Chronicle of the main events of the Institute in 2019 ________________________________________________________________________________ CHRONICLE OF THE MAIN EVENTS OF THE INSTITUTE IN 2019 On 17th of January, was held a meeting with the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Republic of Kazakhstan Liat Vekselman. The meeting discussed bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Israel, prospects for deepening economic ties and the main directions of foreign policy of the two countries, as well as key issues of regional cooperation in Central Asia, problems of international security. Following the meeting, the parties noted the need to establish contacts between scientists and experts of the two countries in order to strengthen and expand mutually beneficial cooperation between Kazakhstan and Israel. On 23th of January, young experts, as well as doctoral students and undergraduates of the Institute took place at KazISS of Live Broadcast of the solemn opening ceremony of the Year of Youth «Тәуелсіздіктің ұрпақтары». The opening ceremony of the Year of Youth was held in Astana in the «Nur Alem» pavilion of the EXPO- 2017 exhibition complex with the participation of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan –Elbasy –N.A. Nazarbayev, members of the Government, deputies of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, members of the Youth Policy Council under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, winners of the «100 new faces» competition, graduates of the Bolashak program, young scientists, representatives of the creative, student and working youth, young entrepreneurs, athletes, gifted children representatives of the modern media sphere, pupils and graduates of orphanages, young people with special needs, young military personnel. Thus, the start of the implementation of a large-scale action plan aimed at the comprehensive support and implementation of the state youth policy in the country was launched. During the event, successful projects and new products implemented by young Kazakhstan people were presented. The speakers were young Kazakhstan people who have achieved success in various industries. Chronicle of the main events of the Institute in 2019 ________________________________________________________________________________ In his speech, the Head of State noted that in the Year of Youth simple and understandable tools should be developed, designed to meet the urgent needs of young Kazakhstan people. First of all, it is an affordable and high-quality education, availability of work, housing, and the possibility of creating a family. To address all of these issues, the President of Kazakhstan announced a number of instructions and measures, in particular, at least one thousand apartments per year will be built in large cities as part of rental housing programs for young families. The programs «Zhas kasіpker» and «With a diploma to the village», the projects «Bastau» and «Auyl -El Besigi», the roadmap «Business 2020» will be directed to increase employment and develop youth business. An additional 20 thousand grants have been allocated to increase the availability of education and the construction of new student dormitories for 75 thousand places has begun. The sphere of distance learning will be expanded on the example of the presented «Open University». In the country as a whole, 20 universities and 180 colleges will operate under the updated programs. On 31th of January, the annual ranking of global research and analytical centers «Global Go To Think Tank Index Report» was traditionally presented by the University of Pennsylvania. The ranking is composed within the program «Analytical Centers and Civil Society» under the leadership of Professor James G. McGann and is considered the most reputable think tanks ranking of the world. In 2018, the American University has analyzed the activities of 8162 think tanks, of which 31 were from Kazakhstan. Last year, the ranking included 28 think tanks from Kazakhstan. At the end of 2018, in the global ranking «Top think tanks worldwide» (excluding US research centers), KazISS ranked 142 among 8162 think tanks. Until 2016, the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan has been included in the global ranking only for certain categories and areas. According to the results of 2015, the Institute entered the top-150 strongest think tanks of the world for the first time, taking 147 positions among 6,846 global think tanks. Over the past three years, the number of think tanks participating in the ranking has grown by 1,316. Once again, KazISS became the only Kazakhstani think tank that entered the main rating of the «Global Go To Think Tank Index Report» of the University of Pennsylvania, confirming its leading status. In addition, the rating includes 55 different nominations, which, in turn, are combined into 4 main groups. In the group «Leading think tanks in Central Asia», the KazISS under the President of Chronicle of the main events of the Institute in 2019 ________________________________________________________________________________ the Republic of Kazakhstan took second place after the Center for Economic and Social Development (Azerbaijan) The group of «Leading think tanks in Central Asia» represented the largest number of analytical centers from Kazakhstan. 19-20 of February on the eve of the II Consultative Meeting of the leaders of the countries of Central Asia in Tashkent, expected in April of this year. Was held an international conference “Interconnection in Central Asia: Challenges and New Opportunities”. The event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy. Among the invited participants were about 130 leading foreign and Uzbek politicians and experts. Representatives of the government, heads of the upper and lower chambers of the Parliament of Uzbekistan made special reports at the conference. In particular, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan A. Kamilov noted the strategic aspects of regional cooperation in Central Asia, focusing on unifying goals and objectives.In turn, the Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Afghanistan, I. Irgashev, noted the need to strengthen the coordination of regional countries in cooperation with Afghanistan. Kazakhstan at this forum was represented by a group of experts. From KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Deputy Director Sanat Kushkumbayev took part in the conference, who, in his speech, noted tangible progress in the recent period in political cooperation between the Central Asian countries. Important changes affected the interstate cooperation of countries at the bilateral and multilateral levels. On 22nd of February was held the presentation of the book “Nur Otan”: 20 years of creation and development, dedicated to the anniversary of the party in Astana. Large- scale work was prepared by the creative team, which included experts from KISR under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan -Deputy Director Madina Nurgaliyeva and Head of the Department for Social and Political Studies Alua Zholdybalina; experts of the Academy of Political Management of the Nur Otan Party, Bagdat Masatov and Gulnar Ilyasova; Zhanar Tulindinova, political analyst Zhuldyzai Iskakova, deputy director at the Central Asian Information Agency “Eurasian Monitoring”. The party “Nur Otan” has approached its 20-year-old status as a leading political force, constantly residing in the mainstream of transformations of the Kazakhstani state and society. The key priorities of the party’s development strategy are centrism, a balance of interests of the widest social groups, support for reforms and initiatives of the President of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev. The book is the first systematic study, which presents a deep and comprehensive understanding of the history of the party for 20 years. The book contains facts and events, photo and archival materials. The publication presents a panorama of Chronicle of the main events of the Institute in 2019 ________________________________________________________________________________ the historical challenges and achievements of independent Kazakhstan, against the background of which a holistic vision of the role and place of the country's leading political party is given. The book consists of three sections: "Formation", "Dominant political force", and "Towards long-term political leadership". The event was also attended by deputies of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and veterans of the party, representatives of the youth wing of Zhas Otan, the scientific expert community, and the media. On 25th of February, Shanghai hosted the international conference «Comprehensive cooperation between Kazakhstan and China within the framework of the «Belt and Way» initiative. The organizers of the event were the Shanghai Academy of International Studies, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and the IWEP under the Foundation of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan -Elbasy. The Kazakhstan delegation included experts from the IWEP, KazISS, the Center for Military Strategic Studies and the Center for the Study of China and Central Asia. The Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies was represented by the chief researcher Lesya Karatayeva. In the framework of the conference on 26th of February, experts of Kazakhstan met with the leadership and staff of the Shanghai Academy