Official Statements:

Astana, 12 March: This week at Astana’s Palace of Independence, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev gave the opening address at the 2nd Astana Economic Forum: “The paradigm of the existing financial system is far behind the economic needs of the world,” he said.  “The real reasons behind the world’s current problems will not be improved without deep analysis and research…

It is time to take responsibility for the future into our own hands…

“I believe that the basic reason for this current global crisis is the imperfection of the existing currency system - which is out-dated. The procedure of the world currency issuer’s activity is non-democratic. The world currency market is not competitive, nor civilized. Its entities are obliged to observe ‘somebody else’s’ game rules. These rules are formed by a narrow group - and often infringe on the majority’s interests…

“I am convinced that the development of a new harmonious system demands the foundation of a new world currency. We should adopt a General Law on a world currency, signed by the majority of countries and approved by the UN.

“My discussions yesterday with participants of this Forum - including [Nobel Prize winning economists] Edmund Phelps and Robert Mundell – suggest that they share these basic ideas.”

The Kazakh President hopes that his suggestion regarding a world currency creation will be included on the agenda of the next G20 Summit - taking place in London on April 2nd.

As a first step to global monetary integration, President Nazarbayev called for regional monetary integration within the Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC); to establish a regional currency unit in the shortest possible time frame.

This would allow stable long-term infrastructural investments and efficient current transactions, and would avoid the destruction of formed monetary systems.

The 2ND Astana Economic Forum is organized by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Economy & Budget Planning in conjunction with JSC Economic Research Institute and the Eurasian Economic Club of Scientists Association (EECSA). The Forum has as its theme ‘Economic Security in Eurasia in the System of Global Risks’. Other speakers at the Forum include Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President of the Islamic Development Bank; Jan Kubis, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe; Jean Lemierre, Advisor to the Chairman BNP PARIBAS and Professors Edmund S. Phelps and Robert Mundell.

Astana, March 17:  Kazakhstan’s President Nazarbayev visits the United Arab Emirates – March 15-19. The visit’s agenda includes Mr Nazarbayev meeting with his counterpart President Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan; the signing of bilateral documents; a meeting of the Business Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan & the United Arab Emirates, and the launch of ‘Days of Kazakhstan Culture’ in the Emirates.

The Kazakh delegation will include Temirkhan Dosmykhambetov, the Minister of Tourism & Sports (and Co-chairman of Kazakh-Emirates Intergovernmental Commission); Mukhtar Kul-Kukhammed, Minister of Culture & Information; Kairat Kelimbetov, Chairman of Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund and Krymbek Kusherbayev, Akim (Governor) of Mangystau Oblast.

Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and the Emirates were established September 1, 1992.  Foundations for relations were laid through a series of official and working visits of President Nazarbayev to the Arab Emirates in 1998, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, and visits of President  Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Kazakhstan in 2002 (as Abu-Dhabi Crown Prince), and again in 2006 and 2007.

According to the Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Arab Emirates in 2007 reached USD 303.99 million (export – USD 56.1 million / import – USD 247.9 million).

In February 2006 during the visit of Kazakh President to the United Arab Emirates the Action Plan: Republic of Kazakhstan–United Arab Emirates was signed. It involves construction of an aluminum plant, a pharmaceutical plant, a petrochemical complex, medical centers, the development of a gold mining industry, transportation network and other infrastructures in Astana and elsewhere.  

For example…Construction of Abu Dhabi Plaza, Astana: This project involves the construction of several multi-storey buildings around a central part complex that will include a large shopping mall. Its overall size is 500 thousand square meters. A land lot for the complex is currently being purchased.

Construction of Aktau City in Aktau: In September 2007, the Kazakh President took part in the laying-of-the-first-brick at the Aktau City site. This is a town planning project that includes residential buildings, trade-and-entertainment complexes, business centers, leisure and recreation facilities, sea-side resorts, medical centers, educational complexes, plus a center for preparation, servicing and implementation of oil and gas projects. Expected cost of construction is USD 38 billion.

Astana, 17 March: Kazakhstan’s President Nazarbayev will visit Finland - March 23-25 2009. The official visit’s agenda includes Mr. Nazarbayev’s meeting with Finland’s President, Tarja Halonen; the signing of bilateral documents; a meeting with Prime-Minister, Matti Vanhanen, meeting with Finland’s  Speaker of Parliament, Sauli Niinistö; the Kazakh President’s speech to  the Paasikivi Society (the foreign policy think tank)  and presentation of his book ‘The Kazakhstan Way’ in Finnish. There will be a meeting with representatives of the Finnish Entrepreneurs Organization, a visit to Otaniemi technical center and a signing of a cooperation agreement on transfer of technologies with Tekel.

Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Finland started May 13, 1992. Kazakh-Finnish relations can be characterized by a complete lack of political or other disagreements. Both countries share common positions on key aspects of international policy. Finland, for example, supports Kazakhstan’s accession to the WTO and supports development of transport routes between Kazakhstan and Europe. During its EU chairmanship in the second part of 2006 and its OSCE chairmanship in 2008, the Helsinki government supported Kazakhstan’s desire to further develop dialogue with the EU and OSCE with the view to Kazakhstan’s chairing the OSCE in 2010. Finland has been showing an increasing interest in Kazakhstan and the Central Asia region in general; political, economic and cultural dialogues and exchanges are increasing steadily. Finland’s experience in development – economic, social and political – is of interest to Kazakhstan which seeks active cooperation in different spheres and is open for financial investments in all sectors of its economy – from oil, gas and mining to high-tech projects in electronics engineering, programming and communications.

Trade between Kazakhstan and Finland is developing dynamically.

Trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Finland in 2004 reached USD 319.1 million (export – USD 167.0 million / import – USD 152.1 million); in 2005 – USD 375.5 million (export – USD 177.6 million / import – USD 197.9 million); in 2006 – USD 516.3 million (export – USD 281.3 million / import – USD 235.0 million); in 2007 – USD 732.4 million (export – USD 425.0 million / import – USD 307.4 million);  in the period Jan-Sept 2008 – USD 915.2 million (export - USD 504.0 million, import - USD 411.1 million).  Kazakhstan exports refined copper, refined copper cathodes, crude oil, styrene, raw zinc, anthracite, dissolvent agents and grain to Finland, while Finland supplies Kazakhstan with means of land transportation and communication, electrical equipment, stone and ferrous metal products, furniture and other consumer goods. As of March 31 2008 Finnish investments into Kazakhstan’s economy reached USD 141.8 million.  22 Finnish companies are registered in Kazakhstan, including 5 joint ventures. Finnish telecommunication leaders – Nokia and TeliaSonera – are present in Kazakhstan’s fast developing communications market.

Astana, 17 March: Kazakhstan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Marat Tazhin is taking part in ministerial level meetings of the OSCE and EU Troikas in Brussels this week (March 16-18, 2009).

Alexander Stubb and Dora Bakoyannis, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Finland and Greece, meet Mr Tazhin as fellow members of the OSCE troika.  An exchange of views on the South Caucasus conflict settlement, the situation in the Western Balkans, the future of European security and a number of other important international issues of mutual interest are to be discussed.

Mr Tazhin will also meet with Javier Solana (the EU Council’s Secretary General and EU High Representative for Common Foreign & Security Policy), Benita Ferrero-Waldner (European Commissioner for External Relations & Neighborhood Policy) and Karel De Gucht (Vice Prime-Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium) on his visit.

The participation of Kazakhstan in the OSCE and EU Troika - in the light of its forthcoming chairmanship of the OSCE (in 2010), and in the framework of the Republic’s ‘Path to Europe’ programme realization (2009-2011) - implies support of long-term projects, as well as access to strategic partnerships with leading European countries in political, economic, humanitarian and security spheres.

Initiated by Germany (during its chairmanship of the EU in the first half of 2007) and approved by the European Council, ‘The EU and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership for 2007-2013’ is the paper basis for sustained collaboration over a seven year period.

Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE is historic and unprecedented. The OSCE chair has been traditionally held by Western European countries – but  next year, for the first time ever, the OSCE will be headed by a Turkic-Asian country with a principally Muslim population. The decision to award Kazakhstan the chairmanship bears out the genuine equality of the Organization’s 56 member-states.

The meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU Troika and Central Asian states which was held in Astana in March 2007 saw sides agree on the principal directions of all future documents. This meeting was a breakthrough for a qualitative new stage in EU/Central Asian relationships.

Other important meetings include the meeting between Minister Tazhin and Javier Solana (EU Council’s Secretary General and the EU High Representative for Common Foreign & Security Policy) within the framework of the 1st EU-Central Asia Forum on Security Issues - in Paris in September last year, and the 16th Conference of OSCE Ministers of Foreign Affairs in December, 2008 in Helsinki.  A meeting between Mr Tazhin and Tomas Poyar, the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, was held in January 2009 in Astana and Kazakhstan’s President Nazarbayev hosted Czech Prime-Minister, Mirek Topolanek, in Astana on February 12th, 2009. The Czech Republic is President of the Council of the European Union for the first half of 2009.