By Konstantin Zhigalov - 8th December 2008
“Provisions have also been made to extend Kazakhstan’s cooperation with Europe to help improve the Kazakh population’s quality of life and environmental conditions”
Kazakhstan's EU ambassador Konstantin Zhigalov
Kazakhstan is determined to develop its relations with the EU in a pragmatic and sequential way, on the basis of shared values and interests. Today, Kazakhstan’s economy is twice as large as the economies of all the other Central Asian countries put together.
GDP per capita, which is more than $7000, is much higher than in any other Central Asian country and corresponds to those of Bulgaria and Romania. The World Bank now ranks Kazakhstan as a middle-income country, with trade turnover between Kazakhstan and the EU - over €21bn in 2007 and over €23.5bn for the first nine months of 2008 - exceeding the total combined figure for the four other Central Asian states and the three Caucasian countries.
Earlier this year, on 29 August, President Nursultan Nazarbayev approved Kazakhstan’s state programme, ‘The way to Europe’. This is our symmetrical response both to Kazakhstan’s OSCE chairmanship in 2010 and to the recent EU strategy for Central Asia.
The programme’s main objective - to upgrade Kazakhstan’s cooperation with the EU to the strategic partnership level - will be reflected in a substantial growth of trade turnover with European countries, an elaboration of common plans on transport networks, development, the adjustment of technical regulations and standards in accordance with requirements of EU countries and the further development of Kazakhstan’s legislation, taking into account the European experience.
The main task today is to ensure the effective implementation of the way to Europe programme and the development and deepening of Kazakhstan-EU cooperation in such areas as technology, innovation, space, energy, transport, technical regulation and metrology, as well as developing small and medium businesses to help facilitate this programme.
The benefit of widening our cooperation in the hi-tech field can be illustrated by the launch of our first communications satellite from the Baikonur cosmodrome in the desert steppes of Kazakhstan. There is also the possibility of Kazakhstan joining the implementation of the Galileo satellite navigation system and being included in the European framework programme for raising competitiveness and developing innovation.
Provisions have also been made to extend Kazakhstan’s cooperation with Europe to help improve the Kazakh population’s quality of life and environmental conditions (including the development of national environmental legislation in line with European standards).
We also hope to move forward with joint programmes on the issue of trans-border problems, on biodiversity preservation and issues arising from pollution. Provisions have also been made to better coordinate issues such as climate change prevention and water protection and research. Another important aspect of the programme will be providing the population with a high-quality medical service that meets European standards.
The development of cooperation in the education sphere, social support, employment and labour migration is also provided for in the programme.
Regarding institutional and legal improvements based on European experiences, our main goals are the perfection of Kazakhstan’s political and state model and the study of an effective civil service system and skilled personnel resources management. Another priority for Kazakhstan is our chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010.
This has become one of the country’s key foreign policy priorities. Kazakhstan is prepared to work in the troika in 2009-2011 and has already done so in the quintet format. We feel our utmost responsibility for the future of the organisation and support its further strengthening.
Kazakhstan considers it necessary to fully use the OSCE potential in all three dimensions - political, economic and humanitarian. All three dimensions should be treated equally in order to ensure the organisation meets the requirements of all member states. Kazakhstan believes that the human dimension is fundamental to the work of the OSCE, and considers it to be one of the most important pillars of its future activity as the organisation’s political leader.
It is well known that one of the most significant achievements of Kazakhstan in the human dimension is the maintenance of inter-ethnic and inter-religious accord. We intend to use this experience, as well as experience in other areas, during our time leading the OSCE.
