Statement by President Nazarbayev

    The President of Kazakhstan made a televised statement on the annual state-of-the-nation Address, Kazpravda.kz records.
    Nursultan Nazarbayev said this year the format of the Address was changed; it will be made in written form and published in print.
    "The President may, in accordance with current legislation, deliver state-of-the-nation Address in oral or written form. This year I have chosen the latter form. It will set out the vision of the country's development in the new stage," - Nazarbayev said, according to the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda.
    In a "special statement" broadcast on national television late on January 30, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev outlined his new strategic plan for the country’s economic development.
    Nazarbayev described his plan as "the third stage" of Kazakhstan's economic development, covering the period until 2025, RFE/RL reported.
    According to Nazarbayev, the new plan is driven by the need to introduce modern technologies into economic processes and to open up more opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses by decreasing state control over their operations and giving them greater liberty.
    The president said that one of the key priorities of the third stage of modernization will be accelerated technological innovation of the economy, which means the creation of new promising sectors on the basis of digital technologies.
    Nazarbayev emphasized the importance of expansion of the business environment and improvement of conditions for the mass business. To achieve that goal, it is necessary to minimize the state’s involvement in the economy and develop public-private partnership, he said.
    The full text of Nazarbayev's plan will be published by Kazakhstan’s print media on January 31.
    The president also said that the Kazakh Government had been instructed to develop a strategic development plan through 2025 for the third stage of modernization, to be entitled "National Technology Initiative of Kazakhstan".
    That is Nazarbayev's second televised statement to the nation in the last five days. On January 25, he proposed constitutional amendments on the transfer of some of his powers in the areas of social and economic development to the parliament and the government, according the Times of Central Asia (original).