FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh media reported that police in Astana had arrested the deputy minister for defence, General Baghdad Maykeyev, for taking a bribe. Investigators have focused on corruption in Kazakhstan’s defence procurement sector for the last few years. Corruption in Kazakhstan is considered endemic.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
JAN. 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan has spent the last couple of years opening up diplomatic outposts in increasingly far flung capitals of the world. Now it has published a policy paper on what it wants out of this diplomatic push and where it sees itself in the world.
The Concept, as it is called in post-Soviet diplomatic lingo, draws similarities with a 2013 Russian foreign policy document.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed off on the paper in January but it was published only last week.
The Concept lies inside the broader Strategy-2050 which aims to bring Kazakhstan into the top 30 most developed countries. The document states unambiguously that Kazakhstan will pursue its national interest abroad, under three key principles: pragmatism, mutual benefit and equality.
Nargis Kassenova, a Kazakh foreign policy professor, told the Conway Bulletin that she thought an important feature of The Concept was the emphasis on the “preservation of the national identity”.
The document also described Kazakhstan’s various bilateral relations.
Russia is described as an “ally, a so-called “strategic cooperation” is in place with China, while the US and Europe are strategic partners.
Presenting The Concept, Kazakh foreign minister Yerlan Idrissov also told the official Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper he wanted to broaden Kazakhstan’s diplomatic outposts further still.
“Kazakhstan’s growing authority and economic capabilities have laid foundations for expanding cooperation with Africa, Central and Latin America,” he said.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — KCell, Kazakhstan’s largest mobile telecoms provider, posted full year net profit for 2013 up 2.5% to $408m mainly driven by increased demand for 3G data services. The company, majority owned by Sweden’s TeliaSonera, said mobile penetration measured 180% by the end of 2013. This high penetration rate is an indicator of development.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
FEB. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Kazakhstan started the trial of four Kazakh men who travelled to Syria to fight alongside Islamic extremists, media reported. Media reports said the men were captured in Syria and sent back to Kazakhstan. Regional leaders worry that young men will head to Syria and return with increasingly extremist views and hardened with battle experience.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
FEB. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan temporarily reduced gas supplies to southern Kazakhstan leaving thousands of people in the south Kazakh city of Shymkent unable to heat their homes or cook, local media reported. Uzbek officials said pipeline repair work had caused the gas supply shortage. Central Asia’s energy system is complex and interconnected.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh foreign minister Yerlan Idrissov unveiled the government’s new foreign policy paper. This is the first Kazakh foreign affairs policy paper since 2001. Mr Idrissov said that promoting Kazakhstan’s identity and expanding into increasingly further flung countries was the driving principle behind the paper.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 31 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia is sending several batteries of their S-300 air defence missiles to Kazakhstan, Russian media quoted Russian defence minister Anatoly Antonov as saying. Russia is trying to increase its control over its neighbours through economic and defence deals. Kazakhstan has signed a defence deal with Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
FEB. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — If you think it sounds Orwellian, you wouldn’t be alone.
Kazakh officials announced that the Agency for Religion will now vet all religious content before it is run on state-owned media.
The plain speaking chief of the agency, Marat Azilkhanov, explained the move: “It’s a matter of the government’s ideology.”
Or this is just plain censorship, depending on how you look at it.
If truth be known this is the way it’s been going in Kazakhstan for some time.
In 2011, Kazakhstan introduced a law restricting religious activities and gatherings. This was generally regarded as an attempted crackdown on Islamic extremists.
New figures released by Mr Azilkhanov showed that over 500 different religious groups have failed to meet these new requirements and have been banned.
Human rights groups have complained that Kazakhstan uses the new religion laws to get rid of groups it finds troublesome.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 31 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — In its 54-page quarterly inflation report, Kazakhstan’s Central Bank said that between July and September 2013 prices rose by only 0.6% — the slowest rate for a decade. Kazakhstan has previously said that it is focusing on battling slowing inflation.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
FEB. 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The proportion of savings held in Kazakh tenge dropped to 62.6% in 2013 from 70.2% a year earlier, media quoted Kazakhstan’s Central Bank chief Kairat Kelimbetov as saying. Mr Kelimbetov said that he wanted to boost this figure and reduce the amount of savings held in US dollars.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)