New Kazakh Foreign Minister …
Kazakh Foreign Minister Mr. Beibut Atamkulov said that the 46th Ministerial Meeting of the OIC Foreign Ministers in Abu Dhabi is a road map for development and prosperity, “continuing the various aspects of political and economic coordination and scientific integration designed to bring cooperation levels to new heights.”
and here is the full interview:
1. How do Kazakhstan and the MENA countries strengthen their political and economic ties?
Kazakhstan and the Arab nations have a long history of positive bilateral relations, based on the important traditions of friendship and mutual trust.
Since Kazakhstan’s independence 27 years ago, President Nursultan Nazarbayev has paid particular attention to developing deep relations with Arab countries. As our relationship continues to prosper and develop, we will focus on expanding cooperation in knowledge-based industries, promoting joint products to the international market, continue to grow our share of high value-added goods in trade, increase the effectiveness of our cooperation internationally, and expand our connectivity, both culturally and at a human level.
Kazakhstan is a founding member of the Eurasian Economic Union, a common marketplace of 180 million consumers. We offer Arab investors attractive opportunities to invest in joint projects including agriculture, energy, tourism and logistics. Kazakhstan has introduced a range of digital programs to encourage exporters to adopt innovative production techniques to ensure they remain competitive in a globalized environment.
I believe that Kazakhstan and the Gulf countries need to cooperate further in the fields of innovation, IT and artificial intelligence.
Another important and promising area of bilateral cooperation is the development of Islamic finance. The Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), modeled on the successfully functioning Dubai International Financial Center, can become a flagship financial center in this area.
2. In which areas of the economy is there potential for further cooperation between Kazakhstan and the countries of the Middle East and North Africa?
As already mentioned. MENA countries should see Kazakhstan as their entrance to the EEU market. In turn, we see the Arab world as a large, rapidly growing market and partner covering almost the entire region of the Middle East and North Africa. Almost all Arab countries import wheat – a product of which Kazakhstan is one of the largest global exporters. Increasing exports of wheat, meat and dairy to the Arab and North African markets is something that Kazakhstan is acutely focused on.
Recently, we have seen an increase in the number of Arab tourists visiting Kazakhstan. The dramatic and diverse natural landscape of our country is particularly appealing to tourists from Arab nations. Our expansive mountain forests, lakes and winter sports, combined with the traditional activities of eagle hunting and horseback riding give tourists a unique and unparalleled experience. And of course I must mention the famous hospitality of the Kazakh people, our rich culture, traditions and unique local cuisine.
I am confident that our ongoing work to turn Kazakhstan into a strategic transit and logistics hub at the heart of Eurasia, will ensure even more comfortable travelling conditions for tourists from your region.
In itself, the joint development of Kazakhstan’s transit potential and free economic zones is a promising area of mutually beneficial cooperation.
3. In your opinion, what is the role of Kazakhstan in the future development of existing and new industries in the Middle East?
In order to develop and drive our economies to new heights, we are focused on promoting innovation across a range of industries. This is a priority topic for our Government and aligns with the policies of many Arab countries. This opens the prospects for cooperation in technology, innovation, and advanced medicine to name but a few key industries.
The AIFC, functioning as a modern financial hub for integration with international exchanges, will ensure greater cooperation with Arab states in financial services. The AIFC provides its clients with a clear legal regime based on the principles of English law, as well as a simplified tax, visa and labor regime. Our primary goal is to develop the AIFC into the foremost center of Islamic finance and banking in the CIS and Central Asian region by 2020. To achieve this, we are laying the foundation for cooperation between Islamic financial institutions in the Middle East.
4. How do you see the relationship between Kazakhstan and the UAE, especially today? What are the future plans and programs for deepening this relationship?
The United Arab Emirates is one of the most important partners of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Middle East. We continue to develop wide-ranging cooperation in many areas of mutual interest.
The warm political relationship that Kazakhstan and the UAE enjoys is based on the closeness of the two countries’ positions on most global and regional issues.
Bilateral relations were established during an official visit of President Nazarbayev to the United Arab Emirates on May 25-27, 1998. During the visit, President Nazarbayev met with the President of the United Arab Emirates, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Since then, the two countries have continued to maintain close cooperation at the highest level.
To date, an extensive legal framework of bilateral cooperation has been created, with more than one hundred interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents in operation.
In recent years, Kazakh-UAE ties have noticeably intensified. A landmark bilateral event was the state visit of President Nazarbayev to the UAE in March 2018, which resulted in the signing of a package of agreements worth over $10 billion USD. In July , the return visit of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to Astana took place. During the talks, the mutual spirit of friendship was reaffirmed to further deepen cooperation, including in railway transport, nuclear and hydropower, space technology, petrochemicals, agriculture and digital.
The visa-free regime introduced in March 2018 for citizens of the two countries contributes to the further expansion of business ties and tourism.
Over the past three years, trade and economic cooperation between the two countries has progressed substantially. The UAE is one of the main trade and economic partners of Kazakhstan in Asia and is 21st in terms of exports and 33rd in terms of imports globally. Thanks to the implementation of mutual agreements, trade has doubled – from $374 million to $643 million USD since 2017. The UAE continues to be the largest regional investor in Kazakhstan. In our country, there are almost 250 enterprises with Emirati capital. During the period from 2005 to 2018, the gross inflow of direct investment from the UAE to Kazakhstan amounted to $2.1 billion USD (the gross outflow of direct investments from Kazakhstan to the UAE during the same period amounted to $941.3 million USD). Currently, the largest investment project in Central Asia, Abu Dhabi Plaza, worth $1.6 billion USD, is being built in Astana.
You have adopted the National Strategy for Food Security until 2051. Thanks to Kazakhstan’s large arable land and produce output, the Emirates could secure a reliable channel for the supply of quality food products from Kazakhstan.
In the field of aerospace, there are strong prospects for the development of mutually beneficial relationships in the study of space technology for peaceful purposes.
5. In your opinion, what role will the UAE play in the development of bilateral relations in all sectors?
The UAE has achieved a great many successes in various sectors of the economy. The UAE can continue to expand its profitable investments in Kazakhstan, as well as increase its imports of Kazakh products.
Allow me to pay particular attention to the food sector. Demand for food in the region, and around the world, is growing. Kazakhstan is ahead of the competition in the quality and quantity of wheat, flour, meat and many other agricultural and food products it produces.
If the Emirates continues to work with Kazakhstan to reduce the cost of transport and logistics, the country will not only have access to a large and reliable amount of high-quality products, but will also be able to re-export to neighboring countries in the region. I believe this would bring many benefits to all sides.
As for investments, we already have extensive experience of cooperation. Emirati investors have been attracted to key sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy including logistics, energy, education, agriculture, construction, and petrochemicals. I am sure that in the future our countries bilateral investments will only continue to grow.
6. Your opinion on UAE foreign policy, including at the local, regional and international levels.
First of all, I would like to highlight that we inextricably link the important role of the Emirates on the international stage with the political will and strategic vision of the late Sheikh Zayed, which was aimed at the creation and unity of the Emirates nation. Openness to the world, continuous development of education and training are the hallmarks of the Emirates.
In international affairs, we are united by our close political positions on major global and regional issues. Kazakhstan and the Emirates cooperate effectively across a range of multilateral platforms, including those of the UN, OIC and CICA, and closely coordinate their actions to resolve pressing issues on the international agenda.
The Emirates supported Kazakhstan’s candidacy to the UNSC non-permanent elections for 2017-18, supported the establishment of the Islamic Organization for Food Security and ratified its Charter.
We are ready to “synchronize the watches” of Astana and Abu Dhabi on the situations in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to discuss, and very difficult relations of the Arab world with Iran. We believe that this will benefit us and allow us to make informed and considered decisions on many issues on the international agenda.
In general, I would like to note that after more than a quarter of a century since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and the UAE, the Emirates has clearly demonstrated that it is a mature and strong state responsible in its actions and decisions on international and regional issues.
7. What is the significance of the OIC meeting in Abu Dhabi for Kazakhstan?
As you know, the 46th Ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi on March 1-2 is an anniversary meeting. The agenda of the session, which is held under the motto “50 years of Islamic cooperation: a roadmap for development and prosperity” includes the continuation of various aspects of political and economic coordination and scientific integration, designed to bring levels of cooperation to new horizons.
Today, OIC countries are facing complex security challenges and the need to confront old and new grievances and threats. The issues of Palestine and Jerusalem remain unresolved, and the situation in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan requires us to take effective and efficient steps in the OIC’s areas of responsibility.
We are deeply concerned about the exacerbation of the political and military crisis between Pakistan and India as a result of the recent confrontation between the air forces of the two countries in the vicinity of the border control line. Kazakhstan calls on Islamabad and New Delhi to exercise maximum restraint and responsibility in their actions towards each other, based primarily on the fundamental interests of regional and global security.
Kazakhstan has a very rich agenda in the OIC. The initiative of President Nazarbayev, announced at the 13th OIC Summit in Istanbul in April 2016 on Islamic Rapprochement, is now timelier and more important than ever. A practical step in the implementation of this initiative was the 11 rounds of talks on resolving the Syrian conflict, which made a significant contribution to the stabilization of the military, political and humanitarian situation in the country.
An important initiative of Kazakhstan, which has found wide support among OIC countries, is the Islamic Organization for Food Security, headquartered in Astana, which was launched at the beginning of last year. Its activities will be aimed at developing effective mechanisms of assistance to the states experiencing food problems. Today, 32 OIC countries have joined this new Organization and 12 States have already ratified the Statute of the Organization. We hope that other countries will follow their example and join this promising OIC framework.
As I have already mentioned, scientific and economic cooperation are important issues on the agenda of the forthcoming Ministerial Meeting. The holding of the OIC Astana Summit on Science and Technology in September 2017 and the adoption of the Astana Declaration and the OIC Programme on Science, Technology and Innovation Development until 2026 have demonstrated the enormous scientific potential of OIC countries, which we have yet to fully discover.
In May 2018, on the margins of the Ministerial Council, during the election of ECC Deputy Secretary General, Kazakhstani diplomat Askar Musinov was elected Deputy Secretary General for Science and Technology. I am sure that this will allow us to promote the scientific initiatives of Kazakhstan more actively within the framework of the Organization.
Another initiative of President Nazarbayev, which was voiced from the rostrum of the 13th OIC Summit – on Islamic Infrastructural Integration – is aimed at achieving the maximum possible integration of transport and logistics systems operating in the OIC space, which will allow our countries to more actively develop trade and bring our goods to the markets of third countries, using the existing and newly developed transport corridors.