The ninth largest country in the world in terms of its territorial size is also blessed with abundance of natural resources from hydrocarbons to precious minerals and metals. But this Central Asian state is not building its future on the wealth buried beneath the soil rather the country’s leadership is crafting nation’s tomorrow on firm foundations of trade, innovation, international cooperation, modernization and constructive diplomacy.
With its ‘multi-vector’ foreign policy Kazakhstan is not only safeguarding its own interests in current perplexed scenario of global politics but also playing a positive role towards bringing and maintaining regional stability and global security. From playing a pivotal role in Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to strengthening ties with regional countries and offering mediation venues to take obstinate conflicts like Syria war to an end, Kazakhstan through its multi faceted foreign policy is performing a laudable job as a responsible member of international community.
Owing to far-sighted approach and capacity of country’s leadership particularly President Nursultan Nazarbayev to devise and implement result-oriented strategies, Kazakhstan at the one hand is creating domestic harmony, peace and modernization while on the other increasing stature of its regional and international influence.
“Under President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh officials have pursued a ‘multi-vector’ foreign policy that has sought to maintain good relations with the most important external great powers and multinational institutions engaged in the region. Furthermore, Kazakh officials have sought for over a decade to strengthen ties among the countries of Central Asia and the Caspian Basin region — areas that define Kazakhstan’s extended neighbourhood,” writes Richard Weitz in his paper “Kazakhstan and the new international politics of Euroasia”, published in 2008 by the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program.
In recent past when all formal and informal initiatives to bring peace in Syria were fading away, Kazakhstan provided a neutral venue to warring factions in Astana last year to resolve the conflict through dialogue and more dialogue.
In April this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu issued a joint statement after a trilateral meeting on Syria in Moscow saying that “the talks in the Kazakh capital helped combat terrorism, reduce the level of violence and create favorable conditions for a political settlement, including through facilitating the establishment of a broad intra-Syrian dialogue”.
Acclaimed American author Peggy Noonan once wrote: “Sincerity and competence is a strong combination. In politics it is everything.” It is the competence which enables leadership of any country to conceive a vision and this vision can never be translated into reality without undiluted commitment to the cause, sincerity and utmost competence.
Undoubtedly the vision behind today’s Kazakhstan is Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy. It is the strategy of development, economic growth, stability, modernization, harmony and peace. It is the driving force behind day-to-day efficient, transparent governance to long-term planning for economic diversification and social reforms. From the same strategy emanates the promotion of innovative entrepreneurship, realization of personal responsibilities and the firm will to knock out corruption and disorder from the society.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev unveiled the Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy in his annual State of the Nation Address in Astana on December 15, 2012. The strategy having seven priorities has been constructed on a wider foundation to cover and address all sectors from sustainability to new Kazakhstan patriotism.
The 2050 Strategy’s seven priorities include economic policy of the new course – all around economic pragmatism based on the principles of profitability, return on investment and competitiveness; comprehensive support of entrepreneurship – leading force in the national economy; new principles of social policy – social guarantees and personal responsibility; knowledge and professional skills are key landmarks of the modern education, training and retraining system; further strengthening of the statehood and development of the Kazakhstan democracy; consistent and predictable foreign policy is promotion of national interests and strengthening of regional and global security; and last but not the least ‘new Kazakhstan patriotism is basis for success of our multi-ethnic and multi-confessional society’.
To complement and implement the ambitious 2050 vision, infrastructure development program Nurly Zhol (The Bright Path) was launched in November 2014 during the Kazakhstan President’s State of the Nation Address. In May 2015, President Nazarbayev announced “100 Concrete Steps to Implement Five Institutional Reforms” with an aim to bring five institutional reforms: creation of a modern and professional civil service; ensuring the rule of law; industrialization and economic growth; a unified nation for the future; transparency and accountability of the state.
The perfectly set plans coupled with their letter-and-spirit implementation has already started bearing fruits from economic growth to social and political stability and increasing role of country in regional and international political decision making. Kazakhstan’s Human Development Index is undergoing steady improvement with every passing day, unemployment is shrinking as well as country boasts one of the highest GDP and GDP-per-capita in Asia.
On Kazakhstan economic outlook, The World Bank said in its December 2017 report that if the implementation of structural reforms was successful, it would assist in the diversification of the economy and would raise Kazakhstan’s growth potential. “The ongoing structural and institutional reforms under the 100 Concrete Steps program and the privatization agenda aim to reduce the role of the state in the economy and facilitate the development of a vibrant, modern and innovative tradable non-oil sector. Furthermore, efforts to restructure and privatize state-owned enterprises (SOEs) would be expected to seek raising efficiency in public administration and reducing fiscal risks.”
According to a report published by www.strategy2050.kz, more than 573,000 citizens of Kazakhstan became participants of the Program for the Development of Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship in 2017. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population of Kazakhstan further stated that in 2018, within the framework of the Program, more than 500 thousand citizens were planned to take active measures of employment. Bloomberg Innovation Index 2015 placed Kazakhstan among the top 50 most innovative economies.
If we see towards Kazakh exports chart, here too we see a steady rise. Kazakh TV recently reported that Kazakhstan’s export potential is increasing year by year. “Over the past five years, trade in agricultural sector between Kazakhstan and China grew by 20 per cent.”
IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly reported in May 2108 that Kazakhstan’s defence equipment exports doubled in 2017. Kazakh Minister of Defence and Aerospace Industry Beibut Atamkulov told the country’s parliament on May 14 that defence exports in 2017 reached KZT16 billion (USD49 million), following on from a 14% increase in production by the country’s defence industry.
The wavelength of Kazakhstan’s Nurly Zhol and China’s Belt and Road Initiative also matches to make huge profits for both nations in the days to come. At the eve of recently-held SCO summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev “agreed to consolidate the traditional friendship and work together to forge ahead in achieving respective national rejuvenation of their countries.”
According to Xinhua News Agency, President Xi said: “The Chinese dream and Kazakh dream show the people-centered development concept and pursuit of a bright future. China will, as always, firmly support Kazakhstan’s domestic and foreign policies, and is willing to cooperate with Kazakhstan in deepening cooperation in areas such as fighting the “three evil forces” of terrorism, extremism, and separatism, and will closely communicate and coordinate with Kazakhstan in international and regional affairs,”
Regarding pulling foreign investments, Kazakhstan has attracted US$264 billion of direct investments over the past 12 years. Kazakh TV recently reported that the Netherlands, the United States, France, Switzerland, Russia and China are the top investors in Kazakhstan’s economy.
G Global: It is another unique idea presented by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Indicating five global trends including digitisation of all aspects of human activity; energy revolution; rapid global population growth; change in the pace and nature of urbanisation; and transformation of the global labour market at Global Challenges Summit 2018 held last month, President Nazarbayev said: “In order to overcome all these challenges, it is necessary to build new effective mechanisms, a dialogue between states and the exchange of knowledge. The G7 and G20 summits where I have repeatedly participated, in my opinion, do not cover the global issues. This is why we put forward the G Global Initiative. This allows the consolidation of interests of all countries. The G Global can become an effective tool for developing more balanced solutions.”
Former French President, Francois Hollande, present at the summit, supported the idea of G Global at the level of the UN, which “needs to create own mechanisms and instruments allowing to achieve these objectives.”
While chasing its ambitious plans, Kazakhstan is also not overlooking its international obligations regarding sustainability and environment. Fifty-eight Kazakh enterprises currently use renewable energy sources (RES) with a total capacity of 352 megawatts, figures expected to reach 68 facilities and approximately 490 megawatts by the end of 2018, said Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbayev during the June 5, 2018 government meeting devoted to implementing the concept to Kazakhstan’s transition to green economy for 2014-2017.
These efforts and initiatives are being recognized and lauded by the world. Former UN Secretary General and current chair of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Ban Ki-moon remembered these efforts while addressing the Astana Economic Forum last month in these words: “Kazakhstan is one of the leading countries in this area. I would like to note Kazakhstan’s achievements that 50 percent of all energy will be generated by alternative sources by 2050.”
Kazakhstan’s journey on the bright path is practical expression of centuries old maxim ‘where there is will there is a way’.
By Irfan Bukhari for The Peninsula (Qatar).
