JUNE 30 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — David Cameron became the first British PM to visit Kazakhstan when he flew into Atyrau near the Caspian Sea coast at the start of a 2-day trip. Mr Cameron’s visit will be a huge PR boost for Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Tony Blair, a former British PM, is an adviser to Mr Nazarbayev.
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(News report from Issue No. 141, published on July 1 2013)
JUNE 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan may host another round of nuclear talks between Iran and a US-led bloc this year, Iranian media reported. Almaty has already hosted two rounds of talks between Iran and the US-led bloc this year. A third round would further increase the kudos it has earned for holding the meetings relatively seamlessly.
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(News report from Issue No. 141, published on July 1 2013)
JUNE 30 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Whatever the deals signed between British PM David Cameron and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan will emerge as a winner.
Persuading Mr Cameron to visit Kazakhstan is a PR coup for Mr Nazarbayev and will have other countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus looking on enviously.
Mr Cameron is the first serving British PM to visit Kazakhstan, although, as one of Mr Nazarbayev’s advisers, ex-PM Tony Blair is a relatively regular visitor to Astana.
Kazakhstan has spent deeply on a small army of Western lobbyists, including the well-connected London-based Portland, and tasked them with improving its image.
Most of Europe’s leaders had already made the journey east to Astana. The EU, France and Germany have develop strong ties with Kazakhstan. Britain, though, had stood aside.
It was only a matter of time, though, before this changed.
Wealthy Kazakhs increasingly look to London as a fulcrum for their international business and lifestyle ambitions. As well as multiple business links, the Kazakh elite are sending their children to top English boarding schools and the government has been sponsoring a new generation of lawyers and civil servants through British universities.
Travel connections between London and Almaty, Kazakhstan’s financial centre, have also improved this year when British Airways finally opening a direct flight from Heathrow.
For Mr Cameron, the trip is trickier. He will want to develop economic ties with Kazakhstan but will have to tread carefully around the inevitable human rights questions to avoid upsetting his hosts. Britain also needs help from Kazakhstan to pull its military kit out of Afghanistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 141, published on July 1 2013)
JULY 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Most of countries of the former Soviet Union are a byword for bureaucratic meddling, corruption and obfuscation.
Kazakhstan, though, is trying to change. And in a radical way. In June, the Kazakh government finished recruiting 940 civil servants for a special cadre of professional bureaucrats. The idea, first espoused in President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s state-of-the-nation address in December 2012, is to modernise the system.
This so-called A-class of civil servants had to pass an entry exam (2,204 applied for the positions, according to media) and they will receive training and coaching similar to their Western counterparts.
There is still a long way to go for Kazakhstan’s embryonic civil service reform and putting these lofty ideas into practice will be hard. Still, these are encouraging signs.
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(News report from Issue No. 141, published on July 1 2013)
JUNE 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A 90m-high chimney at Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal’s steel factory in the town of Temirtau, central Kazakhstan, was damaged in an accident, media reported. The Temirtau factory is the largest steel making plant in Kazakhstan. There were no casualties in the accident although production will be slowed to repair the damage.
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(News report from Issue No. 141, published on July 1 2013)
JUNE 27 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Romanian PM Victor Ponta visited his Kazakh counterpart Serik Akhmetov in Astana to discuss the countries’ growing economic cooperation. Kazakh state energy company Kazmunaigas owns Rompetrol which controls an oil terminal on the Black Sea. Romania wants Kazakhstan to increase its use of the oil terminal.
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(News report from Issue No. 141, published on July 1 2013)
JUNE 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A Soviet-era AN-2 plane crashed in southern Kazakhstan as it was irrigating a paddy field, media reported. One of the pilots of the AN-2, a single engine biplane, died in the crash and another was badly injured. Kazakhstan has modernised its fleet of planes although many still date back to the Soviet Union.
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(News report from Issue No. 141, published on July 1 2013)
JUNE 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhs drink 5.9 litres of vodka per person each year, the fifth highest in the world, the Economist magazine reported. Russians drink the most vodka with annual consumption of 13.9 litres per person. The high volume of vodka drunk in Kazakhstan reflects increased personal wealth and drinking habits.
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(News report from Issue No. 140, published on June 24 2013)
JUNE 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — British PM David Cameron will fly to Kazakhstan on June 30 for a two-day visit, Kazakh media reported. Mr Cameron will be the first serving British PM to visit Kazakhstan and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev will likely consider the trip a PR coup. Former British PM Tony Blair is an adviser to Mr Nazarbayev.
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(News report from Issue No. 140, published on June 24 2013)
JUNE 24 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — In an open letter on its website, a Kazakh law firm acting for the local subsidiary of Japanese car manufacturer Toyota said that it wanted makers of counterfeit goods carrying its brand to be prosecuted.
The open letter is important as it acts as a warning. The car market in Kazakhstan is booming, fresh figures showed that new car sales continued to increase last year, and Western brands are looking to establish themselves.
The market is growing, the technical know-how to build the cars is in place but protection for Western brand’s intellectual property rights can often be lacking.
Toyota, which also produces cars under the Lexus brand, has previously flagged up counterfeit goods in Kazakhstan as a problem. The latest letter highlights that point.
For Toyota, defending its brand is especially important as it was only in February that it signed a deal to start producing cars at a plant in Kostanay, north Kazakhstan.
The issue of brand protection is also increasing important for Kazakhstan on a wider level.
As more and more Western companies with well-established brands enter the country and as WTO membership nears, Kazakhstan’s officials, legislators and prosecutors have to ensure that robust brand protection is in place.
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(News report from Issue No. 140, published on June 24 2013)