President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev urged to look for new points of economic growth and instructed the government to implement four large-scale infrastructure initiatives this year during the March 15 National Kurultai (Congress), reported the Akorda press service.
Tokayev emphasized the need to repair 55 existing heat sources and modernize at least 6,500 kilometers of utility networks. According to him, this will improve the quality and reliability of public services for citizens and businesses.
The President noted that special attention should be given to housing, another key component of people’s high-quality life. He mentioned the recent launch of the Otau mortgage program this March and emphasized the need to initiate a fresh housing initiative that caters to rural and regional center residents. He underscored the importance of extending financial support to socially disadvantaged groups, advocating for loans at an interest rate capped at 7%. The President also directed the government to increase the supply of rental accommodations with an option for eventual ownership.
Tokayev added that introducing a new preferential mortgage and large-scale rental housing construction will revive the construction sector and, most importantly, make it easier for many people to buy housing.
The construction and reconstruction of the country’s road network is another infrastructure initiative announced by the President.
“It is necessary to cover at least 12,000 kilometers of roads. As a result, transport accessibility of populated areas will significantly improve, business activity and social mobility of people will increase,” Tokayev said.
The President noted that the government should significantly increase gasification in populated areas and modernize at least 1,700 kilometers of networks.
“This will provide access to blue fuel for more than 300,000 citizens. When implementing these infrastructure initiatives, it is necessary to fully utilize the capabilities of local businesses and domestic enterprises,” he stated.
In addition to the four large-scale infrastructure initiatives, the President highlighted the need to use all the nation’s competitive advantages to ensure continued economic growth. The government needs decisive steps to turn Kazakhstan into one of the key transit hubs in Eurasia, he stressed.
“We recently launched a transport and logistics center in Xian. This promising Kazakh-Chinese project was implemented within the framework of the global Belt and Road Initiative. This week, the first container train arrived in Azerbaijan from Xian. The new logistics center will significantly increase cargo flow through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route,” Tokayev said.
He urged to consistently develop transit corridors running through the country’s territory and comprehensively stimulate foreign trade turnover. To achieve this, Kazakhstan will build logistics centers and warehouses, increase the construction of railway lines, strengthen the maritime transport infrastructure, and pursue a flexible tariff policy.
“This will make it possible to extract maximum benefit from the geographical position of our country and give impetus to many sectors of the economy,” he said.
IT technology was also high on the agenda. By the end of the year, it is planned to create a supercomputer and launch a new data center in Kazakhstan. The country also intends to build a fiber-optic communication line along the bottom of the Caspian Sea. This project will create another digital corridor between Europe and Asia.
President recalled his recent visit to the newly established Innovation Center, a collaborative effort between Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) national railway company and Chinese tech giant Huawei. This venture aims to integrate cutting-edge technologies into the railway sector, promising productivity and cost reduction enhancements. Tangible outcomes of this digital transformation include enhanced railway capacity, fuel efficiency gains, and increased company revenues.
“This is how we need to build a digital ecosystem. The government should scale up this experience in all sectors of the economy,” Tokayev added.
The President urged the government to focus on budget savings. Finances should be allocated exclusively towards implementing essential projects and addressing the most urgent issues.
He appealed to the business community to recognize their responsibility to society and significantly contribute to the country’s growth.
“I believe that people who do business and profit in Kazakhstan should prioritize not only their business but also the common good, seamlessly combining private and public interests,” Tokayev said, encouraging businesses to construct new schools, hostels, hospitals, libraries, museums, and sports complexes.
The President called on business leaders to be socially responsible, helping their compatriots whenever possible. He suggested that only in this case can a new national bourgeoisie emerge — one imbued with a spirit of innovation, capable of creating a competitive economy, and committed to serving its people honestly.
Tokayev noted this holds particular relevance today, with the growing trend worldwide to prioritize “might over right,” and the emergence of discourse questioning the sovereignty of some allegedly “second-class” states, which are destined to be mere satellites.
“We observe an intense global competition for resources, investments, transport logistics and communications. Previous ideas about international issues and their resolutions, including reliance on current regional structures as a universal solution for all economic and political challenges, now appear idealistic and even naive in the context of the modern, complex, and contradictory era,” he stated.
Tokayev spoke about the need for analysis of global events and their implications on Kazakhstan’s national interests, assigning this task to relevant departments, scientists, and political analysts.
“Our country remains committed to bilateral and multilateral cooperation through constructive dialogue and proactive diplomatic and economic engagements. Our focus remains on integration efforts within the Eurasian space and Central Asian region,” he said.
Kazakhstan will contribute to the development of cooperation between Turkic countries. All government decisions regarding domestic or foreign policy should be based on fundamental national interests, not populism and opportunistic considerations.
“Every government decision must be preceded by a comprehensive analysis of its content and consequences. This refers to the foreign policy. Once international summits have made decisions and created corresponding obligations, they are generally irreversible,” he added.
Tokayev also reiterated his vision to build a Just Kazakhstan, which was outlined in his September 2022 state of the nation address. “In this context, there are opinions that the use of the concept of ‘justice’ in political rhetoric and practice supposedly entails certain risks, giving rise to excessive expectations and increasing demands on power. However, justice entails more than just equitable distribution of resources; it primarily involves ensuring equal distribution of rights and responsibilities,” he noted.
Among other topics of the President’s address were the new social ethics, the role of youth in Kazakh destiny, the strengthening of unity, and new points of economic growth.
The National Kurultai, first inaugurated in the Ulytau Region in 2022, holds significant importance as a forum for charting the course of Kazakhstan’s future. The kurultai comprises a diverse range of individuals from various sectors of society, including government officials, representatives from public organizations, business leaders, intellectuals, and public figures.
By Dana Omirgazy for the Astana Times.
