In an exclusive interview to Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev shared his vision of developing relations with Russia and Belarus, joint projects, the “grain OPEC” and transition of the Kazakh language to Latin. Kazpravda.kz publishes the full text of the interview.
- Citizens of Russia, according to surveys, consider Belarus and Kazakhstan the friendliest countries. And what do such polls say in Kazakhstan?
- For the citizens of our country, Russia has been and remains the closest state. Confidence and mutual understanding between our peoples has been developing for centuries, in the times of trials we have always been together. Many Russians and Kazakhstanis are united by kinship, friendship, and professional ties.
Sociological polls testify to the warm attitude towards Russia. The confidence level of Kazakhstan people in your state over many years exceeds 75%. It is a very high and, very importantly, stable indicator. Russia is perceived by our public opinion as a strategic partner and ally.
- Could Kazakhstan, for example, enter the Union State of Russia and Belarus? Does such a Union State need a single currency, customs, a single parliament? Or is our path more likely the transformation of the EAEU into a kind of "Eastern European Union"? Is it possible? How do you see it in 10-20 years? And what forms of our cooperation and joint projects do you hold the most promising?
- Kazakhstan is actively cooperating with Russia and Belarus both in a bilateral format and within the integration associations (EAEU, CSTO, CIS). We have no plans for joining the Union State of Russia and Belarus. The priority area is further development of integration within the framework of the mentioned organizations.
Of most interest to us is enhancing the EAEU potential as an economic union. By developing cooperative ties, creating a common market for commodities, services, labor, enhancing the investment attractiveness of the Union member states, we could turn the EAEU into an effective global structure. Work in this direction is progressing steadily. By 2025, common energy and financial markets will be formed. A promising area is digital collaboration.
Sometimes in the EAEU, even at the highest level, there are heated debates, but they are dictated by the general wish to make the union more successful, reputable, attractive. Indeed, indifference is a sure sign of degradation.
- More than a year has passed since you replaced President Nursultan Nazarbayev as president. But he did not leave big politics. Some political scientists argue from the outside that a kind of dual power has arisen in Kazakhstan.
- The first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is a figure of historical scale, the founder of modern Kazakhstan. Soon (July 6) he will mark his 80th birthday. Of course, we will talk about his merits to our people and the international community. It is important for us to preserve his historical and political heritage, this is necessary for Kazakhstan’s statehood consolidation. Therefore, the first point of my election platform was the continuity.
In the current difficult situation, Nazarbayev strongly spoke out in support of my course towards an accelerated way out of the crisis, creation of a new economy and material support for citizens. There is no dual power, Nursultan Abishevich himself has repeatedly said this, urging to rally around the current president.
- The state is a family of peoples who live in it. How many Russians live in Kazakhstan today and how are their rights safeguarded?
- In our opinion, interethnic harmony is the most important factor in internal political stability, without which sustainable development of the country is impossible. Kazakhstan, like Russia, is a multi-ethnic state. I believe it is a great strategic advantage; we proceed from the principle “unity in diversity”.
In fact, Kazakhstanis, regardless of their ethnic background, consider themselves to be a single nation. In Kazakhstan there is no concept of “national minority”. More than 3.5 million Russians live in Kazakhstan, their share in the total population is almost 19%. They are an integral part of our people and enjoy all the rights.
Recently, in one of the foreign analytical materials, I came across the wording “Russian diaspora in Kazakhstan”. I told our ideologists and analysts not to use such expressions that fundamentally contradict the true situation. Russians are a part of our nation, their contribution to the formation and development of Kazakhstan is huge and cannot be forgotten.
Many Russian names are inscribed in gold letters in our history: Grigory Potanin, Pavel Zenkov, Evgeny Brusilovsky, Alexander Zataevich, Alexander Baraev, Sergey Lugansky, Ivan Shukhov, Ivan Panfilov, Ivan Pavlov, Nikolai Makievsky. These and many other people are the pride of Kazakhstan. And Gennady Golovkin, Alexander Vinokurov, Olga Rypakova, and other athletes successfully defend the honor of Kazakhstan in world sports arenas.
- A special correspondent of Komsomolskaya Pravda Dmitry Steshin was Kazakhstan a year ago and spoke with Russian citizens of your country. Many of them noted such trends as frequent renaming of settlements, certain difficulties arising in the employment of the Slavic population in civil service.
- There is no general renaming. A number of settlements, streets return their original names. Dissonant names, toponyms reflecting the realities of the Soviet era and unpopular among local residents, for example, “Diesel Locomotive” and “Prikanalnaya”, are becoming a thing of the past.Each renaming is preceded by explanatory work, a historical justification, the opinion of citizens expressed in the opinion polls is factored in.The authorities do not set themselves the goal of completely removing the Russian names. Most recently, the streets named after Gregory Potanin (Russian geographer, publicist, explorer of Central Asia, ed.) And Alexander Zataevich (Russian and Soviet musician, People's Artist of the Kazakh SSR, ed.) appeared in Karaganda. I cannot agree with the allegation of discrimination against those wishing to enter the civil service. Slavs and other ethnic groups today are represented in government offices, parliament, maslikhats (local representative bodies - ed.). Russians make a tangible contribution to the development of small and medium-sized businesses, industry, and agriculture. Under the Constitution, the Russian language is officially used in state bodies.
- On the other hand, Russians in Kazakhstan live compactly enough - in the northern and eastern regions. Some experts “make predictions” about a possible Crimea or Donbass scenario in Kazakhstan.
- Such forecasts of pseudo-experts do not have a serious grounding, and are rather intended to destabilize the situation in Kazakhstan and undermine good-neighborly, allied relations between our states. Such forecasts can be made only by incompetent people, ill-wishers, others’ henchmen.
- In Kazakhstan, there is a process of transition from Cyrillic to Latin. To some extent, this causes some concern in Russia, given our common long history, cultural and spiritual proximity.
- This process was initiated by our first president Nazarbayev as part of the concept of spiritual upgrade. He repeatedly stated that the transition to Latin will influence only the Kazakh language, and will not affect the position of the Russian language.The global information space as a result of the accelerated introduction of new technologies is rapidly transforming. Our children have to fit into the new realities, since the main information flow is based on Latin graphics.
Modernization of the Kazakh alphabet is dictated by the desire to expand the communication capabilities of the Kazakh language.At the same time, we will switch to the Latin alphabet gradually, without artificial acceleration, factoring in the experience of Central Asian states. After all, it is not about a simple arrangement from Cyrillic to Latin, but about reform of the spelling of the Kazakh language. In addition, we must not forget that all the significant works of the classics of Kazakh literature were created in the Cyrillic alphabet, many generations of Kazakhs received education and are educated in the Cyrillic alphabet. Therefore, haste can do harm, you need to approach it thoughtfully.
- Russia and Kazakhstan are largest grain producers and exporters in the world. How do you feel about the idea of creating a “grain OPEC" to maintain prices?
- Russia and Kazakhstan are among the top 10 world wheat exporters, our share in world wheat exports is 3%. As you know, OPEC decisions are aimed at curbing production volumes to achieve favorable oil prices. Creation of a “grain OPEC” may prove to be an interesting initiative aimed at ensuring stability of the grain market and coordinating the pricing policy for grain.
But the grain market has its own specifics. Weather conditions and productivity impact it. There are natural trade restrictions due to the fact that some countries, including Kazakhstan, are landlocked, do not have direct access to the sea, and, accordingly, may be disadvantaged by the introduction of threshold prices. When creating such a cartel, it is necessary to take into account the interests of small players, and also think about how the creation of a “grain OPEC” complies with the WTO standards. However, the concept itself certainly deserves an interesting discussion of specialists.
- Kazakhstan is considered foremost in the area of taxation and the state’s relations with business. What are the strengths of the economic system of Kazakhstan that Russia and other CIS countries with the shared Soviet past could borrow?
- Relieving the tax burden is a strategic goal set by both Kazakhstan and Russia. It is an important factor in improving the competitiveness of the economy and ensuring attractiveness of the investment climate.
Tax rates in Kazakhstan are lower than current rates in the CIS countries. This applies to taxes on income of individuals and legal entities, VAT, income tax on individuals. Moreover, the tax system of Kazakhstan, like Russia, is “more hospitable” than in most developed nations, and is aimed primarily at supporting small and medium-sized businesses.
The advantage of our tax system is minimal contact of business with fiscal authorities. Tax administrating procedures can and should be done through an information system. In Kazakhstan, tax authorities are prohibited by law to interfere in business activities.Businessmen are provided with a range of tax benefits, including special taxation regimes. We have exempted micro and small business entities from paying income taxes for three years; a moratorium on tax audits has been introduced.
- And is there something in Russia that Kazakhstan would like to adopt?
- We see the obvious successes of Russia in the digitization of customs operations and tax administration. The customs authorities introduced technologies that almost completely exclude human participation - automatic registration and automatic issuance of declarations. In this regard, Kazakhstan is interested in the Russian model of an intellectual checkpoint. In the tax administration digitization, Russia has a leading position in the world. Your practice of enhancing tax control and application of big data technologies deserves close attention too.
- It is known that Russian businessmen willingly register their companies in Kazakhstan because of greater convenience in doing business there. What is the current situation and to what extent is Russian business effective for the economy of Kazakhstan?
- Russia is the main trade and economic partner of Kazakhstan. The volume of direct investments from Russia to Kazakhstan amounts to $15.7 billion. Bilateral trade in 2019 went 6.2% up on-year, to almost $20 billion.
More than 7 000 Russian companies and about 3.5 thousand Kazakh-Russian joint ventures are successfully operating in Kazakhstan.Joint projects in priority sectors of the economy are being actively implemented. For example, in 2018, the largest Russian company Polymetal launched the Bakyrchik mining venture with an investment volume of $418 million. Joint implementation of 53 investment projects in the amount of $ 6.6 billion is planned.
In April 2019, we adopted a joint action programme in the industrial cooperation, and in October of the same year the first project of this programme was launched - production of Kirovets tractors in Kostanay with a capacity of up to 500 tractors per year.We intend to actively promote cooperation with Russia in the oil and gas, petrochemical and other sectors where high value-added products are produced. Cooperation on offshore oil and gas projects on the Caspian shelf has been intensified. We rely on Russia as a strategic partner. Lukoil is successfully working in our country.
We will support the Russian business, which implements investment projects in Kazakhstan. And we expect that the results of our cooperation will be production that will enter the markets of China and Central Asia.
This fall, the Kazakh-Russian forum is scheduled, at which decisions will be made on regional economic cooperation. I am grateful to President Putin for his continued attention to this area, as well as to the entire range of bilateral cooperation.
- Is it possible to talk about "Chinese expansion," a threat from the PRC?
- The peoples of Central Asia, China and Russia have for centuries been actively trading with each other, exchanging cultural knowledge. Therefore, the Great Silk Road has become a historical symbol of the region.
The geostrategic location and potential of Central Asia attract the world community, and, of course, China.“The Belt and the Road” initiative allowed launching interesting projects in Central Asia. Many of them were implemented with the help of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund.
It is apparent that the land constituent of the “The Belt and the Road” is inconceivable without Kazakhstan and other countries of the region that are a link between China and Europe, the Middle East. The volume of Chinese investment and bilateral trade is growing steadily. In 2018, the accumulated direct Chinese investment in five countries of the region approached $ 15 billion. Last year, the total commodity turnover of Central Asia with the PRC exceeded $ 33 billion. Interest in the development of trade-economic and investment cooperation is mutual, therefore I do not think that the speculations about "Chinese expansion" correspond to the real situation.
- What do you make of prospects for the development of cooperation between Kazakhstan and China?
- Our first president Nazarbayev was fruitfully working at the development of cooperationwith China. The relations between our states have reached a long-term strategic partnership the level.
We have positive dynamics of contacts at the highest political level. During negotiations with Xi Jinping in September last year, a Joint Statement was adopted, reflecting the promising cooperation areas. We actively interact in international and regional organizations (UN, SCO, CICA).China is an important economic partner of Kazakhstan. In 2019, bilateral trade reached $ 14.5 billion.Solidarity and mutual assistance in the fight against the COVID-2019 pandemic can be called a bright page on our partnership record. Kazakhstan sent medical humanitarian aid to Wuhan. When the wave of coronavirus reached Kazakhstan, China immediately responded with humanitarian assistance and sent a group of experts.
- Is the appearance of a US military base in Kazakhstan possible?
- "The construction of a US military base in Kazakhstan is out of the question, it is off the table," the President replied.At the same time, as he noted, cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United States is successfully developing in such strategic areas as energy, investment, technology.
“We are constantly in contact on disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. We also worked in the field of biological safety at the base of the former anti-plague institute in Almaty, but now, with the expiration of the contract, the Americans left the reference laboratory, only Kazakhstan specialists work there at the expense of our budget. Given the relevance of research in this area, we are ready for a most transparent cooperation with Russian specialists.”
- How is Baikonur getting on in modern conditions? What do you make of the future of one of the world's main spaceports, from which man began to conquer space? Does Russia have a place in it?
- Our interaction in the space sector and the joint development of Baikonur town is a clear example of the multifaceted cooperation of Kazakhstan and Russia.
The issues of vital activity and development of the spaceport are handled by the Intergovernmental Commission. Creation of civil spacecraft used in the fields of communications, television, and scientific research is prioritized. We are collaborating on the Gagarin Start project. Investors from Kazakhstan, Russia and the UAE intend to invest in the modernization of this historic site, from which the first manned space flight took place. The goal of the Baiterek joint project is to create a space-rocket complex for launching vehicles on environmentally friendly carriers instead of the Proton rocket using toxic fuel.
I would like to highlight the initiative of Kazakhstan to create a free economic zone "Baikonur", which can make a significant contribution to the development of the two countries’ economies.
In October, the cosmodrome marks its 65th anniversary. I believe that our countries should mark this significant date at a decent level, because Baikonur is the property of all mankind, and its historical role in world cosmonautics is undeniable.
Posted by the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda.
