President Announces Five Initiatives to Improve Daily Lives

A WEEKLY ONLINE PUBLICATION / WWW.MFA.GOV.KZ ISSUE NO. 548 / FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2018

President Announces Five Initiatives to Improve Daily Lives

Government Ministries Are Working Together to Boost Tourism

In Focus: Foreign Policy Priorities

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President announces five social initiatives

President Announces Five Initiatives to Improve Daily Lives Five initiatives intended to benefit Kazakhstan’s middle and working class were announced March 5: tax breaks for low-income workers, and increased access to low-cost mortgages, business microloans, education opportunities and further gasification of the country.

Entrepreneurship will be incentivised through a larger microloan pool – it will be increased from $99.8 million in 2017 to $193.4 million this year. This project is intended to support entrepreneurship in rural areas.

The initiatives are expected to directly impact half of the country’s population.

And finally, access to gas is to be provided to 2.7 million people with the construction of a pipeline from Karaozek in the Kyzylorda region to Astana, passing through the cities of Zhezkazgan, Karagandy and Temirtau. This project will also create opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses and will help Kazakhstan reduce emissions by 35,000 tonnes per year.

“I’ve been thinking about this step for a long time, but Kazakhstan had to accumulate strengths and resources. Now, I think, the time has come. Time to make efforts to strengthen the social unity of our people and to do this through large-scale projects,” President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev said in announcing the programme. The 7-20-25 Programme will offer affordable long-term mortgage loans to working citizens with interest rates that won’t exceed an annual 7 percent per year (instead of the usual 14-16 percent), maximum down payments of no more than 20 percent of the total loan (as opposed to the usual 30 to 50 percent), and loan terms as long as 25 years to help lower monthly payments. Nazarbayev told the National Bank to create a company with a fund of at least $3.1 billion to repay new mortgage loans provided on those terms.

The 7-20-25 Programme will offer affordable long-term mortgage loans to working citizens with interest rates that won’t exceed an annual 7 percent per year (instead of the usual 14-16 percent), maximum down payments of no more than 20 percent of the total loan (as opposed to the usual 30 to 50 percent), and loan terms as long as 25 years to help lower monthly payments.

It is hoped the 7-20-25 Programme will bring more housing options within reach for millions of residents of Kazakhstan and create jobs in the construction industry and associated fields. Taxes on low-paid workers’ wages are to be cut from 10 percent to 1 percent. The cut applies to those whose earnings do not exceed 25 times the minimum calculated index per month (approximately $187.60 in 2018). More than 2 million people will take home more money without increasing the burden on employers, the President said. The government is also investigating a switch to a progressive income tax system, he reported. Access to education is to be boosted through the provision of 20,000 more scholarships for the 2018 to 2019 academic year than the 54,000 scholarships given in 2017 to 2018. Some 11,000 of these scholarships are to support undergraduates studying technical sciences. New dorms for 75,000 students are to be built by 2022 through publicprivate partnerships the government will help reimburse.

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosts joint briefing on Kazakhstan’s tourism potential

Government Ministries Are Working Together to Boost Tourism The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with other government agencies to promote inbound and domestic tourism, Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov announced March 2 at a briefing of the foreign diplomatic corps. The Ministry of Culture and Sport, Kazakh Tourism, regional authorities and investment policy agencies will implement national initiatives to increase tourism’s share of the GDP and promote Kazakhstan’s cultural and natural destinations. Tourism is “one of the engines of the world economy … (and has the) power to bring people together by making available cultures, history, traditions and nature and thereby promoting tolerance and harmony in the world,” he said. The Kazakh steppes thrived for centuries as a bridge between Europe and Asia thanks to flourishing trade routes. This multicultural history helped shape Kazakh society. Tourism, however, is less than 1 percent of national GDP and Kazakhstan ranks 81st out of 136 on the World Competitiveness and Travel Competitiveness Index. By contrast, tourism forms 10 percent of global GDP and is considered a growth sector. France, Spain, the United States, China and Italy among the world’s tourism leaders, according to the Barometer of International Tourism by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). “We expect to carve out the niche and join the top 30 mostcompetitive states in terms of tourism and travel,” said the minister. To help the tourism effort, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues liberalising the visa regime and strengthening relations with Kazakh diasporas. “We established 30-day visa free regime for 45 countries and signed visa waiver agreements with 20 states,” said Abdrakhmanov. “Moreover, a 72-hour visa-free transit policy in Almaty and Astana airports for Chinese citizens has been adopted; a similar rule for Indians and Iranians has one line to be reviewed.” Abdrakhmanov added he hopes other countries will ease their visa regimes as well.

globalisation of its time, in boosting prosperity and peace among nations, added the minister. Tourism development is among Kazakh national development programmes, including the 100 Concrete Steps Programme, which seeks to attract investment, and the national identity modernisation programme, which oversees tourist sites and the tourism industry development programme for 2018-2023. Minister of Culture and Sport Arystanbek Mukhamediuly also briefed the diplomats and media on projects in the Mangystau region, including renovations of ancient settlements, such as Ulytau, Otyrar, Tanbaly, Bozok, Botai and Saraishyk. Following the briefing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and Sport and Kazakh Tourism signed the joint action plan for 2018, which includes guidelines for tourism cooperation with priority countries, the study of international experience, information exchange, market analysis, negotiations with partners, organisation and promotion of tourism products, participation in international events and media support. Mukhamediuly also invited the participants to upcoming 20th anniversary of Astana this summer. The event will include performances from the world-class performers of opera and ballet from theaters, such as the American Ballet Theater, Berlin Opera, Beijing National Opera on Astana stages, as well as premieres from Kazakh artists and theatres.

Minister of Culture and Sport Arystanbek Mukhamediuly also briefed the diplomats and media on projects in the Mangystau region, including renovations of ancient settlements, such as Ulitau, Otyrar, Tanbaly, Bozok, Botai and Saraishyk.

The new tourism effort in part seeks to restore Kazakhstan’s “historic role as an important link between continents and countries,” he said. Developing tourism in Kazakhstan would be equal to recreating the forgotten impact of the ancient Silk Road – the prototype of

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In Focus: Foreign Policy Priorities Strengthening UN & Int’l Security

Among 23 road projects planned for 2018, 10 will be funded by international financial institutions; the total length of roads being constructed on loans is 2900 kilometres. The ministry is also working with local authorities to improve local roads and agreed on parity funding of 50 billion tenge ($157 million) for more than 4,000 kilometres road repair that should increase the quality of roads from current 66 percent to 85 percent by 2025.

Kazakhstan signs Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons On March 2, the day celebrating the 26th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s accession to the United Nations, Kazakh Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Kairat Umarov, signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in New York.

In addition, the ministry seeks to improve the quality of 1,859 highway service stations and facilities. By 2018, 44 percent of facilities will be updated to new quality standards including the placement in IRU Transpark, Google Maps and Yandex Maps platforms, added Kassymbek.

Kazakhstan is a global leader in nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation and contributed to the treaty’s language and adoption. The treaty is first legally binding document in the history of nuclear disarmament and is aligned with Kazakhstan’s positions.

The review also highlighted the completed reconstruction of regional airports, the modernisation of heat, water and sanitation systems, the expansion of alternative lending and subsidising mechanisms and formation of plans to reduce the depreciation of utilities. www. primeminister.kz

As part of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s call to the global community regarding nuclear disarmament, during the UN Security Council high-level meeting on “Non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: confidence-building measures,” he called on world leaders to achieve a nuclear-weapons-free world by 2045 – the UN’s 100th anniversary. Among three types of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), nuclear, chemical and biological, only nuclear weapons have not been legally banned. In this regard, the core of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons are the Article 1 prohibitions, which provide for the comprehensive ban on nuclear weapons. The treaty is designed to remove the legal gap in the international law and is the first step towards the elimination of nuclear weapons. The treaty was adopted July 7, 2017 with the support of 122 UN member states. The document is the outcome of two sessions of the UN Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards total elimination. Although open to any state to participate, the conference saw nine countries, de facto and de jure owning nuclear-arms, boycott the event. To date, the treaty has been signed by 56 states, and ratified by five. Kazakhstan became the 57th signatory state. The document will enter into force 90 days after the deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification. www.mfa.kz

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Culture & Identity Modernisation

National Commission on translation of Kazakh alphabet into Latin script discusses activities The groups working on spelling, methodology and terminology for Kazakhstan’s transition to the Latin alphabet gave interim report recently to a national commission on the subject chaired by Prime Minister Bakhytzhan Sagintayev. It was the commission’s first meeting since President Nursultan Nazarbayev amended the decree on translating the Kazakh alphabet from the Cyrillic to the Latin script. Linguistics and IT technology experts helped form the working groups. The teams are tasked with developing the orthography and orthoepy rules of the Kazakh language in new script, new teaching and learning methods, along with their introduction into educational system, a terminological fund of the Kazakh language in Latin script and implementation of new alphabet in IT, computer programmes and other technology. Long-term work of these teams is divided into three phases: • In 2018-2020, preparatory work and measures, such as creating the regulatory and legal framework, the development of spelling rules, IT-applications for a text-based recodifier are planned;

More than 4,000 kilometers of roads to be renovated under Nurly Zhol programme In 2017, under the Nurly Zhol Infrastructure Development programme, the second routes of the Almaty-Shu highway were completed and, in the Kuryk Seaport, the first phase of an automobile and ferry complex with four million tons ‘capacity has started, said Minister for Investment and Development Zhenis Kassymbek. Last year, the same programme piloted two major projects in Astana – a new airport passenger terminal and new railway station, and 603 kilometres of national highways launched operations. The projects employed 75,000 people and the share of domestic road construction materials in the projects reached 93 percent.

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• In 2021-2023, organisational and methodology activities will train teachers and adults to use the new script. Simultaneously, passport, IDs and other state documents will begin issuing in the new alphabet; • In 2024-2025, central and local governments will begin using the new alphabet in everyday work. This will include phased transition of education systems into the Latin alphabet. www.primeminister.kz


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Iraqi officials to study in Kazakhstan Iraqi civil officials will be involved in a programme teaching the basics of state management, anti-corruption strategy, project management and state and strategic leadership management at the Kazakh Academy of Public Administration. “A corresponding initiative is under review after meeting with the chargé d’affaires of the Republic of Iraq in Kazakhstan, Yunus Salim Sarhan AlShahman,” said Kazakh civil service affairs and anti-corruption agency chairperson Alik Shpekbayev. Training Iraqi colleagues in Kazakhstan is expected to improve the quality of international public administration by sharing the nation’s experience in professional civil service experience, he added. According to AlShahman, corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that, to varying degrees, affects all countries. It destroys democratic institutions, slows economic development and undermines state institutions. To fight the issue, Iraq established an honest commission which aims to prevent and investigate corruption at all government levels throughout the country. The commission seeks to encourage and promote an open, honest and accountable government through public educational and professional programmes that allows citizens to anonymously report corruption. Training Iraqi officials will be implemented under a separate memorandum, as well as within international grants and programmes. www.kazinform.kz Draft state programme to counter religious extremism and terrorism approved for 2018-2022 In light of the results of the 2013-2017 state programme to counter religious extremism and terrorism, a draft to continue it for 20182022 was approved at the March 6 government meeting. The purpose of the original programme has been to ensure the safety of individuals, society and the state by preventing religious extremism • and terrorism threats. Since 2013, more than 200 commissions have aimed to eliminate the causes and underlying conditions for the spread of religious extremist and terrorist ideology by focusing on information and outreach work. Under the programme, approximately 96,600 activities were organised covering more than 8.1 million people. According to the review, these events helped to “convert back” hundreds of citizens into moderate religious stands and prevent 38 violent extremist actions; in addition, 384 students decided to leave foreign theological educational institutions that teach a controversial curriculum. The draft was approved based on criteria such as achieving target indicators, completing execution, budget disbursement and planning target and result indicators. An analysis of the underlying conditions for religious extremism and terrorism, international best practices and state and non-government organisations’ proposals was also considered. Minister of Economy Timur Suleimenov, whose office oversaw the programme evaluation, noted positive elements such as its budget disbursement and regulation of indicators. www.primeminister.kz

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Kazakh Foreign Ministry Special Representative attends Kabul Process conference The second international Kabul Process conference devoted to cooperation for peace and security in Afghanistan held in Afghan capital focused on adopting joint measures with the international community to achieve peace and reconciliation in the country and anti-terrorism cooperation. Kazakh special representative, Stanislav Vassilenko, was among the participants. In his address to the participants, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani called on the Taliban armed opposition forces to hold negotiations on seven key reconciliation proposals, including recognising the Taliban as a political party; ceasefire and transitional confidence-building measures; paving the way for large-scale elections; reviewing the possibility of, or amending the Afghan constitution; administering justice and laws and considering complaints.Delegations and speakers joined Ghani in calling for peace, ending the fratricidal war, reconciliation and the start of peaceful negotiations with the Taliban. Western governments also raised issues concerning women and children’s rights. In his speech, the Kazakh special representative supported the efforts of the international community and proposed strengthening economic, educational and humanitarian cooperation. By expressing an offer of peaceful negotiations, the conference demonstrated a new approach from Kabul towards the Taliban. www.mfa.kz

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Kazakh women outnumber men in opening new businesses, study shows Kazakh women outnumber their male counterparts in opening new businesses, according to a recent economic monitoring study by Ranking.kz. The highest concentration of women leaders in individual entrepreneurship (IE) is in education (73.5 percent, or 5,100). Approximately 1.2 million individual entrepreneurs registered through January, a 0.8-percent (9,800) increase compared to the same period of 2017, according to the project. Among the IEs, 560,900 are run by women, 1.1-percent, or 6,300, more than the previous year. Women business leaders have

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registered 47 percent of the IEs this year compared to 46.9 percent in 2017. IEs with female leaders currently represent 438.500, or 78.2 percent of all those registered. “Overall, of the total number of operating IEs in Kazakhstan, the share of women in business is 46.5 percent,” noted the study. Following educational services, women entrepreneurship is well represented in public service and defense, compulsory social security (69,200) and real estate businesses (44,900). Women have the lowest representation in transport and warehouse services (14.8 percent, or 9,000, of all IEs). The Damu Foundation, an enterprise development foundation, offers two programmes to support women in business – measures to support women entrepreneurship funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (also called Women in Business) and a microfinance programme for women entrepreneurship. The stakeholders for Women in Business are Forte Bank and Bank CenterCredit; the microfinance programme involves nine regulated banks. www.bnews.kz Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Association of Kazakh Diplomats organise first charity fair May There Always Be Sunshine, a fair held on the March 1 national thanksgiving day, was organised jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Association of Kazakh diplomats. Thanks to the active participation of the ministry’s staff and guests, the fair raised one million tenge ($3,300) to support Kun Bala, a public fund created more than two years ago to advocate for and support children with Down syndrome. The fund, which currently serves 300 families, aims its activities towards social protection and rehabilitation and psychological, methodical, medical and other types of assistance to typically developing kids. The fund focuses attention on socialising children and adults with Down syndrome and other types of cognitive disabilities. The ministry opened its doors to government officials, journalists and staff family members. Each department sold original souvenirs from different countries, handcrafts, homemade cakes and drinks, rare books, toys and national dishes like kazy (a sausage-like food), baursak (puffy fried bread) and Nauryz-kozhe (kazy stew). Valuable items such as original paintings and uniquely designed handcrafts were sold at auction. In addition to the charity event, ministry women organised the inaugural Diplomat Lady Contest where dozens of passionate and talented female employees competed in a two-round event. Contestants read their poems and spoken words, performed dances and sang beautiful and funny songs. www.mfa.kz


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