Official Statements:

Today Kazakhstan citizens celebrate 13th anniversary of the country’s Constitution. Celebratory events are carried out in all regions, cities, districts and villages. Yesterday RK President Nursultan Nazarbayev took part in a ceremonial meeting at the Palace of Peace and Harmony.

The new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan was adopted in 1995 at the nationwide referendum, in line with which Republic of Kazakhstan was announced as a state with presidential government. August 30 is Constitution Day of RK.

In honor of the state holiday Kazakhstan residents will rest 3 days: August 30-31 and September 1.

Summit of the SCO Council of the Heads of the States has been held in Dushanbe. Presidents of Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran attended it.

Taking the floor, Head of the State Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed satisfaction with the course and paces of the organization’s development and solution of the set tasks. Along with this, President focused on a number of problems posing risks and threats to security and sustainable development. These are, first of all, international terrorism, extremism, illegal migration and drug-traffic, the President said.

N. Nazarbayev also highlighted importance of trade and economic cooperation, establishment of a unified energy space, development of transport communications, food security ensuring, elaboration of the mechanisms of prevention of disasters and mitigation of their consequences on the SCO territory.

“The SCO is already an important tool of ensuring stability and security on the Eurasian space”, N. Nazarbayev noted.

August 25, Marat Tazhin, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan has held a number of bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers of CICA member-states in the course the 3rd CICA Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Almaty.

Salaheddin Al-Bashir, Foreign Minister of Jordan – one of the new states that have been granted full membership in the CICA – expressed hope that cooperation in the framework of the Council would be most fruitful, as the CICA Council was an answer to the present day challenges. “Kazakhstan and Jordan possess a great potential for cooperation – as has been outlined by Heads of the two states – including that in political and economic realms. We have discussed investment partnership with Mr. Tazhin and I believe that our state have the necessary potential for this”, he said.

Turkish State Minister Mehmet Simsek said that his country will continue to support Kazakhstan. “Our meetings in the CICA framework have always been held at the top level”, - he emphasized. As it has been reported earlier, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed to make Turkey the next CICA Chairman. In this regard Mehmet Simsek said that Turkey will apply its best efforts, while holding the chairmanship, to achieve the set goals of the organization. “We will be supporting all the initiatives in the framework of the CICA, as we are an active member of the Council ourselves”, the Turkish representative said.

As a result of the meeting a number of MoUs have been signed between the CICA Secretariat and international organizations. These memorandums bring the Council to a qualitatively new level in practical application of the confidence-building measures.

In his speech President of Kazakhstan emphasized that the CICA members were faced with important tasks and that the global community should target all its efforts into the fight against international terrorism, religious extremism, organized crime, trafficking in drugs and illegal migration.

Speaking about the problems in the region he mentioned the complicated situation in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the conflict in South Ossetia. Besides, he called to addressing – through diplomatic methods only – the situation around Iran’s nuclear program. Among other challenges and threats that will be defining the global situation in the nearest future N. Nazarbayev named the financial crisis, growing oil prices and inflating food prices.

At the same time President of Kazakhstan emphasized that the CICA became a real factor in international relations and served as an effective instrument for maintaining security and cooperation in Asia. Its viability is grounded in sincere desire and hope of peoples of the region to live in a safe world and in the region’s objective demand for an open and constructive dialog.

August 20, Mr. Kairgeldy Kabyldin has been appointed new Chairman of the Board of KazMunaiGaz, Kazakh national energy company. Prior to this appointment he served as deputy chairman of Samruk, Kazakh holding for management of state assets.

The new president of KazMunaiGaz was given several commissions by Kazakh PM Karim Massimov. The set tasks included:

- finalization of negotiations on Kashagan oilfield by October 25;

- finalization of acquisition of 51% share in MangystauMunaiGaz;

- revision of strategy and principles of further development of the company in the context of the forthcoming adoption of the new Tax Code;

- ensuring stability of petroleum,oilandlubricants prices at the domestic market.

About ensuring stability of petroleum,oilandlubricants prices at the domestic market PM Massimov said: “We are a market economy and adhering to the market principles we should work up our share in the energy market in order to be able to efficiently address the need for petroleum,oilandlubricants in all the regions of the country. This should no only allow us to ensure availability of POL in the market, but also their availability at affordable prices”.

Mr. Kabyldin was born in Pavlodar Oblast in 1953. He used to work at Trunk Oil Pipelines of Kazakhstan and Central Asia Production Association, KazTransOil CJSC, Transport of Oil and Gaz CJSC, KazMunaiGaz JSC.

A forum of the mayors of the cities that lie on the Silk Way will take place in Almaty on September 3rd. At the forum heads of 25 megacities of 15 Eurasian countries, through which the historical route passed. This Forum is the third in the records of The Silk Way Initiative (Initiative R11). Organization of this event in Almaty signifies the growing role of the most developed urban centre of Kazakhstan in attraction of cultural and economic interest of member-countries of the Initiative R11.

One of the main issues of discussion will be the problems related to borders, which impede the development of regional tourism. Mainly this is due to inefficient administration at trans-border zone, absence of a single visa for the countries of the region and uncoordinated approach to establishment of the line of regional tourism services.

The upcoming forum will become a platform for the regional dialogue not only on inter-state and business levels, but also for communities involved in the cultural and economic exchange on the base on ancient historic traditions of interaction. Representatives of tourism holdings, investment companies, academic circles, international organization and state departments of the member countries will take part in the Forum. The following countries will also be represented: Korea, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, India, Germany and Spain.

A meeting of senior officials on preparations for the Forum of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Muslim and western countries “Common world: progress through diversity” took palce in Astana.

Kazakh Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Nurlan Yermekbayev noted that the meeting aims at consideration of draft documents of the Forum, including the Astana Declaration and an agenda of the Ministerial Meeting, which will be held on October 17, 2008.

According to N.Yermekbayev, the initiative on holding the Forum belongs to the Kazakh President. The Forum is aimed at the development of a political dialogue between the reps of the two large civilizations.