Kazakhstan looks forward to Emir’s visit

THE third session of the high level Qatar-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Commission will be held in Doha in December or early next year, Kazakh Ambassador Azamat Berdibay said.

The high-level commission aims at continuing the regular exchange of views on the core issues of international politics, discussion of the status and prospects of bilateral interaction, and proposals for the broadening economic co-operation.

“Another important future event that we are looking forward to – in the fast-developing bilateral relations – is the official visit of HH the Emir to Astana next year,” said Berdibay, who is the first head of mission from his country to the newly-opened embassy in Doha.

The oil rich Eurasian country is the ninth largest in the world in terms of land-size and more than 130 ethnic groups and 40 religions live in harmony, make the republic a model of inter-religious accord.

The first and second sessions of the high-level commission were held in May 2000 in Doha and May 2001 in Astana.

“The most important outcome of the meetings has been the agreement on enhancing co-operation in the trade and economic sphere, tourism, education, culture and agriculture,” Berdibay said adding that a Kazakh delegation visited Doha to study the advances of Qatar’s LNG processing just last week.

A World Bank assessment places Kazakhstan in the top 20 countries of the world for capital investment. The government has established the Almaty Regional Financial Centre, to stimulate the financial resources of Kazakhstan and central Asia as well.

“The energy sector remains Kazakhstan’s leading economic generator. Our move to economic diversification and industrial development has paid off,” said the ambassador, who has served his country in Dubai and Riyadh.

Currently, Kazakhstan produces about 65mn tonnes of oil per year. This figure is expected to double to 130mn tonnes (3mn barrels per day) in 2015.

“Any country undergoing system transformation needs to determine major landmarks of its development, but it is important to set the directions towards the progress first, and Kazakhstan has been able to set those targets under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbayev,” Berdibay said.

This year, Kazakhstan is celebrating the 10th anniversary of development strategy ‘Kazakhstan 2030’, which became the new starting point for governmental reforms and outlined ambitions of country’s development in the long run - the first post-Soviet country to adopt such a conceptual document.

The country is also celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), a brain-child of President Nazarbayev, that envisaged better relations between all the countries of the ‘conflict-struck’ Asian continent. The CICA aims at working towards enhancing mutual ties in political, economical, religious, ethnic and cultural spheres, in a globalised world.

“From the first CICA summit in 2002, the organisation has come a long way and now includes 18 major countries of Asia. Qatar and other GCC countries have also been encouraged to join the confidence-building group and their response has been promising,” Berdibay said.

The Kazakh embassy is also making attempts to organise cross-cultural events between the two ‘friendly countries’ and a cultural troupe from Kazakhstan may visit Qatar next year, Berdibay added.

“My government has shown immense interest in the Education City, a project by Qatar Foundation and we are very keen to learn from the successful experience,” concluded Berdibary, who foresaw some ‘hard-work’ ahead of him.