Kazakh MFA to establish a Foreign Policy Council and KazAID Agency

    Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a meeting of the heads of the country’s foreign diplomatic missions in Astana on December 13.
    The annual conference brought together Kazakhstan’s 45 ambassadors and permanent representatives to international organizations, 6 chargé d’affaires, and 8 consuls general, symbolically taking place on the eve of a significant event, the 20th anniversary of Independence of Kazakhstan.
    The meeting offered a unique opportunity for diplomats to gather with colleagues around a shared interest in supporting and advancing successful diplomacy and development initiatives as well as explore issues of the international agenda.
    “Over the years of independence, Kazakhstan has established itself as a responsible member of the international community and a reliable partner both at the bilateral and multilateral levels,” Yerzhan Kazykhanov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, said in his remarks to the attendees.
    “The foreign policy of our country devised by President Nursultan Nazarbayev has proven highly effective and continues to ensure a proper level of comprehensive development, stability and security throughout Kazakhstan,” he added.
    In his speech Kazykhanov noted last year’s successful OSCE Chairmanship, and the adoption of the Astana Declaration at the OSCE Summit, the adoption of the updated 1999 Vienna Document during Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation as greatest international events of the past political decade.
    He also praised the work of the country’s diplomats in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in the 38^th session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) the country is currently chairing.
    According to Kazykhanov, further enhancement of cooperation with Russia, China, the USA, the EU, and the Central Asia states remains Kazakhstan’s foreign policy priorities.
    On the economic forefront, the ministry continues its work on the line of the Customs Union and the formation of the Single Economic Space, which will become fully operational from January 1^st next year.
    Setting the task of reaching a higher level of integration as a solid element fastening the Euro-Atlantic and Asian parts of the Eurasian continent, Kazakhstan aims to become a bridge connecting the economies of the European Union, East, Southeast, and South Asia.
    The country has advanced in its negotiations on WTO accession, Kazykhanov noted.
    He also spoke of the necessity to systematize efforts to attract foreign investments and increasing the number of foreign companies entering the country’s market.
    He also put forward an initiative to establish a Foreign Policy Council for the session’s consideration.
    According to Kazykhanov, the council will draw together academia, leading political scientists and experts. “The council should become an alternative “expert platform” for improving the quality of analytical work and development of [Kazakhstan’s) new foreign policy initiatives,” Kazykhanov said.
    Kazykhanov also stressed the importance and relevance of setting up a specialized agency called KazAID to provide official development assistance to other countries.
    The minister commended the work of diplomats in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the group the country will chair later this year, the Turkic Council, and the Congresses of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
    Outlining key short- and medium-term tasks of the foreign ministry, Kazykhanov spotlighted, among others, the goals to be elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2017-2018, chairman of the 71^st session of the UN General Assembly for 2016-2017, and promotion of Astana’s bid to host an international exposition in 2017.
    The program for tomorrow also includes thematic seminars with participation of heads of other government agencies.
    The previous meeting in this format was held four years ago, Kazakhstan’s MFA said.