly controlled by a special supervising body, such as for instance a “world anti-monopoly currency committee”, and the world currency market could be supervised by (let’s call it provisionally) the world committee on market freedom. On this absolutely free market, any privileges for any world currency issuers or sellers must be totally excluded”.
“All the main subjects – users of the new world currency (countries, companies and individuals) – must be entitled to create permanently operating instruments controlling its generation, issue and circulation. The issuer’s activity must also be under the control of all three branches of power: the legislative, the executive and the judicial”.
The actions of the issuers of the world currency must adequately conform to its key goals and to the values of world development and humanity. Likewise, the practical results of its operation must fully conform to the foremost goals and tasks of sustainable development and prosperity. These principles must underlie both the whole system of the new world currency and the system of regular measurement of correctness and efficiency.
Only in that way can the new world currency be modern and defect-free, and become a source of sustainable world development and prosperity, not of global crises.
The President called for the urgent elaboration and adoption of a detailed Plan for Radical Renewal (PRR). “Our world of transition has little time and resources left to prepare for this historic transfer. Unless the world’s leaders start preparing for this transition today, sustainable development of the world will be out of the question for decades to come. That matter must be placed on the agenda of the major political and economic bodies, summits and world forums, such as the UN Security Council, the G8 and G20 sessions, and the World Economic Forum.
Production of “peaceful atom” on rise
In 2009, Kazakhstan’s National Atomic Company, Kazatomprom, expects its natural uranium production to amount to 11,935 tons.
According to the Company’s President, Moukhtar Dzhakishev, this will enable Kazatomprom to become the world’s leader in terms of natural uranium output.
The figure may be either scaled up or down – depending on market conditions. Moukhtar Dzhakishev also emphasized that Kazatomprom has the technical capabilities to become the world’s leader in uranium production. It would be able to increase its output by 40% (compared to 2008) by expanding existing capacities and putting new mines into operation.
The President of Kazatomprom said that the world financial crisis has had a much lesser effect on the uranium market than it has in the case of other primary industries. Kazatomprom has developed programmes, giving various scenarios, and at the present time the Company “is not passing through a crisis”. Therefore, in the long term, Kazatomprom plans just to boost its production.
Kazatomprom is Kazakhstan’s national operator for the export of uranium and its compounds, rare metals, nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants (NPPs), special-purpose equipment, technologies and dual-purpose materials. The Company’s core activities include geologic exploration; production of uranium and nuclear-fuel-cycle products; construction of reactors and NPPs; non-ferrous metallurgy and construction materials; energy; scientific support of production; personnel training; and social support. At present, more than 25,000 people work for the Company. Today Kazatomprom is among the world's leading uranium producers.
