PM Alikhan Smailov presented, at the Global Climate Change Conference in Egypt, Kazakhstan’s current low carbon development strategy, as well as its goal for carbon neutrality by 2060. “For the first time in Central Asia”, he stressed, “a country is adopting such an ambitious plan”  

 Kazakhstan has set ambitious goals to become a regional leader in green energy. The country targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% until 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Future projects are designed to produce a significant amount of green hydrogen, which will be supplied to the European market. The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Alikhan Smailov, introduced the country’s green strategy at the Global Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt last week.

During the conference, Kazakhstan and the European Union signed a special memorandum on renewable energy development. Moreover, the Kazakh delegation and “Fortescue Future Industries” signed on November 8^th a framework agreement on the implementation of green hydrogen production projects in several regions of the country. By introducing such technologies, Kazakhstan could become one of the world’s largest suppliers of this fuel within 5-7 years.

Prime Minister Smailov noted Kazakhstan’s unwavering commitment to the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement. “Our country has set an ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. As part of this, we plan to adopt a Low Carbon Development Strategy by the end of the year. This will be a historic moment: for the first time in Central Asia, a country is adopting such an ambitious document,” Alikhan Smailov said.

“Kazakhstan has the potential to become one of the world’s green energy centers”, The PM added. “Therefore, we are ready to act as a regional center for the development of renewable energy sources and stimulate the transition of Central Asia to green technologies,”.

Andrew Forrest, the CEO of Fortescue, said the production and application of green hydrogen would help to decarbonize the heavy industry, create jobs and make the energy sector as a whole greener.  “We are happy to share our developments and opportunities with Kazakhstan to help realize this potential as soon as possible,” Forrest said.

Kazakhstan today has about 3% of green energy in the country’s total energy output. At the same time, the country plans to increase its output to 15% by 2030, adding 7 GW of additional power. Kazakhstan’s government is taking measures to stimulate green investments and is ready to offer the Astana International Financial Centre as a unique regional investment center for green finance. PM Smailov highlighted that Kazakhstan set another ambitious climate goal by planting 2 billion trees until 2025.

Kazakhstan’s green strategy is led by The head of State, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who announced this month, that “Our country was the first among the CIS region to have ratified the Paris Agreement.” Tokayev reassured that Kazakhstan fully supports global efforts to address the climate emergency. “Our internal priorities”, he concluded, “are energy transition and fostering green economic development”.

Authored by: William Alexander.

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will be campaigning in his country’s heartland in the run-up to the November 20 election that is seen as a barometer of popular support for his ambitious democratic reform agenda.  Although he is already considered a shoo-in, Tokayev appears to be making a genuine effort to connect with the people and explain how his program responds to popular demands to fortify the country’s democratic foundations.

Tokayev’s popularity at home has increased over the last four months due not just to his reform program but also to some critically adept foreign-policy maneuvers in a time of regional and global crises. His speeches this week in the country’s southern regions of Turkistan and Shymkent touched on his foreign and domestic policy agendas, both positioned under an overarching vision of Kazakhstan’s moral standing in world affairs.

Peace and stability during turbulent times

In the Kazakh southern city of Turkistan, Tokayev’s message was mostly focused on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and in particular on the arrival in Kazakhstan of tens of thousands of Russians seeking to avoid a recently announced mandatory military mobilization.

It is significant that it was in Turkistan, a UNESCO World Heritage site which was proclaimed in 2021 as the “Spiritual Capital of the Turkic World”, that Tokayev took pains to underline that many Russians “have fled through a sense of hopelessness”. Appealing to his people’s openheartedness, which has always been and continues to be an important part of traditional Kazakh nomadic culture, he emphasized that Kazakhstanis “must show compassion for them and ensure their safety” and that the government would take “whatever measures necessary” to that end.

Stressing the need to “refrain from rising to provocations,” Tokayev laid out the principles of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy, which seeks to avoid a spillover of international conflicts into domestic affairs. His three core foreign policy principles include territorial integrity, non-interference in the domestic affairs of other states, and protecting international law, including the UN Charter.

With a “large-scale war raging on our doorstep,” Tokayev warned that Kazakhstanis must remain “vigilant” about their national security. Indeed, despite growing pressuring rhetoric, Kazakhstan has managed to remain neutral in this conflict. Typical of his diplomatic style mastered over decades of statesmanship, Tokayev cited a traditional Kazakh proverb that “good relations with neighbors are the key to peace,” while he also underlined the need to “maintain harmony with those who share our borders”.

Justice and prosperity as domestic priorities

Tokayev’s speech in Kazakhstan’s third largest city, Shymkent, on September 27, was devoted to his domestic policy involving political, economic, and social reforms, collectively called the “Just and Fair Kazakhstan” program.

Tokayev’s words built on the delivery of his previous promises to institute democratic reforms, which were overwhelmingly supported in a June 2022 nationwide referendum. After submitting such a groundbreaking package of reforms to the parliament (the Majilis), he is campaigning on a “Just and Fair Kazakhstan” platform, which aims to decentralize decision-making, strengthen the rule of law, increase international competitiveness, and ensure equal opportunities for every citizen of Kazakhstan.

The “key formula” for Kazakhstan to have a chance of achieving these goals lies with having a strong president, an influential parliament, and an accountable government. For this formula to succeed, the government is committed to “fostering a dialogue between the state and the people”. Tokayev described this as the “concept of a listening state.”  Justice, after all, should be responsive to the demands of the people whom the government is there to serve.

Huge transformations to modernize the country

On September 17, Tokayev signed a series of constitutional amendments into law, including the initiative to limit the presidential term to one term of seven years without the right to run for re-election. This move is quite monumental and unprecedented in the region.  According to Tokayev, putting this program into effect was part of “fundamental transformations to modernize the country.” He pointedly criticized cases “where one person holds the highest position for many years, whether in the world or in Kazakhstan” as being dishonorable, and, with his training as a political scientist, recognized the need for recruiting “honest and talented” individuals at all levels of local administration and government.

Nay-sayers may claim that a future president could bring back the “president for life” regime that is typical to Central Asia.  However, Tokayev has also set a foundation where any such future change would require the parliament’s approval, which will become less likely as additional parties enter the political arena thanks to Tokayev’s reforms facilitating their formation.

With no natural geographic features to mark its 5,000-mile border with Russia, and with Russian media pundits regularly asserting that northern Kazakhstan “really belongs” to Russia the same way that eastern Ukraine does, there is little wonder that Astana has been sensitive about safeguarding its sovereignty. It is in no small measure thanks to Tokayev’s stewardship that the country has been able to walk a fine between managing regional threats and ensuring its own economic security by complying with international economic sanctions against Russia.

All the while at home, he has shown a consistent commitment to promoting policies in favor of his citizens’ security, offsetting collateral humanitarian damage from the Ukraine conflict. In short, he set a good example from which other world leaders could learn.

Written by: Timur Chekparbaev

The Baha’i are amongst the most persecuted religious minorities in the world, but as a community leader of the Baha’i in Kazakhstan, I am grateful for the religious freedoms Kazakhstan provides, as well as the country’s efforts to protect religious minorities. As a country with 72% Muslims and 23% Christians, the Baha’i are but a tiny fraction of the religious makeup of this Central Asian huge country, approximately 6,400 people, yet in Kazakhstan, we feel at home as any other religion.

As a faith, our story in Kazakhstan dates back to the 19th century when fleeing persecution, many Baha’i settled in the territory of Western Turkestan, which at that time included the Syrdarya and Semirechensk regions. Shortly after, the world’s first Baha’i House of Worship was erected in Ashgabat. But another wave of oppression in the last century led to the deportation of Baha’i to what is today modern Kazakhstan – Petropavlovsk, Pavlodar, Irtysh, Chilik, and other cities. Over time, these Kazakh cities became a second home.

With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the establishment of an independent Kazakhstan, the newly declared state passed a law in 1992 on “freedom of religion and religious association.” At the time this was unprecedented as the Soviet Union had marginalized religion, eradicating it from the minds and hearts of people and promoting an atheistic agenda. Independent Kazakhstan, however, chose a new path forward.

While remaining secular, the state also recognized the role of religion in people’s lives and social processes. In 1994, the Baha’i National Spiritual Authority was registered with the state, and never faced persecution or difficulties at the government level when it came to the recognition of our rights. Indeed, other faiths report similar experiences with the Kazakhstan government with Muslims, Christians, Jews, and other faiths reporting high levels of acceptance and tolerance in the largest Central Asian country.

Kazakhstan goes beyond just acceptance, however, it’s a nation that actively fosters dialogue between faiths. In September 2022, Kazakhstan’s Head of State, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, will welcome his Highness, Pope Francis, for a historic visit, and will famously host the 7^th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions which takes place every four years in Kazakhstan’s capital city, Nur Sultan. The Congress is a major global event in which world religious leaders and theologians gather to discuss and exchange views on society and theology today.

As religious communities faced new challenges as a result of our changing world and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Baha’i community saw even greater cooperation with the state through the Department of Religious Affairs, as we understood the importance of unity in the face of these unprecedented events. Our community worked closely with the state to support the vaccination of clergymen, for example, and we began to solve common problems together, inviting representatives of the state, civil society institutions, other religious denominations, and media representatives to online gatherings organized by the Baha’i Public Information Office of Kazakhstan. Additionally, through the Club of Leaders of Religious Associations, a project of the Department of Religious Affairs, we developed fraternal relations with representatives of other religions.

In a way, the core principles of our faith complement Kazakhstan’s secular approach when it comes to freedom of religion. In the eyes of the state, Kazakhstan views religions as important but also equal. Indeed, we too believe in an independent search for truth and spiritual development, the unity of God, humanity, and all religions, and in non-interference of religion in politics. This is an important concept that maintains peace and order, not allowing hostility and violence between religions to arise. With a global community of 5-8 million, we believe that all faiths come from the one Creator, leading us to a core principle of respect for people of all faiths.

Similarly, Kazakhstan’s laws on religion and the efforts of the Department of Religious Affairs reflect those values. The Baha’i community, along with other religious organizations, are able to live comfortably and safely in Kazakhstan, and we are proud of Kazakhstan’s commitment to not only religious freedom and freedom of worship – but an ongoing dialogue too.

Timur Chekparbaev is a leading member of the local Baha’i Spiritual Assembly in Kazakhstan and a representative of the Bahai community at Kazakhstan’s Office of the Religious Association for Public Information.

Following the visit to UAE of Kazakhstan’s head of state, President Tokayev, The Prime Minister of the world’s 9^th largest country, Alikhan Smailov, met the CEO of ABG Group, Khaled Mohammed Al Badie, for promoting the construction of highways across Kazakhstan

The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Alikhan Smailov, held a meeting with the CEO of Al Badie Group for Trading and Investment (ABG), Khaled Mohammed Al Badie, which addressed issues of cooperation in the construction of arterial roads across the world’s 9^th largest country. At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister emphasized that the company’s proposals will be carefully considered and processed by the relevant Kazakh government agencies.

ABG company of the United Arab Emirates expressed its intention to finance and implement major road projects in Kazakhstan, including the modernization of a number of highways of national importance. The Group enjoys credible operations in varied fields, including Infrastructure and Property Development, Water and Electricity, Oil and Gas, Defence Projects, IT, Marine, Auto Leasing and Rental, Hospitality, Travel and Tourism, Manufacturing, Insurance, and Health Care.

The Prime Minister said that currently there is a growing interest of Arab investors in Kazakhstan, which was facilitated by the recent visit of the Head of State, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to the UAE. Tokayev met the UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on May 16^th this year. “We highly appreciate every proposal of our foreign partners and remain committed to all our obligations to protect investments and ensure a favorable business climate,” Alikhan Smailov noted.

In turn, Khaled Mohammed Al Badie noted that ABG has experience in the successful implementations of large infrastructure projects in many countries. “Active interaction of our heads of states as well as high dynamics in bilateral relations, in general, led us to visit Kazakhstan. We are interested in investing in road projects, so we want to work closely with the government of your country”, said Khaled Mohammed Al Badie.

References:

https://www.inform.kz/en/uae-company-to-realize-road-projects-in-kazakhstan_a3965713

https://primeminister.kz/en/news/realizaciyu-krupnyh-avtodorozhnyh-proektov-v-kazahstane-obsudil-alihan-smailov-s-glavoy-kompanii-abg-1171638

Photos’ Credit: PM Office Kz