UNDP and Kazakh MFA agree to cooperate on KazAID

    By Daniyar Mukhtarov
    The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan intend to carry out a joint project, according to a UNDP press release.
    On October 31, 2014 Foreign Affairs Minister Yerlan Idrissov and Resident Representative of the UNDP in Kazakhstan, Stephen Tull signed a project document titled - Expert Support to Create a National System of Official Development Assistance (KazAID).
    The project has the goal of supporting Kazakhstan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry to form a system of Official Development Assistance (ODA).
    By providing expert support the project will produce analysis on the best international practices and the ODA situation from other beginning donors and will identify common challenges and problems. It will also explore efficient solutions to them.
    Resident Representative of the UNDP in Kazakhstan, Stephen Tull noted Kazakhstan is capable of providing consistent assistance to other countries, thereby strengthening its position of a strategically important country in Central Asia.
    “One key aspect of this movement is the transition from being an aid-recipient in the past to being a donor. And this is why I think this KazAID launch if you will, today is so important symbolically. Kazakhstan has actually been a significant donor, especially in the past six to eight years, with a lot of assistance being given to Afghanistan in particular, including for the education of 1,000 Afghan students in Kazakhstan. But also significant assistance was provided by Kazakhstan during the humanitarian crisis in Kyrgyzstan.”
    Tull said that the idea for KazAID emerged several years ago. In October 2011, consultations were held among the Kazakh government, UN bodies, national partners and donors.
    “The political decision and the legal basis for KazAID is complete, so there has been a lot of progress since 2011, and the concept on the ODA was signed by President Nazarbayev in April 2013 after quite a lot of careful thought and consideration. I consider it a very good expression of a vision,” Mr. Tull said.
    Idrissov said that the initiative completely coincided with Strategy 2050.
    “Kazakhstan, since it gained its independence has been involved into ODA related or ODA similar activities. We have provided various forms of assistance to different countries amounting to more than 100, million dollars.”
    The minister added it was essential to take well-planned steps in efforts to promote this project, considering the fact this area remains new to Kazakhstan.
    The diplomatic corps, UN agencies and other distinguished guests attended the event, according to Trend.