+26° / +12°C WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 No 18 (132) www.astanatimes.com Nazarbayev’s visits to Uzbekistan, First OIC Summit Turkmenistan strengthen Central Asian ties on Science and Technology takes place in Astana envisioned in the OIC 2025 Plan By Assel Satubaldina of Action and the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development ASTANA – Sept. 10 in the capi- Goals. tal featured not only the spectacu- Kazakh President Nursultan lar closing of EXPO 2017, a major Nazarbayev, who opened the sum- event in Kazakh history, but also mit and welcomed 15 national and the first Organisation of Islamic governmental leaders, including Cooperation (OIC) Summit on Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Science and Technology, another Arabia, Turkey and Uzbekistan,

Akorda.kz. Photo credit: important opportunity for the na- advanced the idea to organise the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Uzbek President Shavkat President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Turkmen President Gurbanguly tion and the organisation’s 57 conference during the 2016 OIC Mirziyoyev had very productive meetings in Tashkent on Sept. 16. Berdymukhamedov discussed expanding relations in Ashgabat on Sept. 17. members. summit in Istanbul. A year later, The summit adopted the Astana more than 80 foreign delegations By Aigerim Seisembayeva Nazarbayev highlighted Uzbeki- He added Uzbekistan’s decision Sea (IFAS). Today, it is the only inter- Declaration affirming the com- visited the city to discuss the or- stan’s special role in the region and to reduce excise taxes on certain state mechanism for solving the Aral mitment of the member states ganisation’s priorities and goals in ASTANA – President Nursultan stressed Mirziyoyev’s merits in types of imported goods was a posi- problem. In this regard, we agreed on to alleviate poverty, increase the science, technology and innova- Nazarbayev’s Sept. 16 state visit to boosting business cooperation be- tive step towards enhancing trade the need to revive the fund. In par- budget for education and join tion. Uzbekistan resulted in ten bilateral tween the states. cooperation, resulting in a 35-per- ticular, we intend to hold a summit efforts to accomplish the goals Continued on Page A3 documents inked by Kazakh and “Over a short period of time, you cent increase in bilateral trade in the in 2018 to discuss the solution of our Uzbek governmental bodies and have done a lot for the successful first seven months of this year. The common problem,” he said. state-owned companies. The fol- development of bilateral relations. task, according to Nazarbayev, is to The two leaders also addressed lowing day, he travelled to Ashgabat Our meetings helped us solve many increase trade turnover to $5 billion multilateral cooperation, including to meet with Turkmen President urgent issues. We have much in by 2020. That would represent a within Kazakhstan’s membership in Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov common – our languages, culture, growth of almost three times com- the UN Security Council. Draft Latin-based and attend the opening ceremony of religion – and therefore we have no pared to last year’s figures. “We have exchanged views on the fifth Asian Indoor and Martial other way but to cooperate closely. The sides also agreed to imple- security issues in the region due to Arts Games (AIMAG). For effective interaction, we need ment up to three major joint in- the situation in Afghanistan. We’ve The Kazakh-Uzbek documents concrete action and real mutual sup- vestment projects, instructing their discussed the results of the Astana Kazakh alphabet are meant to enhance cooperation port,” he said. governments to work out new gas Summit of the Organisation of Is- in trade, economy, investment, wa- During a media briefing, Naz- projects that would benefit both lamic Cooperation (OIC) on science ter and agricultural issues, customs arbayev spoke about the results countries. and technology, as well as Uzbeki- legislation, transit and transport, as achieved in strengthening transport Nazarbayev noted the importance stan’s initiative to host the second provokes heated well as military and culture. Agree- sector cooperation. of holding an interregional coop- OIC summit of this kind,” said the ments, roadmaps and memoranda “We are already witnessing the eration forum on a regular basis and Kazakh President. of understanding were signed be- results of our agreements. For in- jointly developing the space indus- Nazarbayev also pointed to the tween the ministries, neighbouring stance, a Tulpar-Talgo high-speed try. The leaders also had a thorough importance of developing cultural public debate regional administrations and rail- train travels between Almaty and discussion of water issues. and humanitarian connections. sitioned to Latin script. The latter way companies. Tashkent twice a week. Our na- “This issue is extremely impor- “Our close cultural and humani- By Assel Satubaldina was in place until 1940, when So- “This year can be called truly tional air carriers have launched ad- tant for the entire Central Asian re- tarian ties are an important factor viet authorities introduced Cyrillic historical for the relations between ditional flights between our capitals gion. Central Asia’s trans-boundary of friendly relations. We agreed ASTANA – Kazakh State Sec- script. Transitioning back to Latin our two countries. There has been a and soon flights will be launched water resources are a common prop- to hold the Year of Uzbekistan in retary Gulshara Adbykalikova, script is a historic milestone in considerable breakthrough in all the between other cities. There are reg- erty and a blessing of all the peoples Kazakhstan in 2018. The Year of deputies, representatives of state the nation’s cultural and spiritual spheres of the economy. This is our ular bus routes. Reconstruction of of the region,” he said. Kazakhstan in Uzbekistan is also bodies and the alphabet developers development, said Mazhilis chair sixth meeting, which is a testimony a large interstate road is underway. The Kazakh head of state then on the agenda. Various events will attended discussions in the Mazhi- Nurlan Nigmatulin. of friendly intentions between the Two checkpoints were opened on spoke about the results of the Aral be held to promote an even closer lis (lower house of Parliament) “Language has always been an two brotherly countries,” said Uz- the M-39 motorway. A car assembly Sea discussion. rapprochement of our fraternal peo- Sept. 11 about the draft of the important foundation of every na- bek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev project has been launched as well,” “Next year is the 25th anniversary ples,” he said. Latin alphabet scheduled to enter tion along with its history, culture to open the meeting. he noted. of the International Fund for the Aral Continued on Page A3 in force by 2025. and territory. That is why Presi- The idea of switching from dent Nursultan Nazarbayev has Cyrillic script to Latin script was paid very special attention to the first voiced by Kazakh President development of the Kazakh lan- Nursultan Nazarbayev in his 2012 guage since our independence. He state-of-the-nation address. Earlier made the transition of the Kazakh Final de-escalation zone set up in Syria this year, he instructed the govern- language to Latin script one of the “Another matter is detainees, ment to develop and endorse a sin- key priorities in his recent article By Assel Satubaldina whom some people call buried gle Latin-based version of the Ka- ‘Course towards the future: mod- alive. Tens of thousands of peo- zakh alphabet by the end of 2017. ernisation of Kazakhstan’s iden- ASTANA – The sixth round of ple are there. Thousands of them The Kazakh language used Ara- tity,’” he noted. the international meetings on Syria were tortured and killed. None of bic script until 1929, when it tran- Continued on Page A2 ended Sept. 15 in Astana with the the parties raised this issue to the participants agreeing on a final de- regime,” noted al-Aridi. escalation zone in Syria’s north- Russian President Vladimir western Idlib province. It will be Putin’s Special Representative the fourth zone where no military for Syrian settlement Alexander activity would be allowed as en- Lavrentiev, however, committed S&P upgrades visioned in the May 4 agreement to bringing the issue to the table signed by Iran, Russia and Turkey, in an attempt to build a dialogue Photo credit: mfa.kz. Photo credit: guarantor states to the ceasefire re- Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov (C) delivers the joint statement with the opposition group, a gime, during the fourth round of by Iran, Russia and Turkey following the two-day talks in Astana on Sept. 15. critical factor in the fight against Kazakhstan’s talks in the Kazakh capital. terrorist groups that are recently The so-called Astana process that in different parts of Syria,” noted ence, unity and territorial integrity becoming more active in Syria. has been going on since January Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat of Syria, said the minister as he read “We need to involve armed oppo- supplement the UN-brokered Ge- Abdrakhmanov during a plenary the statement. sition in the fight against terrorism. outlook to stable neva talks meant to find the political session wrapping up the two-day “We believe that the process The unity of all Syrians in the fight and financial system have good resolution of the six-year conflict. closed-door negotiations. launched in Astana will strengthen will not only foster positive chang- By Zhazira Dyussembekova prospects. Since the beginning of Delegations of the three guaran- In a joint statement read by Ab- the regime of cessation of hostilities es, but will also build dialogue and 2017 we have seen positive trends tor states, the Syrian government drakhmanov, Iran, Russia and Tur- and have a positive impact on up- trust between them,” noted the head ASTANA – S&P Global Ratings in the economy of Kazakhstan, and Syrian armed opposition fac- key announced the creation of the coming Geneva talks under the aus- of the Russian delegation. has revised its outlook on Kazakh- which influenced the opinion of tions took part in the sixth round, de-escalation zones in eastern Gh- pices of the United Nations,” said Similar to his colleagues, Lavren- stan from negative to stable. At the experts. Increasing the effective- while the UN special envoy on Syr- outa, in certain parts in the northern Abdrakhmanov on his own behalf. tiev commended the outcomes of same time, the BBB- long-term ness of monetary policy, as well as ia Staffan de Mistura and delegates Homs province, in Idlib province Head of the Syrian government the two-day negotiations and the and A-3 short-term sovereign rat- maintaining Kazakhstan’s positions from Jordan and the U.S. attended and in certain parts of the neigh- delegation Bashar al-Jaafari called potential of the Astana talks. ings were affirmed, according to as a net lender with a low level of the talks as observers. bouring provinces, including Lata- the Astana talks the “only success- “I must say that the creation of the agency’s press release. debt burden, also caused the rating “Few believed in the success kia, Hama and Aleppo, as well as ful platform in the Syrian process,” de-escalation zones makes it pos- “The stable outlook reflects our revision to improve,” he wrote on of the Astana process launched southern Syria. The measure will which provokes interest among oth- sible to stop bloodshed and achieve expectation that we have captured his Facebook page on Sept. 9. in January this year, however, be in force for six months and will er countries to join the negotiations. the stabilisation in Syria. The out- the fiscal costs of the authorities’ Suleimenov also mentioned the thanks to the determination of be extended if necessary with the “However, the issue of other comes of today’s meeting affirmed banking sector recapitalisation plans recent Moody’s outlook, which the participants of Astana talks, guarantors’ consensus. countries joining the process is not the right choice the guarantor states in our projections and that econom- has improved, too. there is now hope to resolve this Iran, Russia and Turkey will have on the agenda. Probably, we will made earlier about the promotion ic activity will remain relatively ro- “A good rating is important for acute crisis through peaceful control over the de-escalation zones take that into consideration in the of de-escalation zones and fight bust over the period to 2020,” reads Kazakhstan not only to attract means. Today, the participants and would deploy the forces in ac- future,” said al-Jaafari. against terrorism,” said Lavrentiev. the outlook published Sept. 8. investors who are guided by the can go further as they managed cordance with the maps endorsed Yet, Idlib province was not the The participants of the meet- Kazakh Minister of National opinions of international experts, to overcome many challenges Sept. 8 in Ankara. The guarantor only topic discussed during the ing also thanked Kazakh President Economy Timur Suleimenov com- but also to conduct its [country’s] and achieve considerable results states also agreed to set up a joint sixth round of talks, according Nursultan Nazarbayev for his com- mented on the results. economic policies more effective- in restoring stability and peace coordination centre to coordinate to High Negotiations Committee mitment to the Syrian process and “As you know, traditionally S&P ly and successfully, gaining access in Syria. They reached what activities in de-escalation areas. (HNC) advisor Yahya al-Aridi, as the Kazakh government for hosting is considered the most conservative to financial resources outside of seemed to be impossible and ef- The creation of de-escalation the issue of tens of thousands of the meeting. of the three agencies, respectively; our country on more favourable forts in this direction led to the zones does not in no way under- Syrians locked in prisons was also The next round of talks is sched- even with their conservative ap- terms,” he added. creation of de-escalation zones mine the sovereignty, independ- on the agenda. uled for the end of October. proaches and models, our economy Continued on Page A4

INSIDE NATION ECONOMY&BUSINESS EDITORIALS&OPINIONS OPINIONS NATION&CAPITAL PM discusses Digital Kazakhstan with int’l Kazakhstan to issue Sukuk worth $300 million Kazakhstan’s experience shapes its actions KYDYRALI: Decisive step towardås Life after EXPO: What awaits buildings and experts A2 next year A4 on UNSC A6 modernisation of kazakhstan’s identity A7 infrastructure? B1 Existing school schedule to remain, but Energy sector investments to total $57 billion in KARIN: Enhanced Kazakh-Uzbek relations ETCHISON: TCO partnership key to Tengiz St. Regis opens hotel in Astana B8 schools given option to shift to five-day weeks 2017-2025 A4 offer opportunity for Central Asian regional reaching 3 bln barrels milestone A7 A2 cooperation A6

US$ 1 = 340.02 KZT € 1 = 406.26 KZT 1 = 5.90 KZT A2 NATION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

NATIONAL PM discusses Digital Kazakhstan with int’l experts NEWS IN BRIEF The sulphur granulation plant with ous countries for review and has tion. The government needs to rec- The meeting brought together to work on the implementation of a capacity of 4,500 tonnes per day Staff Report involved working with such large ognise and stimulate this process. CEO of the IDC Country Office such programmes, spoke about the will be commissioned in November international companies as IBM, Digital transformation requires Andrei Beklemishev, Vice Minister impact of large data on the con- in the Atyrau region. This was an- ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Min- General Electric and Microsoft in more than data collection. It is nec- of Internal Affairs and Security of struction of the digital economy nounced during the official visit of ister Bakytzhan Sagintayev dis- pilot mode, said the statement. essary to transform the government. Korea Shim Bo-Kyung, Senior Pro- and the digital state and on the Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan cussed with international experts “Now we are witnessing a digi- It is necessary not only to adopt gramme Coordinator Oleg Petrov, role of information technology and Sagintayev to the region Sept. 15. Sept. 13 in Astana the develop- tal transformation. It means social block chain and other digital tech- Director of Singapore Cooperation digitalisation in the development “The enterprise includes a sulphur ment of the Digital Kazakhstan transformation. We move from cap- nologies, we need to act differently, Enterprise for Asia Kevin Chong, of business, the state and society. recovery unit, a tail gas purification programme, according to prime ital, as the basis of wealth, to data, quickly, in the context of people. If Chairman of the Board of the Eura- Participants also discussed safe plant, a storage facility for liquid minister’s press service. information. In America, there are you can do this, you will succeed in sian Economic Commission Tigran processing and provision of data, sulphur and storage facilities for sul- Development of the pro- such large companies as Google, this matter,” said expert in the field Sarkisian and others. training of personnel for the IT field, phur blocks. The railway complex gramme involves sending its Apple, WAIS, Airbnb and Uber. of new technologies Christopher Experts shared their countries’ the economic effect of digitisation provides storage and shipment of granulated sulphur up to 7,000 tonnes main concepts to experts in vari- They create wealth from informa- Surdak during the meeting. experience in attracting the public and improvement of public services. per day,” primeminister.kz reports. Sagintayev also visited the Bolashak oil and gas processing plant, located 40 kilometres north-west of Atyrau, the offshore fields and D artificial island, all part of the giant Kashagan Feasibility study necessary to determine if planned field developed by an international consortium.

Small industrial zones for start-up nuclear power plant is built, says Kazakh minister entrepreneurs will be created in the Bozumbayev at the Sept. 7-8 Ka- Kazatomprom and Rosatom recently Kazakh scientists con- monitor the construction pro- country, the press service of the Min- istry of Investment and Development Staff Report signed the agreement to construct ducted the first stage of the physi- zenergy Eurasian Forum in Astana. cess. reports. “Industrial lands are land “Once we have the report, we a power plant with a preliminary cal launch of Kazakh Tokamak for ASTANA – The Kazatomprom The idea to construct the na- plots with all needed infrastructure. will be able to make a final deci- capacity of up to 1,200 megawatts Material Testing (KTM). The other tion’s first nuclear power plant An entrepreneur or an investor can national atomic company will sion… I am not declaring anything in September 2014. possible location is near Balkhash dates to 2014, when President get a plot of land and start construc- complete a feasibility study by the right now, however, I am telling The project envisions the con- Lake. Nursultan Nazarbayev first spoke tion on the same day. This signifi- end of this year before deciding you that there will be a feasibility struction in Kurchatov in eastern According to Kazakh officials, cantly reduces the cost of the project whether to move forward with a study, which will show us wheth- Kazakhstan, where in the 1950s the International Atomic Energy about the need for a nuclear power by 20-30 percent,” said Investment planned nuclear power plant, an- er Kazakhstan will get a nuclear a group of Soviet scientists pro- Agency will also assist Kazakh- plant in his regular state-of-nation Committee Chairman Saparbek nounced Energy Minister Kanat power plant,” said Bozumbayev. duced the first tokamaks and where stan in equipping the plant and address. Tuyakbayev. The draft of a new law on special economic and industrial zones will be adopted by the end of the year. Simplifying the procedure for issuing land plots for business is one of its main innovations. They Existing school schedule to remain, but schools will be distributed not by the akimats (local executive bodies), but by the steering committees under the one- window principle. given option to shift to five-day weeks Chinese entrepreneurs will in- with three shifts cannot shift to a ule of lessons with a board of trus- “We have approved the meth- the fifth and sixth grades, 110 min- vest in the construction of a solar By Zhazira Dyussembekova five-day week. tees or a parent committee, based odological recommendations for utes in the seventh to ninth grades, power plant with a capacity of 100 At the moment, the maximum on the conditions and capacities of doing homework, and thus the 130 minutes in the 10th to 11th megawatts in the South Kazakhstan ASTANA – Despite lengthy, on- load varies from 24 hours to 39 the school. From year to year, the amount of time for its preparation grades,” its statement read. region. The project worth $200 mil- going talks on introducing a five- hours in general education schools. authority and responsibility of the should be reduced by about a third The duration of lessons will lion to produce electric panels will day academic week, the Kazakh The daily training load – how trustees’ councils – and, therefore, compared to the way it was. The be 40 minutes, including in Naz- be located in the Otyrar district. “The Ministry of Education and Science many lessons there should be in the public – is increasing. assigned homework should not arbayev Intellectual Schools. The project is important because the cli- has decided to stick with the exist- a day, and on how many days – is The ministry says it is working exceed 50 minutes in the second curricula and the number of hours mate of our region is suitable for the ing schedule for the time being, determined independently by each to reduce the study load on chil- grade, 70 minutes in the third or devoted to the study of each aca- production of solar electricity. The parties need to implement this project Tengrinews.kz reports. School be- school, while agreeing on a sched- dren. fourth grade classes, 90 minutes in demic subject were not changed. as soon as possible. We are ready to gan as usual in September and will allocate land and provide the neces- end May 25. sary support,” said South Kazakhstan In June, the ministry issued a Region Akim (Governor) Zhanseit decree “On the definition of the Tuimebayev. Construction will start beginning, duration and vaca- in October. tion periods of the 2017-2018 academic year in organisations of More than 12,000 tourists used free secondary education.” According audio guides during the EXPO 2017, to the document, the duration of according to Astana.gov.kz. “The so- the school year is 32 weeks for cial project aimed at promoting the preschool classes, 33 weeks for city attractions was in demand by vis- first grade and 34 weeks for other itors from 13 countries. Information grades, as it was before. There about the sights was developed by have been no changes to vacation historians and ethnographers,” said periods. Astana Convention Bureau Chief Manager Ainur Zhanabilova. The au- However, new regulations will dio guide web app was also launched. allow schools to introduce a five- The information about the service is day week themselves, the state- available on welcometoastana.kz and ment reveals. In all educational at information kiosks located in the organisations, training loads may airport buildings, railway stations, be divided over five days. It will shopping and entertainment centres. be more difficult to introduce the schedule in gymnasiums and lyce- The Ethnic Folklore Jazz Festi- ums, since the load there is much val initiated by the Assembly of the higher, and it is clear that schools People of Kazakhstan was held in the capital Sept. 14. The mission of the event is to preserve the cultural in spelling, but loses the nature of heritage of all ethnic groups living the sound. If digraphs convey one in Kazakhstan through promotion of popular musical directions. “This sound with two signs, diacritical festival is important because it has a Draft Latin-based Kazakh alphabet... ones are created artificially,” he new style, which is now developing Continued from Page A1 cultural and historical roots, will ing that the Latin script will enable using diphthongs that make recog- said. not only in Kazakhstan, but all over continue playing an important role us to adopt international scientific nising and reading text more com- While Azerbaijani Parliament the world. Our ethno cultural associa- Nigmatulin highlighted several in Kazakh society,” he noted. and technical lexicon in the nation- plicated. Citizens also emphasised member and philological science tion and other ensembles show their objective factors underpinning the Active public involvement in the al vocabulary,” he said. the use of the consonant “w” to PhD Nizami Dzhafarov also be- art and creativity, so that our people transition process, including his- process may ensure the success of Mazhilis deputy Pavel Kazant- convey the vowel “u.” lieves the issue is controversial, become acquainted with this style,” torical meaning, need for language the upcoming reform, he added. sev also spoke about the current “People are concerned about he commended the draft alphabet said Uzbek Ethno-cultural Centre modernisation and consistent lan- The government is preparing a favourable conditions that would ‘w.’ English has such a sound. overall. Chairperson Sherzod Pulatov. The guage policy. comprehensive set of measures to allow for a smooth transition. You perceive everything nor- “I think the project will be dis- Ethnic Fashion Festival was also held “The alphabet reform has his- familiarise people with the new al- “The Kazakh society should un- mally when articulating, but you cussed. The main signs are fine, with the participation of 10 designers toric roots and it also seeks to phabet, including publishing edu- derstand that the transition from cannot perceive identical sounds but of course, the work is yet to and craftsmen from all regions of the enhance the global competitive- cation and methodology materials Cyrillic to Latin script will eventu- in the Kazakh language. This is be done. In general, 99 percent of country. ness of Kazakhstan and promote and developing mobile apps and ally make the nation more united a psychological aspect. There is the project is fine, yet there are accelerated integration in global information programmes. and will push it closer to scientific no such sound in the Russian lan- some controversial aspects. For The Contemporary Japanese De- scientific, educational, technologi- Latin script is a global and prac- and technological progress leading guage; therefore, many people instance, Turkic nations usually sign 100, a mobile exhibition, has opened in Astana, Kazinform reports. cal and communication space,” he spell Kokshetau as Kokshetav and tend to express one sound with The exhibition is organised by the added. “The Kazakh society should understand that this is one of the most frequent one letter. Our languages have Embassy of Japan in cooperation The modernisation will allow sounds in the Kazakh language,” a phonetical principle, which with the Japan Foundation and the tapping into the language’s full po- the transition from Cyrillic to Latin script said philological science profes- means one letter conveys one Kazakh National Museum. “This tential not only as a tool of commu- sor and PhD Alimkhan Zhunis- sound, but English, German and traveling exhibition operates since nication, but also as a strong factor will eventually make the nation more united bek. French languages use diphthongs, 2003. This year marks the 25 years of spiritual revival and strengthen- Diphthongs are necessary to which goes back to their history,” of close diplomatic relations between ing national identity, said Nigma- and will push it closer to scientific and preserve the nature of the lan- he noted. Kazakhstan and Japan. I want to ex- tulin, adding the reforms would technological progress leading to Kazakhstan’s guage and express specific Kazakh The working group added the press confidence that bilateral rela- not influence the national language sounds, said National Coordina- project is a draft, conveying the tions will continue to strengthen and policy. further integration in global communication tion and Methodological Centre group’s openness to public sugges- multiply,” said Japanese Ambassador “The alphabet reform affects processes.” for the Development of Languages tions and comments. to Kazakhstan Ichiro Kawabata at the solely the Kazakh language. The head Yerbol Tleshov. “I do not know whether we can opening ceremony. The exhibition transition to the Latin script pri- “If we adopt various sounds in say that the alphabet will be wel- features 100 items – household and marily intends to reform the Ka- tical tool, according to Eurasian to Kazakhstan’s further integration the classic alphabet used by many comed or not, because it is not an interior items used by people in eve- ryday life including furniture, house- zakh alphabet and spelling rules Integration Centre Deputy Direc- in global communication process- countries around the world, then apartment or a car. There may be hold appliances, stationery, clothing, allowing for conformity between tor Sergey Seliverstov. es,” he noted. we will not be able to achieve our some questions about words or medical supplies, vehicles and others. its phonetics and graphics. The “This is the instrument that Once the draft alphabet was goal. Using diphthongs allows us sounds and in this case, we will go The main part of the exhibition con- President’s firm position on this is- does not separate, but, conversely, made available to the public, how- to preserve our specific sounds, but back to some sounds and letters. In sists of 89 exhibits, developed after sue should make people aware of serves as a tool of communication ever, it provoked heated discus- using diacritical signs that some of general, we will use this alphabet 2010, and 11 exhibits represent post- the fact that the Russian language, that is well familiar to people in sions, particularly concerning the our colleagues advise only allows version as the foundation,” added war modern design, which became as a global language with strong Kazakhstan. It is also worth not- spelling of specific Kazakh sounds us to distinguish similar sounds Tleshov. the basis of Japanese design art. A3 EURASIA&WORLD

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

EXTERNAL NEWS IN BRIEF Kazakh, Polish leaders witness signing of Green Kazakhstan was invited as a spe- cial member of the China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo held Sept. 13 in Bridge partnership, attend business forum in Astana Nanning, China, an event usually The Polish President said he be- pany is an example of a successful limited to Southeast Asian coun- By Aigerim Seisembayeva lieves the two countries are on a path partnership. Selena Group Company tries. First Deputy Prime Minister toward stronger relations. implemented a project on the pro- Askar Mamin opened the national ASTANA – Kazakh President “We are following the path that is duction of building materials on the pavilion. He and China’s State Nursultan Nazarbayev and Polish aimed at improving Kazakh-Polish territory of the Astana New City spe- Council First Vice Premier Zhang President Andrzej Duda held talks relations. I thank the President of cial economic zone. KazTechMash Gaoli discussed prospects of coop- here during the Polish leader’s state Kazakhstan for supporting Poland’s plant launched agricultural machin- eration, including the Kostanai car visit to Kazakhstan Sept. 6 and wit- bid for a non-permanent member- ery production in Petropavlovsk us- plant and new noodle manufactur- nessed the signing of the charter to ship in the UN Security Council. We ing the technologies of a Polish Pro- ing company. The two delegations the Green Bridge Partnership Pro- will apply Kazakhstan’s experience nar Company,” he said. discussed approximately 10 differ- gramme and a ministerial agreement in our work within this organisation. Nazarbayev also said the countries ent projects worth more than $1 on economic cooperation. The two Kazakhstan’s role in the UN Secu- can increase cooperation through billion. leaders also addressed a Kazakh- rity Council is very important, espe- Polish businesses participating in Polish business forum which saw cially I would like to note the effec- Kazakhstan’s privatisation and agri- France is Kazakhstan’s fifth larg- numerous memoranda signed. tive mission implemented by your cultural sector. Kazakhstan’s accel- est trading partner and turnover is Nazarbayev thanked his counter- country for the peaceful settlement erated modernisation is another area increasing between the nations. part for visiting during EXPO 2017 financial institutions have agreed to At the press briefing, Nazarbayev of the conflict in Syria,” Duda said. for cooperation, he said. The turnover reached $1.7 billion and noted that last year’s Kazakh- work in the AIFC,” he said. said that 115 enterprises backed with He also said he hopes the positive The forum was divided into in the first six months of the year, Polish business form in Warsaw Nazarbayev also highlighted that Polish capital operate Kazakhstan trends in bilateral trade observed thematic sessions: financing joint 46 percent higher than the same produced 15 agreements totalling Kazakhstan is a key regional trad- and Polish businesses have invested since the beginning of this year economic enterprises, energy and period in 2016. The volume of $1 billion and a plan to launch di- ing partner for Poland and a base to more than $200 million in Kazakh- will continue and it will eventually mining, regional cooperation and French investments in the last 12 rect flights between Kazakhstan and enter the Central Asian and Eurasian stan. He also said opportunities are reach at least $3 billion. According infrastructure development. Coop- years is more than $13.5 billion Poland, since then implemented by Economic Union markets. In turn, emerging in machine building, agri- to Duda, Polish exports to Kazakh- eration documents between Kazakh and 140 French companies operate LOT Polish Airlines. Duda said Nazarbayev’s last year’s culture, energy, chemistry, transport stan grew 50 percent this year so far, and Polish companies were also in Kazakhstan, including Total, the The Kazakh President also men- visit to Poland boosted bilateral and construction. He said Kazakh- while imports from Kazakhstan in- signed, including in inter-regional world’s fourth largest oil producer, tioned efforts to create a more favour- trade and economic relations. stan wishes to work jointly with Po- creased by 80 percent. cooperation. The forum was or- Ariston and Danone. On a visit to able investment climate and empha- “I am confident that we will be land to develop a modern transport After the meeting in Akorda, the ganised by the Kazakh Ministry of Astana in September, Secretary of sised the importance of expanding able to achieve a high level of turno- infrastructure to speed cargo deliv- two presidents attended the Kazakh- Investment and Development, the State at the Ministry for Europe trade and economic cooperation. ver through our joint efforts. I would ery between Asia and Europe. Polish business forum that gathered Atameken National Chamber of and Foreign Affairs Jean-Baptiste “The investment climate in Kazakh- also like to thank you for the oppor- Nazarbayev thanked Duda for more than 450 business representa- Entrepreneurs and the subsidiary or- Lemoyne noted French companies stan is recognised by international tunity to visit the EXPO 2017 and ratifying an enhanced partnership tives, including the leaders of top ganisation of Kazakhstan’s Foreign have all the necessary conditions to organisations as very favourable. At see both the Polish and the Kazakh and cooperation agreement between Kazakh and Polish companies. The Trade Chamber. Forty Polish media develop in Kazakhstan and intend present, we have established Kazakh pavilions. This exhibition is a good Kazakhstan and the European Union forum attracted its highest number outlets covered the event. to expand their presence. He added Invest, a company that works with demonstration of modern technolo- and noted the importance of work- of Polish business representatives, Poland is one of Kazakhstan’s Kazakhstan provides a favourable foreign investors. In addition, when gies of renewable energy sources ing together on international issues according to Polish participants. leading economic partners in Central investment and tax climate for for- the expo is over, the Astana Inter- and a safe use of traditional sources,” during Poland’s UN Security Coun- Addressing the forum, Naz- and Eastern Europe. Trade turnover eign business. national Financial Centre will begin said the Polish President as the two cil 2018-2019 membership. Ka- arbayev named successful Kazakh- with Kazakhstan constitutes more operating based on English common leaders addressed the press briefing zakhstan already is a member of the Polish projects. than 80 percent of Poland’s total The 25th anniversary of diplo- law. Almost all the world’s leading following their talks in the Akorda. UN Security Council for 2017-2018. “Polpharma pharmaceutical com- trade with Central Asian countries. matic relations between Kazakh- stan and Belgium was marked with an unforgettable symphony concert in Astana. World-famous Belgian conductor and composer Dirk Bro- sse led the performance, which in- Erdogan, Nazarbayev advance economic cluded Kazakh and European clas- sical masterpieces as well as his own compositions. Brosse noted every new experience is a challenge agreements worth $1 billion during Astana meeting and that he learns quite a bit when that level,” said Erdogan, adding he proposed to develop Kazakhstan’s he meets musicians and artists from By Aigerim Seisembayeva would also like to see increased po- transport and transit potential jointly different cultures and with different litical, cultural and military-industri- with the Turkish side,” said the Ka- backgrounds, reported Kazakh TV. ASTANA – Turkish President al cooperation. zakh President. Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kazakh The heads of state also discussed Nazarbayev also thanked Turkey Foreign investors are planning to President Nursultan Nazarbayev the Sept. 14-15 sixth round of Asta- for participating in EXPO 2017. implement 32 projects in Kazakh- oversaw the signing Sept. 9 in na Process meetings on Syria in Erdogan thanked Nazarbayev for stan in the next two years valued Astana of protocols to the New Syn- Astana. supporting Turkish businesses in at approximately $8.5 billion, re- ergy Joint Economic Programme for Erdogan thanked Nazarbayev for Kazakhstan and invited Nazarbayev ported the Kazakh Invest press ser- 2017 through 2020, which includes his regional peacekeeping efforts to visit Turkey next year. vice. The company received nearly 26 projects totalling $1 billion. and said he hopes the Astana Pro- “I am convinced that our coopera- 500 applications from the regions Turkish business leaders accom- cess meetings contribute to the up- tion will keep strengthening. I would and selected 130 that might be in- panying Erdogan also signed nine coming Geneva talks. like to once again congratulate Ka- teresting to potential investors. All investment agreements with the Ka- At a press briefing following the zakhstan on the successful organisa- projects will be implemented in the zakh Invest national company total- bilateral meeting, the presidents tion of major international events. most prioritised sectors of the econ- ling $590 million. The agreements noted their countries’ economic and Your country occupies one of the omy. Business people from more involved Turkish companies, such political similarities and cooperation leading positions in the Central than 60 nations can stay in Kazakh- as Calik Holding, Yildirim Holding, stage of completion. Regional issues potential to increase economic co- efforts. Asian region. We are pleased to wit- stan 14-90 days using investors’ Yildizlar SSS Holding and Agrobest rise both in Kazakhstan and in Tur- operation. Nazarbayev noted that more than ness your country’s successes,” said visas and Kazakhstan’s favourable Group. key, and today’s meeting is a good “The trade turnover between Tur- 1,600 enterprises with Turkish capi- Erdogan, adding Turkey will sup- investment conditions have already During the presidents’ meeting, opportunity to discuss them,” said key and Kazakhstan has reached $2 tal operate in Kazakhstan and said port the implementation of the Nurly attracted the world’s leading com- Nazarbayev said work continues on Nazarbayev. The Kazakh President billion, and I think it is not the limit. Kazakhstan plants utilise Turkey’s Zhol (Bright Path) programme. panies. The U.S. firm Grace plans economic agreements signed during added that close Turkish-Kazakh re- According to our agreements, the experience in developing transit. Erdogan also participated in the to launch a joint project with Ka- Erdogan’s previous visit. lations have developed over the last goal is to increase the turnover to $5 “We all know that Turkey is a Sept. 10-11 first Summit of the Or- zakhstan’s United Chemical Com- “Many projects have been im- 25 years. billion. I believe that the two coun- transit state with developed infra- ganisation of Islamic Cooperation pany; Air Liquide from France is plemented, some of them are at the Erdogan said he believes there is tries’ potential will allow them reach structure. Bearing this in mind, we (OIC) on science and technology. constructing a plant to produce technical gases and Germany’s The Linde Group is implementing a similar project worth nearly $140 arbayev, who called for establishing forum similar to the G20, an informal Bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen noted the million. European pharmaceutical a science and technology fund to group to develop science and econo- summit was a “historic event,” as it companies such as Hikma Pharma- foster development of both areas in my in the Islamic world. Fifteen lead- brought representatives of 57 OIC ceuticals and Pfizer intend to open First OIC Summit... the Islamic world that, in the past, ing OIC states can form the OIC-15, member states to discuss the sali- production sites in the country. Continued from Page A1 “First is extremist and terrorist was making tremendous progress because the development of science ent issues pertaining to science and Nazarbayev noted Islam has deep activity. Primarily, citizens of Mus- in surpassing the West. and technology is very important for technology. He thanked Nazarbayev EXPO 2017 boosted cooperation historical roots in the nation’s history. lim [and Muslim majority] coun- Scientists, including five individu- us. In this regard, we should establish for the conference’s excellent coor- between Kazakhstan and Israel, as “Islam came to our land more tries suffer from their subversive als honoured by the special OIC Sci- fruitful cooperation with the Western dination. the country considers Kazakhstan than 1,000 years ago. We served as activities. Second is the problem of ence and Technology Achievement world and this will foster the develop- “Kazakhstan has great respect in its main partner in the Central Asian a link in the friendly dialogue be- the spreading of Islamophobia sen- Award, also agreed that the lack of ment of the Islamic world,” he added. the Islamic world. On behalf of all region. Knesset (Israeli Parliament) tween the Islamic and Western civi- timents. Crimes against Muslims funding explains why the Islamic The President also expressed con- delegations participating in the sum- member Ksenia Svetlova said Ka- lisation,” he said. are on the rise every year in the world is lagging. cern about the recent escalation of mit, I would like to express gratitude zakhstan, with its own dynamically The Kazakh head of state pointed Western countries,” he noted. Nazarbayev also suggested setting the conflict in Myanmar and urged personally to you and all the Kazakh developing market, attracts many out several acute issues that the in- The lack of unity in the 1.5-bil- up the forum by bringing 15 OIC the states to join efforts to settle the people for the warm welcome and business people from the country. ternational community, including lion Islamic world is yet another member states to boost cooperation. issue peacefully through the UN. high level of organisation of the Both sides are interested in the ag- the OIC, needs to address. issue requiring attention, said Naz- “I believe we need to establish the OIC Secretary-General Dr. Yousif event,” he said. ricultural field, and Israel plans to share its advanced technologies and invest in Kazakhstan. Cooperation and humanism, visited the Tole bi gees that is participating as a 65th The President also stressed the between the countries is also ac- Mausoleum and the “Uzbekistan- country,” said Berdymukhamedov. significance of fraternal relations tively developing in education and Kazakhstan: a new stage of cooper- He also congratulated his col- with the neighbouring nation and culture. Nazarbayev’s visits... ation” industrial exhibition, where league on EXPO 2017’s excellent the need to further develop bilat- Continued from Page A1 ter-regional conflicts and awarded they became acquainted with prod- organisation. eral cooperation. Abai’s “Words of Edification” him the El Yurt Hurmaty (Respect ucts from more than 50 Kazakh Nazarbayev noted the importance “A lot has been done since your has been translated into Latvian, of- The President praised the results of the People and the State) Order manufacturers. They also laid flow- of hosting events like AIMAG. visit to Kazakhstan; an interstate fering citizens of the Baltic nation of his visit, noting they would “for the great merits in deepening ers at the monument to former Uz- “I congratulate you on the hold- commission is now functioning. I an opportunity to learn more about serve to further strengthen ties and and expanding traditional relations bek President Islam Karimov. ing of these Asian games. Many think we have good prospects in Kazakh literature and traditions. partnership based on traditional of friendship and strategic partner- The work consists of 45 fragments good-neighbourliness, friendship Nazarbayev’s Sept. 17 visit to sports facilities have been built the economic sphere. I came to – short philosophical stories which and trust. ship between the two states, as well Turkmenistan to open AIMAG here, which in the future will serve you from Uzbekistan, where I was give answers to many questions. “We adopted a joint statement of as strengthening international co- marked a regional event. your people well. Such events on a state visit. We have resolved Abai had a critical approach and the heads of state of Kazakhstan operation in the name of peace and “It is our common holiday – a make it possible for Turkmenistan many issues: cross-border cooper- wrote mainly for the Kazakh people and Uzbekistan. The governments progress.” Nazarbayev thanked holiday of all Central Asian coun- to become more recognisable in ation, excises, taxes and transpor- and the criticism shows his love for signed a number of bilateral docu- Mirziyoyev and all the Uzbek peo- tries. It is an indicator of our soli- the world. This year, Kazakhstan tation tariffs. We have witnessed them and their culture. The book is ments aimed to further develop ple for such a significant award, darity and cohesion. Representa- also held a large-scale sports com- an increase in trade between Ka- a true ethnic heritage for many gen- Kazakh-Uzbek relations and coop- adding it is a great honour for him. tives of 64 countries are taking petition – the 28th World Winter zakhstan and Uzbekistan; this year erations of Kazakhs, offering read- eration,” he said. The two leaders also participated part in the games. At the request Universiade. Holding major inter- it grew 35 percent. I hope for such ers insight into the way the national Mirziyoyev noted Nazarbayev’s in the ceremony to lay flowers to of the United Nations, the games national events in our region is of an extension of relations between mentality was formed. role in resolving interethnic and in- the monument of independence include a team consisting of refu- great importance,” he said. our countries as well,” he said. A4 ECONOMY

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

ECONOMY Kazakhstan to issue Sukuk NEWS IN BRIEF Plans to construct a feedlot for 30,000 sheep in the West Kazakh- stan region were announced dur- ing the interregional cooperation worth $300 million next year forum in Nanning, China, reported Islamic bank Al Hilal was estab- ner in the development of Islamic khabar.kz. According to the agree- Staff Report lished in Kazakhstan. In 2012, financing and banking. Today, 23 ment between the Kazakh enter- the Development Bank of Ka- projects worth $500 million have prise and Chinese company, 1,000 ASTANA – Kazakhstan will is- zakhstan issued Sukuk Islamic been implemented from Kazakh- tonnes of chilled and frozen meat sue Islamic independent bonds, or bonds for the first time; currently stan’s bank loans, and another 12 are expected to be produced next Sukuk, worth $300 million next it has successfully sold bonds in new projects worth $900 million are year, all of which will be exported year, according to the announce- the amount of 240 million Malay- planned to be implemented,” added to China. The cost of the project is ment of Kazakh President Nursul- sian ringgits (US$57 million). In Nazarbayev. “Today’s award cer- $47 million. tan Nazarbayev during the recent 2018, it is planned to issue state emony will identify the leaders of EXPO 2017 affected the growth ceremony of Global Islamic Fi- Islamic independent bonds Sukuk different areas of Islamic finance, of entrepreneurship in Astana, re- nance Awards in Astana. worth up to $300 million,” said which will contribute to the further ported khabar.kz. A noticeable According to the President, a num- Nazarbayev. development of financial services. I revival was observed not only in ber of Islamic financial institutions He also said Kazakhstan cooper- express gratitude to the founder of the tourism industry, which saw operate in Kazakhstan in the sphere ates with the Islamic Development the global award for the decision to a 78-percent increase, but nearly of bank insurance and leasing. Bank. hold a ceremony in our country,” he 1,500 small and medium-sized en- “Upon my initiative, the first “It is our main and strategic part- stated. terprises received 640 billion tenge (US$1.88 billion) in orders for goods and services. “The number of small and medium-sized business entities increased 10 percent. The production volume grew 55.8 per- Energy intensity Energy sector investments to cent and reached 797 billion tenge (US$2.3 billion). Approximately 300,000 people are involved in small and medium-sized business- drops 28 percent total $57 billion in 2017-2025 es. The figure increased 8 percent,” said Astana’s entrepreneurship and incorporating IT technologies in industry department head Rysgul By Assel Satubaldina By Assel Satubaldina uranium mining ventures as well Kaugabayeva. as intensifying the search for re- ASTANA – The energy intensi- ASTANA – Investments in Ka- plenishment of the uranium min- Individual fixed-term and condi- ty of Kazakhstan’s economy has zakhstan’s energy sector will total eral resource base,” added Bo- tional deposits increased 1.9 percent decreased by 28 percent since 19 trillion tenge (US$57 billion) in zumbayev. in July and growth for the year is 2008, Kazakhstan’s First Vice 2017-2025 and 97 percent will be In his remarks, Bozumbayev up 8 percent to 7.19 trillion tenge Minister of Investment and De- private investments, Kazakh Min- noted that 11 non-members of the (US$21.14 billion), reported rank- velopment Alik Aidarbayev said ister of Energy Kanat Bozumbayev Organisation of the Petroleum Ex- ing.kz. The population holds more during a Sept. 5 press conference told the Sept. 7-8 11th Kazenergy porting Countries (OPEC), includ- than half of its savings in foreign Eurasian Forum in Astana. ing Kazakhstan, are fulfilling their currency – 52.8 percent or 4.18 on the nation’s energy saving trillion tenge (US$12.29 billion).

The forum’s theme this year was inform.kz Photo credit: obligations, adding that Kazakh- policies. Last month, the share of deposits in Energy intensity is measured Securing the Future of Energy. Kanat Bozumbayev stan, Russia and Mexico are ac- foreign currency was 58.1 percent, as the quantity of energy per Highlighting the event was the complishing more than 90 percent compared to 71.7 percent in 2016. unit of gross domestic product presentation of the national energy usage of energy sources and ensur- of their obligations envisioned in Deposits in national currency are (GDP); as countries move away report prepared by the KazEnergy ing access to them, climate change their agreements with OPEC. also showing steady growth, in- from economic dependence on primeminister.kz Photo credit: Association together with the Brit- and reducing CO2 emissions, as “The OPEC member states are creasing 1.9 percent in July to 3.01 energy-intensive industries, their Alik Aidarbayev ish analytical firm IHS Markit well as innovative development of doing less than non-members, first trillion tenge (US$8.87 billion). energy intensity drops. that incorporates the general de- uranium and nuclear industries. and foremost Libya and Nigeria. Year to date, tenge deposits have in- In line with Kazakhstan’s plan, said, as the ministry switched to scription of the development of The minister also spoke about We are more keen to live up to our creased 59.4 percent. the Ministry of Investment and an automated system for control- the country’s primary sectors of the current energy projects. obligations,” said Bozumbayev. Development seeks to reduce en- ling energy consumption. economy. “In oil and gas industry, four oil In August, Kazakhstan’s goal Kazakh farmers will soon be able ergy intensity by 25 percent by “Earlier, all this work was done The two-day event brought glob- and gas plants with a total annual was producing 1.68 million bar- to purchase agricultural machinery on favourable terms through credit 2020 and 50 percent by 2050. through paper reports and checks, al energy companies to the Kazakh capacity of 2.3 million tonnes are rels, and it made 1.643 barrels. but we introduced an automated capital city to address issues re- now being constructed. In nu- “Somewhere it is lower and some- partnerships and leasing companies, “Energy intensity of GDP is reported khabar.kz. The preferential down 28 percent [since 2008],” system that allows all companies lated to the efficient management clear industry, we are planning where it is higher, but Kazakhstan in the register to submit reports to launch the construction of the loan interest rate will not exceed Aidarbayev noted in his remarks. of sustainable energy sources, con- will keep fulfilling its obligations,” 5.5 percent, compared to the bank’s plant producing fuel assemblies, “In general, this work is done and update them automatically. trolling production, storage and Bozumbayev said. current rate exceeding 16 percent. consistently. All required laws It became easier for our minis- Under the new loan terms, repay- were adopted and signed. The try and energy audit companies ment terms are also preferential – national energy register was also to monitor [energy consumption] up to 60 months with a deferral of approved, which includes more and address various issues,” he principal debt and interest up to one than 5,000 companies that are explained. year. The corresponding agreement obliged by law to conduct an en- Yet, despite all the government Banking sector revenues was signed at the Ministry of Agri- ergy audit, develop a plan and measures underway, energy in- culture. “This is the cornerstone aid work towards decreasing energy tensity remains high, Aidarbayev for our farmers and our agricultural intensity.” said. He emphasised several fac- machinery manufacturers. More than 10,000 units of machinery in Having studied the experience tors underpinning the current drop 40 percent in 2017 Kazakhstan are produced domesti- situation. percent less than in January-July for almost five times, this year they of Japan in energy saving poli- cally. They are not worse than West- cies, the ministry launched the “First, the economic structure By Zhazira Dyussembekova of 2016, when the number was decreased 40.2 percent. Analysts ex- ern analogues, while it is at times register in 2013. It includes com- and Kazakhstan’s economy de- 29.4 trillion tenge (US$87 billion). plain that such fluctuations in income cheaper. We provide repair and panies and state bodies consum- pends predominantly on com- ASTANA – Total Kazakh banking As a result, as of July 2017, taking and expenses from a sharp increase spare parts on site,” said Kazagro- ing energy equivalent to more modity-based and extractive in- sector revenues decreased almost 40 into account the income tax expens- the previous year to a decrease this mash Association board chairperson than 1,500 tonnes of fuel per dustries. All companies working percent compared to last year, how- es, the loss of the second-tier banks year were entirely caused by the re- Serikbai Chegeyev. year. in these sectors consume huge ever, banks also reduced expenses of Kazakhstan was 203.9 billion valuation of assets and liabilities. Aidarbayev noted that last year, amount of energy. Next are cli- and increased revenues from core tenge (US$603.7 million), while in Revenue from revaluation is According to ranking.kz, the loan those companies consumed 49 mate conditions in Kazakhstan: activities, according to ranking.kz. July 2016 the banks showed a profit 81.9 percent of total revenue, or portfolio for housing purchases in- million tonnes of fuel account- compared to other countries, we In January to July, the revenues of 243.8 billion (US$721.8 mil- 14.6 trillion tenge (US$43.2 bil- creased 24 billion tenge (US$71 ing for 38 percent of the nation’s are located in a zone where there of the country’s banking sector lion), says the source. lion), a year earlier it was 86.5 million) to more than 1 trillion total energy consumption. At the is a greater heating load,” noted decreased to 17.8 trillion tenge Non-remunerated incomes ac- percent, or 25.6 trillion tenge tenge (US$2.96 billion) during the first two months of the summer. Aidarbayev. (US$52.7 billion) compared to the counted for 91.7 percent of the (US$75.8 billion). Revenues from same time, they invested more The market reacted to a new in- than 178 billion tenge (US$522 Kazakhstan is undergoing a same period of last year, when the gross income of the second-tier the recovery of reserves are 576.9 strument – subsidising commercial million) in energy saving meas- process of modernisation, he revenues of banks increased al- banks, which is 42.6 percent less billion tenge (US$1.7 billion) for banks’ mortgage loans under the ures. said, which means many compa- most fivefold, amounting to 29.6 than in January-July 2016. Non- January-July of this year, which is Nurly Zher programme. The final The government has also em- nies still use outdated equipment trillion tenge (US$87.6 billion). remunerated expenses are 95.5 27.1 percent less than in the previ- rate for the borrower is 10 percent; barked on cutting bureaucracy and technologies. The measures Expenses for the first six months percent of total expenses. ous year. Thus, the share of total the balance is paid by the mortgage and improving the efficiency of undertaken by the ministry are of this year were 17.9 trillion tenge After the increase in expenses in revenues increased from 2.8 per- company. Up to 10 billion tenge the register system, the official also meant to address this issue. (US$52.9 billion), which is 38.9 the first six months of 2015-2016 cent to 3.5 percent for the year. (US$29.61 million) will be allo- cated annually for these purposes. Since the beginning of summer, 283 loan applications worth 3 billion tenge (US$8.88 million) have been received under the programme, 247 S&P upgrades Kazakhstan’s outlook to stable of which have been approved. Continued from Page A1 previous 2.5 percent. The agency in recent years that we believe fall stan’s peers,” it said. According inward FDI of a debt-like nature Kazakhstan and Russia should says the growth will be supported outside the usual remit of a central to analysts, the tax code update was about $91 billion at year-end strengthen joint work in digitalisa- S&P has assigned a stable out- by government investment spend- bank. These have included be- presents an opportunity to reduce 2016 (63 percent of the total stock tion, namely, research and devel- look to reflect the agency’s assess- ing and stronger exports as “the coming a shareholder of KazMu- distortions and raise revenues by of inbound FDI), which is close to opment, said Russian Minister of ment that Kazakhstan’s monetary oil price outlook marginally im- nayGas, the state-owned oil and rationalising exemptions and pref- 60 percent of GDP or 191 percent Communications and Mass Media policy flexibility has become less erential treatments, thus broaden- of current account receipts. They Nikolai Nikiforov, reported 24.kz. He noted there is a need to develop constrained due to the sharp de- S&P expects a new tax code, which is currently ing tax bases and supporting fiscal constitute a foreign liability of the key technologies, particularly those cline in resident deposit. The share under development, to increase revenues consolidation. Changes include in- economy and could exert balance working with large data, artificial in- of foreign currency deposits to creases in excise taxes, expansion of payments pressures in case of telligence, augmented reality, robot- total deposits was 48.7 percent as by about 3 percent of GDP, “indicative of a of the value-added tax system and accelerated repatriation of profits ics and sensors. Kazakh Minister of of Aug. 1, 2017, having peaked at amendments to natural resource and equity. However, we do not Information and Communications almost 70 percent in January 2016. greater level of fiscal flexibility than many of taxation. expect such an event to take place Dauren Abayev agreed with his S&P views balance-of-payments S&P expects Kazakhstan’s ex- over the forecast horizon. This is counterpart, as the nation is on the pressures as contained. Kazakhstan’s peers,” it said. ternal position to improve gradual- supported by our observations that verge of significant changes. “To- “Given the steady inflow of -for ly, partly due to the lagged effects FDI tends to be much stickier than day, there was a preliminary presen- eign direct investment (FDI) into proves and oil production from gas company, and compensating of the sharp tenge depreciation in portfolio flows; this debt-type FDI tation of the Digital Kazakhstan pro- the economy, largely into the oil and the Kashagan field accelerates,” it tenge-denominated depositors af- 2015. is principally concentrated in the gramme. It has not yet been adopted. gas sector punctuated by a surge in notes. ter the 2015 currency deprecia- “We expect the current account strategic oil and mining sectors of The head of state gave instructions to improve it, taking into account 2016, we no longer view this sizable Inflation has fallen to 6-8- per tion,” said the outlook. to strengthen, mostly supported by Kazakhstan. A large share of the cent, which was the National S&P expects a new tax code, all the comments he made and the external liability as a potential capi- rising oil production. In our view, income from the stock of FDI in opinions of experts. This will help which is currently under devel- tal flight risk,” reads the report. Bank’s target band, noted experts. Kazakhstan’s strong narrow net Kazakhstan is re-invested in the the state to concentrate, help private The economic growth forecasts “In our view, the National Bank opment, to increase revenues by external debt position and mod- sector, providing further evidence business and strengthen the digitali- were also improved to show an ex- could be subject to political influ- about 3 percent of GDP, “indica- est gross external financing needs of the long-term commitment of sation that will bring transparency, pansion averaging 3 percent over ence, as exemplified by some ac- tive of a greater level of fiscal to support the ratings. We note investors to their projects,” reads optimisation of all costs, accelera- 2017-2020, compared with the tivities in which it has participated flexibility than many of Kazakh- that the outstanding amount of the statement. tion and security,” he said. A5 BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF KAZENERGY holds 11th Eurasian Forum Turkish investors will implement two projects in the South Kazakh- Housing, Energy and the Environ- stan region, according to the agree- ment Kimmo Tiilikainen, Georgian ment reached during the visit of Minister of Energy Ilia Eloshvili, the Turkish delegation to Astana, Czech Republic Deputy Minister of according to the press service of Industry and Trade Jiri Koliba, Pol- the region’s akimat. During the ish Secretary of State, Ministry of meeting, the managing company Energy Gregory Tobiszowski and of the industrial zone Ontustik and CEOs and top managers of interna- Turkish business people signed two investment documents worth tional and Kazakh energy compa- $12 million. This year Merkez Asia nies, leading experts and the media. Madencilik plans to begin construc- The forum comprised plenary tion of a plant for the production and individual programme ses- of lead concentrate worth $2 mil- sions, research and practical lion on the territory of the Kazakh- conferences, roundtable discus- Turkish industrial zone. At the same sions and women and youth en- time, Petronet Otomosyon will be- ergy meetings. One of the more gin construction of a $10 million By Zhandos Beisenov known speakers who presented significant events was the press which links with the Kazakhstani oil and gas sphere. On this occa- fuel dispenser factory. To date, eight conference highlighting the main projects are being implemented on addresses and reports for forum Nurly Zhol economic develop- sion PetroKazakhstan President the territory of the industrial zone ASTANA – KAZENERGY’s audiences included Prime Min- achievements of China National ment programme. It creates a big- Fang Jiazhong received a letter with the total value $37.5 million. 11th Eurasian Forum, considered ister of Kazakhstan Bakhytzhan Petroleum Corporation’s (CNPC) ger impulse to the development of gratitude from KazMunayGas About 900 jobs will be created, the to be one of the key events of Sagintayev, Minister of Energy of 20th anniversary in Kazakhstan. of business relations and mutual Exploration & Production General akimat said in the statement. EXPO 2017 and its theme “Future Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev, “Over the past 20 years, the lead- understanding between China and Director Kurmangazy Iskaziyev Energy,” was held Sept. 7-8 at the Arctic Circle Chairperson and ers of the states have paid special Kazakhstan,” said CNPC First for the joint achievements between The volume of cargo transporta- capital’s Palace of Peace and Rec- former Iceland President (1996- understanding to the oil and gas in- Vice President Wang Dongjin. the companies. Kashagan, another tion of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy onciliation. For more than a dec- 2016) Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, dustry relationship between China PetroKazakhstan and its joint long-anticipated project, was also (KTZ), nation’s state-owned rail- ade, the association has played an United Arab Emirates Minister and Kazakhstan. At present, the venture Kazgermunai were named of mutual interest. CNPC Kazakh- way and logistics operator, in- important role in industrial devel- of Energy Suhail Mohamed Faraj concept of the Silk Road Econom- among the most successful projects stan B.V. General Manager Wei creased by 12 percent over the opment, building a better business Al Mazrouei, Finnish Minister for ic Belt is being realised in China, through years of cooperation in the Yuxiang, who is in charge of the eight months of the current year in comparison with the same period in climate and generating construc- project, presented a report at the 2016, according to the press service tive dialogue among governments plenary session on the opportuni- of the company. Since the beginning and energy companies. ties and challenges of the fossil en- of the year, the growth of loading of The forum followed the dialogue ergy system transition. all the main nomenclature cargoes regarding ensuring energy sustain- The list of high-level guests rep- amounted to 14.4 percent, including able development initiated during resenting government and energy grain and flour – 17 percent. Grain the G20 energy ministers meeting. business, including KAZENERGY and flour are sent mainly to the This year’s programme included Chairperson Timur Kulibayev, Vice countries of Central Asia, Afghani- a discussion of the issues related to Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan stan, Russia and Iran. In general, ex- the efficient management of sus- Makhambet Dosmukhambetov, port shipments increased 14 percent tainable energy sources; control China’s chargé d’affaires a.i. in compared to last year. In particular, over sustainable energy resources Kazakhstan Lyu Jianpi and Ka- cargo shipments increased to Kyr- production, storage and exploita- zMunayGas Chairperson of the gyzstan (29 percent), China (24 per- tion; providing access to energy Board Sauat Mynbayev, expressed cent) and Russia (15 percent). The resources; climate change and car- appreciation to the Chinese gov- transportation of goods in contain- bon dioxide emission abatement; ernment and CNPC for its con- ers through Kazakhstan in the di- rection of China-Europe increased fostering alternative energy sourc- tributions and expressed belief in more than 1.5 times, while in the es exploitation and implementing the future towards strengthening opposite direction it grew more than energy performance programmes. business relationships between the two times. Nationally and internationally- countries’ energy sectors.

Entrepreneur from Kostanai Kanat Aubakirov intends to breed Dorper sheep, according to the press service of the regional chamber of entrepreneurs. The business project Samruk Kazyna hosts int’l forum of sovereign wealth funds is considered by the regional com- By Dmitry Lee As a result, the nation’s fund con- and sovereign wealth funds from multilateral development and finan- the international investment com- mission. He plans to breed giant cluded agreements with CDP Equi- more than 30 countries, including cial institutions and delegates from munity. sheep in the Auliekol district and expects to receive a loan from the ASTANA – Multiple agreements ty, Italy’s sovereign wealth fund, GE microfinance organisation. Aubaki- were signed during the ninth Inter- Digital and the World Bank. rov is a participant of Bastau busi- national Forum of Sovereign Wealth “CDP Equity, a holding company ness programme and has already Funds (IFSWF). The event, with with a share capital of $3.5 billion, is found grazing land, where he plans the theme Exploring New Frontiers, aiming to boost the Italian economy to personally breed the domestic an- was hosted by the Samruk Kazyna by investing equity capital in com- imals and agreed with suppliers on Sovereign Wealth Fund Sept. 5-7 in panies of major national interest. purchasing a livestock for breeding. the capital’s new St. Regis Hotel. CDP Equity’s majority shareholder “This breed is good because it gives Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan is Cassa depositi e prestiti S.p.A. a lot of offspring. It is highly val- Sagintayev, who spoke during the (CDP Group), which is controlled ued as a meat product. The largest introduction, noted the country’s by the Italian Ministry of Economy pedigree individuals reach a weight openness towards foreign invest- and Finance,” noted the press re- of about 140 kilogrammes. Dorpers ments. lease. are considered the most unpreten- “The agreement establishes co- tious breed, able to endure equally “Our policy was highly appreciat- hot sultry summer weather, and ed by the international community,” operation between the fund’s and thirty-degree frost,” said Aubakirov. he said. “In the World Bank rating the holding’s portfolio companies of favourable conditions for doing and leading Italian companies for Italian company Eni intends to business, Kazakhstan took first place creating new production facilities build a windmill park with a capaci- in the region and 35th in the world. in manufacturing and agricultural ty of 100 megawatts in Kazakhstan, We welcome investors and strategic industries in Kazakhstan. CDP according to Khabar TV channel. partners and invite them to further Group owns shares of large Italian The total volume of Italian invest- exchange experience and mutually- companies across various industries, ments in Kazakhstan has exceeded beneficial cooperation. I hope that including the manufacturing and ag- $6 billion. “The state is launching we all will have fruitful work on the ricultural fields. Under the first stage large-scale projects with the support way to defining new markets and of the agreement, the Italian and of international financial institu- horizons,” he said. Kazakh companies will look at the tions, but we need to create condi- IFSWF, a voluntary organisation possibility of localising new produc- tions for small private investors. So, established in 2009, brings together tions using Italian technologies,” the it should be not giant projects, but small solar stations or hybrid ones 32 sovereign wealth funds from 31 statement added. for remote villages in Kazakhstan,” countries with total assets of ap- The agreement between Samruk said General Director of Kazakh proximately $3.5 trillion. Samruk Kazyna and GE Digital will jointly Association of Renewable Energy Kazyna has been an official member develop a road map “to execute a Arman Kashkinbekov. since 2014. digitalisation strategy for Samruk In an interview with The Astana Kazyna’s subsidiaries.” The British company Jaguar Times, Samruk-Kazyna Public Re- “Deploying GE digital technolo- Land Rover plans to increase its lations Director Aidar Makhmetov gies would enable Samruk Kazyna’s presence in the Kazakh automobile noted the significance of the meeting businesses to forecast equipment market from the current 6 percent by emphasising the key international health, minimising the risk of un- to 16 percent, said General Direc- guests and media in attendance. planned downtime by predicting and tor of Jaguar Land Rover Russia, “I would like to highlight – among addressing potential issues in ad- Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan our international information part- vance. The companies also agreed to Vyacheslav Kuzyakov at a press ners are CNN and Euronews and evaluate possible localisation of Pre- conference in Almaty, according to Kapital.kz. “Speaking about Ka- editor and host of Emerging Mar- dix-based digital solutions – from zakhstan, our main task for today kets John Defterios is the moderator edge to cloud – which would help is to regain market share. As you of the forum, who has especially ar- nurture the developer community in know, a few years ago the share rived to interview representatives of Kazakhstan in partnership with the of Land Rover in Kazakh market Samruk Kazyna and other guests of region’s leading universities,” said was about 16 percent. Due to some the forum. All these interviews will the press release. events, it fell to 6 percent at the mo- be broadcast by the media; we didn’t The World Bank and Samruk ment. A lot of work is ahead,” he pay a penny for this. It means that Kazyna intend to collaborate by said. Earlier this year, Jaguar Land these processes under the manage- researching “key green projects in Rover and Astana Motors signed a ment of our fund are interesting to Kazakhstan and the Central Asia dealership agreement. They agreed foreign investors and this is a good region. In addition, the sides plan to that in the shortest time, Astana factor for us, as this is a view from jointly engage in research work on Motors will open a temporary abroad,” he said. Islamic finance to explore opportu- dealer centre in Almaty, but by the International experts noted the nities and challenges of this niche end of next year will build a new dealer centre by all Jaguar Land importance of the forum prior to its market segment in Kazakhstan and Rover standards. Executive direc- start and Kazakhstan’s role as host, CIS (Commonwealth of Independ- tor of Astana Motors Anton Afonin he added. ent States) region,” read the state- said that the company’s global goal “We should be proud of this oppor- ment. is to bring sales of Land Rover and tunity that has been entrusted to our Event organisers noted this year’s Jaguar cars to a level of 30 cars per country. This means our fund is mov- IFSWF annual meeting brought to- month within a year. ing in the right direction,” he said. gether more than 200 participants A6 EDITORIAL&OPINION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 Kazakhstan’s experience Enhanced Kazakh-Uzbek shapes its actions on UNSC relations offer opportunity for s world leaders and foreign ministers prepare Kazakhstan promised would be a focus for its time on to fly to New York for United Nations Gen- the Security Council. The future of Afghanistan was eral Assembly next week at a time of real singled out as a major priority – a recognition of the challenge for the global community, we must importance of Afghanistan’s stability for the region Central Asian regional cooperation hopeA the chance for formal and informal discussions and the need to support its long-term economic and ing of the Shanghai Cooperation can play its part in reducing tensions and divisions. social development in the battle against extremism. By Yerlan Karin Organisation summit. He came There is no shortage of issues to discuss. North Within the UN, Kazakhstan has been working hard back to Astana in early September Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile tests have sent to step up international efforts to help Afghanistan’s Against the backdrop of Kazakh to lead the Uzbek delegation to shockwaves around the world. They are a severe test to elected government combat extremism and spread boxer Gennady Golovkin’s fight the first ever Organisation of Is- global non-proliferation and the crisis they have sparked prosperity and opportunity to its long-suffering and just because it happened over lamic Cooperation Summit on Sci- has again raised fears of how misjudgements or misun- citizens. The arguments being made are all the more the weekend, President Nursultan ence and Technology. Apart from derstandings could spark nuclear catastrophe. persuasive coming from a country within the region Nazarbayev’s visit to Tashkent and that, Nazarbayev and Mirziyoyev Conflicts in the Middle East and the threat from and show the importance of Central Asia having a its outcomes did not, perhaps, re- held bilateral talks in May on the violent extremism continue to destabilise not only the voice at the global table. ceive sufficient coverage. Of no fringes of other multilateral fora, region but the wider world. Out of the headlines, fight- It is also a voice which carries more weight because small importance is the fact that including the Arab-Islamic-Amer- ing in Africa – both within countries and across borders of the active role Kazakhstan continues to take, wher- the visit had the status of an offi- ican Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Ara- – brings misery to millions and remains a major chal- ever it can, to promote dialogue and end conflict. The cial state visit. bia and the Belt and Road Initia- lenge to development. Almost two-thirds of the agenda Astana Process, for example, still holds out hope of Both sides called the meeting tive Forum in Beijing, China. of the UN’s Security Council is devoted to trying to progress towards ending the tragedy in Syria despite ground-breaking and historic. And It is worth reminding that the In Tashkent, both Presidents bring peace to areas of that continent. many obstacles. At a practical level, too, Kazakh such a characterisation is not a cli- Kazakh President’s working visit emphasised in their remarks that It would be hard enough to find solutions to these and military observers have joined the international peace- ché politesse but a reflection of the to Uzbekistan last September ush- this was their sixth meeting over a many other challenges if there was agreement on the keeping operation in Western Sahara with plans to actual situation. The two countries ered in a new stage of expectations short period of time. way forward. But too often there are acute differences help support a second UN mission next year. have signed a large package of and set the trend for the future Ka- The leaders of Kazakhstan and of opinion along with suspicions of motives. It is in January 2018, too, that Kazakhstan will take documents, expanded cooperation zakh-Uzbek relations. Back then, Uzbekistan have given an impetus This is the worrying global background, which on the task of presiding over the Security Council. It horizons and indicators, and laid forecasts about the prospects for to economic cooperation, which has faced Kazakhstan in its first several months as a is a role which will further enhance the country’s stat- new traditions of bilateral visits at cooperation were cautious. There reflected in concrete indicators. member of the Security Council. But it is also a time ure and influence within the international community the highest level. were also fears that expectations Since the beginning of the year, bi- when the country’s commitment to promoting coop- which will have an impact beyond the next two years. The Uzbek side was scrupulous were just illusions. However, the lateral trade has grown 35 percent, eration, dialogue, the rule of international law and Among plans being considered for its presidency about Nazarbayev’s visit, which leaders of the two states were able communication between the two disarmament have never been more important. are, Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said last included, for instance, a visit to bring bilateral relations to a new countries has intensified, and bor- It is a responsibility which the record shows Kazakh- week, a debate at the highest level on how to improve to the Tole bi mausoleum and a dynamic within a span of just one der collaboration issues are being stan has taken with the utmost seriousness. In the first international peace and security as well as ministerial launch of an Uzbek translation of year. solved on a systematic basis. six months of the year, Kazakhstan participated in more level discussions on Central Asia and Afghanistan Nazarbayev’s book. These would Since September 2016, Naz- The most important is that both than 120 formal Security Council meetings and made and regular formal discussions on the Middle East – seem simply subtle details, but arbayev and Uzbek President leaders are trying to give a boost to meaningful contributions to more than 20 resolutions. both among the priorities for action Kazakhstan set in Central Asia they are very sig- Shavkat Mirziyoyev have had the overall process of regional co- The country has been entrusted with chairing com- out when it took its seat on the UNSC. nificant. They confirm the exist- seven telephone conversations. In operation. With the strengthening mittees on Afghanistan, enforcing sanctions against But it is the priority Kazakhstan gave to nuclear disar- ing warm relationship between the March, the Uzbek President paid of the Kazakh-Uzbek ties, there is ISIL and Al-Qaida and on the Horn of Africa. As is al- mament – which President Nazarbayev called the cause two presidents and, in particular, a state visit to Kazakhstan, which indeed a chance to restart regional ways the case when member states take on such added of our time – which strikes the loudest chord at this dif- the Uzbek leader’s special respect was followed by another working cooperation in Central Asia. responsibilities, there have been increased pressures ficult time. Kazakhstan’s experience and commitment to for the President of Kazakhstan. meeting in Saryagash in South on the nation’s diplomats. But the experience will a world without nuclear weapons has never been more Therefore, this visit has definitive- Kazakhstan a few weeks later. The author is a political ana- serve them and Kazakhstan well in the years ahead. relevant nor more important and it is important its mes- ly taken this bilateral relationship In June, the Uzbek leader visited lyst and the head of the Kazakh- There has been progress, too, on areas which sage is heard loud and clear on the Security Council. to a qualitatively new level. Astana to take part in the meet- stan Council on Foreign Affairs.

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 Decisive step towards modernisation of Kazakhstan’s identity Switching to the Latin-based sible to standardise spelling lic conscience and promote na- through the Egemen Kazakhstan By Dr. Darkhan Kydyrali Kazakh alphabet, we will solve of foreign words comprising tional cohesion. stories. some issues in spelling the Ka- the Kazakh vocabulary. Integ- The Latin script has been widely Most of us are well aware of The International Turkic Acad- zakh words in Latin. Our nation’s rity in Kazakh orthography and used in many online media outlets the fact that from 1929 to 1940 emy team has conducted compre- name, for example, is written in orthoepy leads to integrity in so far. There is a large number of the Egemen Kazakhstan newspa- hensive research on adopting a three different ways. Through the a language. Thus, many non- people on Internet and social me- per, then named as “The Enbek- Latin script, studied what it took Latin-based Kazakh alphabet, we Kazakh ethnic groups will have dia, who use the Latin script to shi Kazakh” and “The Socialist for several Turkic speaking na- would be spelling Kazakhstan as a unique opportunity to master express their views in Kazakh. But Kazakhstan newspaper”, used tions to switch their alphabets to Qazaqstan since the latter meets their knowledge of Kazakh and there is no standardised version of the Latin-based Kazakh alpha- Latin-based ones, and published a the Latin-based Kazakh alphabet. bet. Therefore, switching to the monograph on the issue. Therefore, the adoption of the new new alphabet would be a natural Our studies showed that a Latin- in-based alphabet is the most The new alphabet would allow us to adapt common alphabet facilitates re- transition for the leading Kazakh based alphabet is the common al- appropriate alphabet taking into solving this issue. newspaper. phabet of turkology. For instance, account our phonetics. A Latin- foreign words in accordance with the Kazakh In the age of globalisation, Undoubtedly, changing an al- turkologists rely on the Latin tran- based alphabet not only serves as language rules. The Latin-based Kazakh English skills and the Latin al- phabet script cannot be done over- scription while studying ancient the symbol of the Kazakh state- phabet give journalists an op- night or even in a year. As the Turkic writings. So did “The So- hood revival, but it revives the alphabet would make it possible to standardise portunity to effectively navigate recommended Latin script will viet Turkology” led by Baskakov. public memory and conscience. in the global information space. be used/implemented as a pilot Turkologists in today’s Russia are The alphabet boosts the usage of spelling of foreign words comprising the Since beginning of this year the project, the public will eventually still using this method. As New the Kazakh language, promotes Kazakh vocabulary. Integrity in Kazakh updated Egemen Kazakhstan become comfortable writing on York University Professor Larissa cultural unity in the Kazakh newspaper website has been tell- it. Most importantly, through hav- Bonfante writes, the Latin alpha- community, and liberates the orthography and orthoepy leads to integrity in ing stories in Russian. In the past, ing a hearing on the Latin script in bet derives from ancient Etruscan. Kazakh information space. An the Latin-based version of the site the Kazakh Parliament the gov- “Codex Cumanicus”, which is alphabet symbolizes culture, na- a language. has been disseminating informa- ernment took the decisive step considered as an encyclopedia on tionality, statehood, sovereignty tion for Kazakhs overseas. The towards modernisation of public the Middle Age Turkic people, is and unity. site materials are automatically conscience. May this step herald also written using the Latin alpha- Thus, choosing an alphabet uniqueness of the Kazakh lan- our people will be united, not converted into the Latin-based further steps towards modernisa- bet. In the 1926 Baku Assembly, means choosing a way towards guage. divided, by the state language. alphabet. From September 2017, tion of public conscience. our intellectuals chose the Latin prosperity. We believe that by Furthermore, the new alpha- As President Nazarbayev notes we started telling stories of the script. choosing the Latin-based Kazakh bet would allow us to adapt in his article titled “Course to- Kazakh people to the world in The author is President of the In the 1990s, intellectual com- alphabet we have decided to move foreign words in accordance wards the Future: Modernisa- English. Foreign citizens and International Turkic Academy. munities of the Turkic nations towards realisation of the aspira- with the Kazakh language tion of Kazakhstan’s identity”, embassies representing foreign The article was originally pub- made to the same decision. tions of Mangilik El (Eternal Na- rules. The Latin-based Kazakh the Latin-based Kazakh alpha- governments in Kazakhstan will lished by the Egemen Kazakh- These facts show that the Lat- tion). alphabet would make it pos- bet will revive the Kazakh pub- be kept posted on Kazakhstan stan newspaper. TCO partnership key to Tengiz reaching 3 bln barrels milestone credible three billion barrels Chevron (50 percent interest) ly output alone right now could local skills. Extending the life of committed to partner with the By Ted Etchison achievement. Together, this who leads the partnership, in- satisfy the annual oil demand of TCO’s assets will rely on new European Bank for Reconstruc- partnership has unlocked one clude ExxonMobil (25 percent), entire nations both within neigh- cutting edge technology too. And tion and Development (EBRD) Significant and often untapped of the world’s richest resources KazMunayGas (20 percent) and bouring central Asia and further around 20,000 jobs will be cre- to strengthen small and medium oil and gas reserves can still be and also empowered thousands LukArco (5 percent). afield. ated at peak construction. sized business in Kazakhstan and found in abundance and in places of people in Kazakhstan in the Beneath the country’s western So what’s next for this super gi- One constant over the years has enable them to grow into more where the business climate is con- process. steppe and energy low lands, ant? Well, the next stage of expan- been our commitment to investing successful businesses. TCO also ducive and attractive to energy Much of the success in ena- lies the joint venture’s largest sion, the Future Growth Project- in the social infrastructure, capac- provided co-financing to sup- investors. bling this world-class asset to asset, Tengiz. Discovered in Wellhead Pressure Management ity and capability of both local port the EBRD’s on-going Ka- Kazakhstan is such a place. achieve this massive record is 1979, the oil column of the res- Project (FGP-WPMP), is de- business and our local workforce zakhstan Small Business Support Its growing importance as a key simply down to the commitment ervoir measures an incredible 1 signed to further increase TCO’s – whose hard work and creativity Programme over an initial period energy supplier is impressive. of our workforce – past and pre- mile (1.6 km). The reservoir area production (by approximately are the foundation of our success. of two years (2015-2017). On According to a recent Fore- sent – many of which are local is so large that one would have 260,000 barrels per day) and max- TCO has been consistently in- May 2017, this programme won sight-2050 report, oil production to run nearly two marathons to the European Business Associa- from Kazakhstan in the 2030s cover the entire distance around tion of Kazakhstan (EUROBAK) will increase by up to 102 million it. All of this means Tengiz ranks So what’s next for this super giant? Well, the Corporate Social Responsibility tonnes (http://wsec.kz/wp-con- as the world’s deepest producing next stage of expansion, the Future Growth Award for best programme in the tent/uploads/file/19/Kanat%20 supergiant oil field. The nearby “Entrepreneurship Development” Bozumbayev.pdf). Korolev field is another giant Project-Wellhead Pressure Management category. Tengizchevroil has worked in reservoir, also under TCO’s de- Today, 84 percent of TCO jobs this vast and dynamic nation for velopment arm. Project (FGP-WPMP), is designed to further are held by Kazakhstan citizens. over two decades, in an exception- Covering an area of more than increase TCO’s production (by approximately As I mentioned, the TCO part- al relationship with the govern- 594 square miles (1,538 sq km), nership was fundamental in ment of Kazakhstan, to develop TCO requires facilities of an 260,000 barrels per day) and maximize the reaching three billion barrels. To the country’s vast energy poten- equally impressive scale to oper- bring on board our next phase of tial and advance its economy. ate the fields. Yet, when the res- ultimate recovery of its resources. production, this relationship will June 9, 2017, was a major ervoir was first discovered there be even more crucial. milestone in the history of Ten- was little in the way of logistics or To date, TCO has contributed gizchevroil (TCO), the Chevron- even roads to support what today imize the ultimate recovery of its creasing Kazakh content in goods over $121 billion to the local Ka- led joint venture that operates people. And, of course, the trust has been ranked as possibly the resources. The final investment and services year-by-year. In zakh economy and people. This two world-class oil fields deep and support from the Republic of world’s largest oil field, outside decision was given for this ex- 2002, the enterprise purchased asset continues to be of vital im- beneath the western Kazakhstan Kazakhstan. of the Middle East. pansion in July 2016. In parallel, goods and services from domestic portance to the people of Kazakh- steppe along the northeast shores It all started in April 1993 Three billion barrels of crude work is underway to help extend producers for $415 million, and in stan and we are excited and also of the Caspian Sea. It was on this when TCO was formed between is enough to meet the petroleum the field’s production plateau and the first 6 months of 2017, these confident that we will safely and day that TCO produced its three the Republic of Kazakhstan and consumption needs of Kazakhstan keep the existing plants producing expenses reached over $1 billion. successfully celebrate the next billionth barrel of crude oil since Chevron Corporation to explore, for more than 30 years. A remark- at full capacity. Since 1993, TCO has spent over three billion barrels. its creation in 1993. produce and market crude oil, able achievement, but the exciting Expansion isn’t only about $22.9 billion on Kazakh goods The unique TCO partnership gas and sulphur. The joint ven- part is that there are many more boosting production; it will also and services. The author is General Direc- was vital to getting to this in- ture participants, today, alongside barrels to come. The field’s year- help drive the development of Nearly two years ago, TCO tor of Tengizchevroil LLP. Implementing public strategies in Kazakhstan which operate in sectors where Third, because of this issue of gic changes which are successful We cannot assume that good By Colin Knox the direct provision of a public reform overload, officials can lack or failing. strategic plans will be faithfully service is deemed necessary; 679 accountability to deliver, some- The end result is that even implemented, not through negli- The President of the Republic joint stock companies and lim- times described as circumstances though there is a clear route map gence, but rather the bureaucratic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Naz- ited liability partnerships estab- ‘where everything is important of the strategic direction for Ka- mosaic through which they pass arbayev, has devised at least three lished by the government and the and nothing is important’. Lack of zakhstan until 2050, the imple- and lack of attention to the suc- important strategic documents, National Bank to both engage in accountability can also encourage the purpose of which is to build the production of market goods inaccurate monitoring and report- Kazakhstan has a very complex system on the country’s existing success and services in a competitive ing of changes intended to happen and ensure Kazakhstan is among environment; and 18,902 state through the three strategies, a kind of governance. There are 15 government the top 30 developed nations by institutions which are non-com- of ‘tick-box’ exercise where tasks 2050. mercial entities created by the are fulfilled in a perfunctory way ministries and one central executive body (i.e. The three documents – Kazakh- with inadequate focus on policy President, the government or lo- to meet the demands of process the Agency for Civil Service Affairs and Anti- stan 2050, Plan of the Nation (100 implementation, in particular in cal executive bodies for carrying rather than produce good policy Concrete Steps), and the Third terms of evaluation of policy ef- out socio-cultural or administra- outcomes. Lack of accountabil- Corruption); 6,269 state enterprises which Modernisation of Kazakhstan – fectiveness and accountability… tive functions. ity also risks the potential of cor- operate in sectors where the direct provision propose a route map for the future Insufficient focus on implementa- With such a complex system of ruption and civil servants putting in a turbulent and uncertain global tion also hinders understanding of governance comes the likelihood their own self-interests in front of of a public service is deemed necessary; 679 environment. the actual outcomes of policy.” of poor horizontal and vertical co- the country’s needs. These documents offer fore- There is, however, a body of ordination and duplication across Finally, high staff turnover can joint stock companies and limited liability sight and leadership consistent international research that might executive bodies. result in a lack of consistency in partnerships established by the government with a strong President who has a offer some insights into why pub- Second, there can be a problem policy implementation. Officials clear vision for where he wants to lic policies within Kazakhstan’s of reform overload where civil and politicians do not remain in and the National Bank to both engage in the take Kazakhstan. strategy documents fail to get servants are unable to absorb the their positions long enough to see production of market goods and services in a Despite the pledges in these fully implemented as intended. volume of changes coming from through the full impact of policy strategic documents, the recent These are discussed in no order of the top-down without a sense of change. competitive environment. review by the OECD of govern- importance. prioritisation. This can lead to of- This, combined with a hugely ance in Kazakhstan found key First, Kazakhstan has a very ficials using their own discretion complex governance structure, deficiencies in terms of the im- complex system of governance. to make sense of the roll-out of means that leadership of the re- mentation of the operational plans cessful achievement of policy plementation process: “The coun- There are 15 government min- reforms in ways which were not forms becomes diffuse, owner- can prove difficult to deliver in outcomes and their evaluation. try’s governance model suffers istries and one central executive intended at the stage of policy for- ship amongst officials and politi- practice. International research from excessively hierarchical body (i.e. the Agency for Civil mulation (public policy research cians is shifting, and there is no tells us that the ‘implementation The author is a professor at structures in its strategic orienta- Service Affairs and Anti-Cor- refers to this as ‘street level bu- time/space to undertake proper deficit’ is a neglected issue in pub- Nazarbayev University’s Grad- tions and policy design, together ruption); 6,269 state enterprises reaucracy’). policy evaluation of those strate- lic policy. uate School of Public Policy. A8 EURASIA&WORLD

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 Conference considers updating 10-year-old Citi expert talks OBOR, European Union Central Asia strategy Kazakhstan’s old EU-Central Asia strategy to By Almasbek Zhumadilov current conditions resulting from and Asset Burnashev improved relations between the opportunities for growth countries’ governments and busi- BRUSSELS – The Estonian nesses over the last year. Presidency of the Council of the Another impetus for a new strat- By Zhazira Dyussembekova European Union and the German egy is an elevated status since ASTANA – The One Belt, One Federal Ministry of Foreign Af- 2015 of Brussels’ relations with Road (OBOR) initiative will im- Astana that came with the signing fairs hosted Sept. 12 in Brussels an prove not only economic integration, international conference “10 years of an enhanced partnership and co- but cultural and religious under- of the EU Strategy for Central operation agreement. The accord standing, said Citi Research’s Chief Asia: way forward.” is enforced provisionally and must Economist and Managing Director EU officials who spoke at the be ratified by all 28 EU member for China Li-Gang Liu in a Sept. 6 conference said cooperation with states and by the European Par- interview for this story. Kazakhstan the region is important for the liament before coming into force. plays an important role in the project Li-Gang Liu Global Strategy of the European Sixteen states have so far ratified and will benefit from China’s further Union’s foreign and security policy the agreement which is imple- growth. and that the EU strategy for a long- L-R: Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko, EU Special mented partially now. Representative for Central Asia Peter Burian and Kazakh “Obviously from the geographic He thinks Kazakhstan has utilised term partnership has strengthened Ambassador to Belgium Almaz Khamzayev. The EU Council is expected to point of view, Kazakhstan is very its resources well. relations between the union and approved a new Central Asian important in the One Belt, One Road “Astana’s development is a con- the five Central Asian states. Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minis- our opinion, should be unlocking strategy by the end of 2019 in ac- programme. The old Silk Road went crete example. This place used to be “Over the years of implementing ter Roman Vassilenko, who also the region’s economic potential, cordance with its global strategy. through China, Central Asia and a steppe in Central Asia; now, it’s a the strategy, the EU has been able to spoke at the event, echoed Bur- which implies implementation of The new document is expected eventually to Europe. I think that brand-new metropolis in the region. accumulate substantial experience ian, calling the strategy “an effec- programmes aimed at improving to reflect the European Union’s Kazakhstan is an integral part of this That means good economic policy and made significant progress in tive and integrated tool for inter- investment climate, ensuring sus- interest in strengthening interac- OBOR programme,” said Li-Gang, can help the country’s economic de- many priority areas,” said EU Special regional interaction” and arguing tainable economic growth, devel- tion with Central Asians in the adding Chinese President Xi Jinping velopment. The country can catch up Representative for Central Asia Peter that projects implemented as part oping human capital and boosting fight against terrorism, countering mentioned OBOR for the first time rather quickly from a middle-income Burian, adding the EU will work on of the strategy contributed to the employment.” smuggling and illegal migration, during a speech in Kazakhstan. economy to high-income economy. I updating the document taking into development of the region. “A key Conference participants dis- as well as expanding transport, Li-Gang talked about the main as- think the potential is huge,” he said. account the experience gained. component of a new strategy, in cussed plans to adapt the 10-year- trade and energy interconnection. pects of the programme, beginning Resource money can be trans- with economic integration. formed into human capital accumu- “In terms of the comparative ad- lation, a situation on which Kazakh- vantage, we know that for the last stan can rely in the future. 30 years China has become very ef- “I think to some extent Kazakh- ficient in building infrastructure and stan has applied the right policy to Kazakh-Russian trade turnover to grow up it is very easy for China to somehow achieve what it has achieved,” said leverage its expertise to help regional Li-Gang. “Going forward, I think economic development. That’s one there are more opportunities for the important element,” he said. country’s future developments. One to 40 percent this year, says Russian official The second part is cultural issues. of them is that the global economic “If we look at the ancient Silk centre is shifting from the west to the fax-Kazakhstan reports. Accord- is also dynamically developing, According to him, all major Road, there are a lot of interactions east, if you include not only China, By Frol Leandoer ing to Yakovlev, Russia ranks first stressed the Russian trade repre- Russian business operates on the of different religions and cultures but also South Korea, Japan and in trade turnover with Kazakhstan. sentative. Kazakh market. between China and Europe, includ- other ASEAN economies. It is an ASTANA – Over the past eight Russia’s share in the trade turnover “The Russian Federation invests “Forty-one thousand joint for- ing the Central Asian region. This is important region. Kazakhstan has a months, commodity turnover be- is 20 percent. more than $1 billion annually in eign companies are registered in something that is going to get more geographic advantage to be affiliated tween Kazakhstan and Russia “Today, Kazakhstan occu- Kazakhstan’s economy, and we Kazakhstan, 13,000 of which are important in addition to economic with a fast-growing economic area. grew 34 percent, and according to pies the second place in the trade are pleased that in 2016 Russia Russian, which makes one third linkages. If people don’t understand Within the next five-10 years, the po- forecasts, by the end of the year turnover of Russia among the CIS invested more than $1 billion in coming from the Russian Federa- and appreciate each other’s culture tential for growth will be huge.” will grow 35-40 percent, accord- (Commonwealth of Independent the Kazakh economy, and Kazakh- tion. It means that there is a pleas- or religion, there could be a lot of He indicated Kazakh growth will ing to comments by Russian Trade States) countries and among the stan invested about $700 million ant investment climate in Kazakh- misunderstanding with a lot of un- continue if the country utilises the Representative in Kazakhstan Al- countries of the world it is in the in the Russian Federation and the stan, Russian companies come pleasant events leading to crashes of external environment well. exander Yakovlev at a forum of top ten,” he noted. growth was 70 percent,” Yakovlev here and are actively working,” civilisations. Even we do not share “After a modest recession in Rus- the business ombudsmen, Inter- Investment cooperation today informed. said Yakovlev. the same religion and culture, but we sia last year, its economy is growing need to understand each other,” he again, according to Citi’s forecasts. added. This is also an important source of China’s economy is the second growth in the region. India will prob- largest in the world in terms of GDP, ably grow faster this year than Chi- which was nearly $11 trillion last na,” he said. Joint development proposed to digitalise year. As a result, the country affects Based in Hong Kong, Li-Gang the regional economy. has two decades of professional Increasing per capita income leads experience in both public and pri- to greater energy consumption, said vate financial institutions. Prior to Kazakh and Russian economies Li-Gang. Citi, a global bank operating in 58 countries of the 65 along the Belt He noted the need of creating where few people live, which re- “If you look at China’s per capita energy consumption, it is still be- and Road, the most of any bank, he Staff Report unique technologies to digitalise quires serious infrastructure costs low the mature economies’ level in served for more than six years as the nations’ economies rather than to ensure a normal modern com- terms of oil and gas and other energy Chief Economist for Greater China ASTANA – Russian Minister of copying foreign developments. munication. Of course, a lot will consumption. This could be a huge at ANZ Bank in Hong Kong. His Communications and Mass Media “At the beginning of this road the have to be invested for human potential for a resource-rich coun- earlier roles include positions at the Nikolai Nikiforov, who has pro- most important thing is political capital; there is a need to change try like Kazakhstan. In the future, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, posed strengthening Kazakhstan’s will, which we saw today in Ka- the school and university educa- in gas-oil exports China will remain Asian Development Bank Institute and Russia’s joint digitalisation zakhstan. The President, the Prime tion system, as we must admit that very steady. This can be important in in Tokyo and the World Bank and work, spoke about the initiative Minister and the relevant minis- education does not end after get- Kazakhstan’s economic growth,” he Peterson Institute for International during the Set. 13 meeting on the tries, practically the whole system ting a diploma at a university. You noted. Economics, both in Washington, topic here. The session was attend- of executive power was present will have to study throughout your Kazakhstan has a variety of natural D.C. Li-Gang was named econo- ed by government representatives, at the meeting, which means that whole career path. Indeed, digitali- assets and the resource curse is not mist of the year by China Business who also served as presenters, and there is a solution which is already sation is an economy based on data always a jinx, said Li-Gang, citing News in 2012 and 2014, awarded President Nursultan Nazarbayev be technologies for working with being implemented,” said Niki- and knowledge. This is an econo- examples like Australia and New as one of the most accurate macro The two countries need to con- large distributed registry data, of- forov. my about people. A lot is needed Zealand. forecasters by China Securities duct cooperative research to devel- ten called block chain, artificial He noted the importance of cre- to invest in human capital,” said “These economies were the rich- Weekly in 2013 and has also earned op the field, said Nikiforov. intelligence, augmented reality, ro- ating an infrastructure, which may Nikiforov. est in terms of per capita income,” top rankings in Asian research in “We need to work together to botics and sensors. It is important be one of the main difficulties Nazarbayev has asked for revi- he said. “There are also unsuccessful Australia-based research polls. He develop the key technologies that to join forces to make these tech- faced in the digitalisation process. sions to the Digital Kazakhstan stories in Argentina, Venezuela and holds a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins digitise our economies, which can nologies together,” he added. “We have many settlements programme by the end of this year. others who were unable to do so.” University from the USA.

The peacekeepers acted in con- are not performed correctly, they ditions as close as possible to an burn red. The simulation equip- emergency situation. According to ment has figures of men, women US military doctors train Kazakh peacekeepers the details of the mini-exercises, and even babies, since everyone headgear, studied the theoretical their skills using special simula- prove the fighters’ skills in provid- 12 people were seriously injured needs first aid in such situations. By Yerbolat Uatkhanov part of the training and practiced tion equipment. The aim is to im- ing first aid for mass wounds. as the result of a head-to-head col- The DIMO experts controlled all lision between a minibus and an actions of the Kazakh peacekeep- ASTANA – The U.S. Defence off-road vehicle. Arriving at the ers. U.S. Air Force Medical Co- Institute for Medical Operations site of the incident, peacekeep- operation Department chief Alex- (DIMO) organised a three-day ers needed to assess the situation ander Parker said Kazakh service training for 35 Kazakh soldiers and provide first aid to the victims people coped with their tasks. from the country’s United Nations before the arrival of professional Service people, trained at the peacekeeping battalion. The train- medical experts. Centre for Military Medicine, will ing, held at the Kazakh Ministry of The peacekeepers must act ac- join the Kazakh peacekeeping bat- Defence Centre for Military Medi- cording to international standards, talion. The facility will become cine, was supported by the defence using internationally-accepted a regional centre by 2022, where departments of both nations. U.S. designations. The wounded are military personnel from Central experts noted the Kazakh military divided into four categories, Asia can upgrade their medical members met the challenges. with all victims marked using a skills. The training occurred in two specially-coloured card pinned to DIMO is a dual-service agency stages, starting with American their clothes. A green card means comprised of U.S. Air Force and colleagues training 12 instructors. light injury; yellow, that medical Navy personnel committed to pro- The second phase involved them help may not be urgent. A wound- viding globally-focused healthcare working together to begin train- ed person with a red card needs education and training to partners ing peacekeepers who lack medi- medical attention immediately, around the world. It is a small fa- cal education, according to the while black indicates the person cilitating organisation that offers Kazakhstan Assault Troops press is dead. courses and trainings to bring peo- service. Training manikins are equipped ple of various countries together Kazakhstan’s future “blue hel- with sensors. If the service person to help build a common base of mets”, as UN peacekeepers are acts correctly, two green bulbs understanding among dedicated known due to their distinctive kapital.kz Photo credit: light; if the medical manipulations healthcare professionals. B Nation&Capital

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

PEOPLE CULTURE SPORTS American student finds family in Astana opera lovers give Kazakhstan beats current champ Kazakhstan thunderous applause to La Scala Argentina to return to Davis Cup B2 B3 World Group B7 Life after EXPO: What awaits Much anticipated buildings and infrastructure? Golovkin-Alvarez bout ends in controversial draw Photo credit: Turar Kazangapov Turar Photo credit:

By Anuar Abdrakhmanov those who watched the fight on TV in Kazakhstan. But… I want- By Aigerim Bulambayeva Middle East, West China, Mongo- Kazakhstan has been preparing to the latest developments in mineral ASTANA – Kazakh boxer Gen- ed a “big drama show” tonight, I lia and Europe. host WMC since 2013. extracting automation and pro- nady “GGG” Golovkin (37-0, 33 pressed him in every round, and I ASTANA – Kazakh President “It must become a financial hub, The nation’s high expectations as- cessing as well as industry digitali- KO) fought Mexican fighter Saul controlled the ground. I believe I Nursultan Nazarbayev shared the a centre of attraction for invest- sociated with the event are primarily sation. Acquiring scientific devel- “Canelo” Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KO) won. Maybe he took three, maxi- future plans for the EXPO 2017 ments and occupy a decent niche due to attracting investments, espe- opments for practical use is part of to a controversial draw Sept. 16 at mum four, rounds. I think all the site during the event’s Sept. 10 in the international financial sys- cially within the Mines & Money the WMC plan. the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas. fans understand who is the real closing ceremony. tem,” added Nazarbayev. It will investment summit, a success- “Thus, the whole EXPO exhi- The draw is considered contro- champion… The judging tonight “Nur Alem and a number of be a centre for the development of ful European format platform for bition complex will further serve versial by many pundits and fans was terrible. [118-110?] For other pavilions will be preserved Islamic finance and green financ- B2B meetings. WMC and Mines for innovative and sustainable who have stated publicly that they what? I saw the computer, all to- as expo heritage. The completion ing and it will have its own stock & Money are expected to attract development purposes. I invite believe 35-year-old Golovkin won tal punches, I saw people’s reac- of the exhibition will be the foun- exchange approximately 300 investors. The everyone for active cooperation in the fight and that the draw resulted tion. This is not correct. This is dation for launching several new The second largest project to be industry is capital-intensive, and to the work of the new centres,” said from a flawed scoring by one of terrible for sport, for boxing,” said large-scale projects,” said Naz- developed on the expo site is the date, the prospective area for sub- Nazarbayev. the ringside judges. Golovkin. arbayev. World Mining Congress (WMC) soil investment purposes is more Other projects planned for the The fight was one of the most Among many others, the legend- The Astana International Fi- & Expo 2018. WMC is a uni- than 1.1 million square kilometres. expo site are the Future Energy anticipated of the year and GGG’s ary British boxer, former world nance Centre (AIFC) is the first in fied international platform where The high hopes for the WMC International Centre for the trans- WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO cham- heavyweight champion Lennox line for development. The centre, achievements will be presented congress, with the theme “Innova- fer of green technologies and a pionship belts were at stake. Lewis called the referees’ ruling which will launch Jan. 1, is expect- and experiences shared, as well as tional excellence – a step forward Kazakh “Silicon Valley” for IT Even before the fight, experts unfair. ed to become a financial hub for discussing and adopting innova- to mining growth,” are also related companies and startups, formally called Alvarez the toughest oppo- “Both fighters can hold their Central Asia, the Caucasus, Eura- tive technological solutions in the to the Industry 4.0 and technology known as the International IT- nent in Golovkin’s career. As the heads high tonight but this fight sian Economic Union (EAEU), mining and metallurgical industry. transfer. Exhibitors will present startup hub. bout showed, the Mexican boxer wasn’t close to a draw! I have put up a fight Golovkin had never GGG as clear winner. These score- seen before. cards were ridiculous!” Lewis As it was expected, the boxers wrote on Twitter. ognised as one of the best, according started the fight with probing. By The pundits, however, quickly to the assessment of the Executive the middle, Golovkin started to began discussing a potential re- Committee of the World Association. reduce the distance. However, the match between the boxers to get Nazarbayev, top surgeon discuss In conclusion, the head of state Mexican showed excellent defence an answer to the question left un- wished Yuri Pya success and new skills and made some very danger- answered by judges in Las Vegas. achievements in his work. ous counterattacks. “Of course, I want a rematch. The Densaulyk (Health) pro- In general, Golovkin had good I am ready, I want to fight,” development of cardio surgery gramme has made a great impact tactics and tried to dominate the Golovkin’s response was to such nificance of the 27th Congress of gathered for the first time in Ka- on the development of Kazakh- ending of each round. Alvarez questions posed to him immedi- Staff Report the World Association of Cardio- zakhstan. This shows the world stan’s cardiac surgical service. In showed decent boxing too but kept ately after the match on the ring. vascular and Thoracic Surgeons, recognition of domestic surgery,” comparison with the early 1990s, a lower profile and did not look “I think Gennady won the bout. President Nursultan Nazarbayev where the best cardio surgeons the President said. when there were only about 500 like a favourite to win. After 12 However, I would note that he did recently discussed the develop- from 50 countries gathered in the In turn, Pya reported to Naz- open-heart operations per year in rounds, the judges declared a draw not have the mood for a hard blow. ment of cardio surgery in Kazakh- capital. Leading specialists con- arbayev about the results of the the country, in 2016 that number – 110-118 (for Alvarez), 114-114, Canelo showed that he does not stan in a meeting with Chairman of ducted master classes using the work of the congress, which was has grown to over 12,000. Kazakh- and 115-113 (for Golovkin). want to intensify it, tried to tire the Board of the National Scientific latest technologies. attended by more than a thousand stan is on the list of the 30 best After the fight, Golovkin voiced out our boxer. Now the Mexican Cardio-Surgical Centre Yuri Pya. “The congress of cardiac sur- foreign delegates. countries in terms of the level of his bitter disagreement with the team can get the best of the situ- The head of state noted the sig- geons from all over the world Pya said the congress has been rec- cardio surgery. decision and told the media he was ation with the rematch. I think it ready to consider a rematch. will definitely take place,” said “First of all, I want to thank all Vice President of the Kazakhstan my fans, all the Kazakhs who came Federation of Professional Boxing EXPO 2017 best pavilions awarded to America to support me and all Viktor Demyanenko. THINGS TO WATCH & as exhibition closes, legacy lives on PLACES TO GO By Dmitry Lee

ASTANA – EXPO 2017, Kazakh- ASTANA OPERA stan’s biggest and probably most am- September 24 at 6 p.m. Russian Classical Music Concert bitious event, ended Sept. 10. While September 29 at 7 p.m. Chamber Concert the average was 22,840 guests daily, slightly more than 100,000 visited on the last day, according to officials. Its BARYS ARENA legacy and impact will last for years. September 25 at 7.30 p.m. HC Barys - SKA Nearly 140 scientific inventions in the renewable energy field re- Saint Petersburg ceived exposure thanks to the exhi- September 27 at 7.30 p.m. HC Barys - Lokomotiv bition. Expo also served as a stimu- lus for local scientific projects, said Yaroslavl Kazakh President Nursultan Naz- arbayev in his closing ceremony ASTANA ARENA remarks, addressing 15 heads of September 28 at 9 p.m. FC Astana - SK Slavia Prague state who participated as guests of honour and an audience of 2,200. “More than 1,400 small and medi- NATIONAL MUSEUM um-sized enterprises received orders September 8 – Contemporary Arts and Crafts for services and goods for $1.9 bil- lion, while tens of thousands of peo- November 20 of Kazakhstan, Exhibition ple got new jobs with worthy wages. September 15 – October 3 Japanese Design Today, The tourism sector of Kazakhstan saw Exhibition a revitalisation. The demand for tour operators’ services almost doubled during the three months,” he noted. Continued on Page B6 B2 NATION&CAPITAL PEOPLE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

safe, the girls asserted, highlighting the uniqueness of the app in Kazakh- stan. “We conducted a market analy- Kazakh girls win Technovation Challenge sis. There are similar apps, but they are either not offered fully or require an Americal number or card pay- ment. And we wanted safety to be in Silicon Valley, say will go on inventing accessible to everyone. Therefore, the safety theme,” the girls ex- “We conducted a survey, made a our app is free of charge,” they said. By Assel Satubaldina plained. SWOT [strengths, weaknesses, op- The girls say they can see for portunities and threats] analysis … themselves that women are under- ASTANA – A team of Kazakh Qamcare poster We made a Canvas business model represented in the tech industry, girls won the grand prize at the The problems of disappearance and assessed to what extent this but they believe women will con- 2017 Technovation World Pitch and kidnapping are acute in Ka- problem pertains to our region. At tinue to gain ground. Summit organised by Google Aug. zakhstan, the girls said. In Almaty the same time, we were working “There are a lot of men in tech, 10. Girls aged 10-18 from more alone, 3,000 people go missing on the app design and code. When which can be seen from the com- than 30 countries around the globe every year. “Our mentors, Aziza surveying people, they asked us petitions we take part in. We got competed in 102 teams over the and Aigerim, were telling us about ‘What if a person does not have a third place in one contest, and we five-day event in Silicon Valley. different cases of disappearances, phone?” the girls said. were behind two male teams. We Only six, including two teams from mostly of children, and we were This question encouraged the believe that the proportion of men Kazakhstan, made it to the final. shocked,” the girls said. girls to improve the app and its ca- and women [in tech] is going to The teams presented mobile ap- Their app requires a registration, pabilities by adding a button called equal soon,” they noted. plications they’d developed to ad- Almaty U.S. Consulate Photo credit: after which users add contacts to a iNaLine, a special tool that con- In the meantime, Aruzhan, Azha- dress salient issues in fields such Qamcare, a tracking app address- The young developers started list called their Family Circle. An nects to a phone through Bluetooth ra, Diyara and Diana are looking as peace, poverty, environment, ing the question of safety, a prob- working on the app in December. SOS feature is intended to help us- and allows people to send messag- to the future with ambitious plans. equality, education and health. lem relevant to many communities “We created the app for Techno- ers walk safely, knowing that with es without a phone. Azhara and Diana graduated from The winning Kazakh team con- a push of a single button, their “If you feel insecure … you can high school this year and are now around the world. vation Challenge and the main sisted of four girls: Aruzhan Ko- close contacts will be immediately press the button and within 10 busy preparing for university. “Qamcare comes from the Ka- shkarova, Azhar Sultansikh, Di- goal was to address a problem in notified of their location and that seconds the app will send a noti- Diyara has two years left at the anna Zhanakbayeva and Diyara zakh word ‘qamqor,’ which means our society. We made an analysis they are in distress. fication with your location to your Nazarbayev Intellectual School, Beisenbekova, all from Almaty, ‘care’ in Kazakh. We developed and researched problems such as However, not everyone has a Family Circle contacts,” the girls but she already knows she wants who called themselves /flash. the app to protect our loved ones,” poverty, suicide, gender inequal- smartphone. The girls tried to ad- explained. to study chemistry, while Aruzhan They presented an app called the girls told The Astana Times. ity, but we decided to stick to dress this problem as well. Everyone should be able to feel is interested in math and physics.

tal organisations. Pilot projects are also being implemented to UN Rapporteur praises Kazakh commitment to ensure inclusive education, and Devandas stressed the need to expand their scope. Devandas added that associa- persons with disabilities, notes areas for improvement tions of persons with disabilities tection system, ensure universal particularly in the field of legal a disability to undergo medical play an important role in inform- By Almasbek Zhumadilov healthcare and improve accessi- capacity. treatment without their consent, ing the reform process and in mon- bility for persons with disabilities “Today, people deprived of are contrary to the provisions of itoring the country’s compliance ASTANA – Kazakhstan has demonstrates its commitment to the status of legal capacity can- the Convention on the Rights of with the convention. demonstrated a commitment to ad- those with disabilities. not take part in elections, and are Persons with Disabilities. The Special Reporter’s find- vancing the rights of persons with Devandas also said more efforts also at risk of being irreversibly The UN Rapporteur praised ings and recommendations will disabilities, but has not yet reached are needed to fully integrate peo- deprived of their reproductive Astana’s openness to a construc- be presented March 2018 at the international standards in some ar- ple with disabilities into society, rights through sterilisation,” said tive dialogue and further work 37th session of the UN Human eas, said UN Special Rapporteur including in such areas as educa- Devandas. on mitigating the remaining is- Rights Council. Devandas vis- on the rights of persons with dis- tion, legal capacity and political She pointed out that some provi- sues. She also underscored the abilities Catalina Devandas at the participation. sions of the law governing forced importance of the government’s ited Kazakhstan at the standing conclusion of a recent visit to Ka- Devandas also urged the gov- placement in a psychiatric institu- initial efforts to reduce the popu- invitation of the Kazakh Foreign zakhstan. ernment to bring the national leg- tion or placement in a long-term lation size of medical institutions Ministry, which was extended to

Devandas said Kazakhstan’s kursiv.kz. Photo credit: islation in compliance with inter- medical and social institution, as through various pilot projects all UN Special Rapporteurs back steps to reform the social pro- Catalina Devandas national human rights standards, well as coercion of people with implemented by nongovernmen- in 2009. American student finds family in Kazakhstan in Taraz, Karaganda, Almaty and give a face to our country, to pro- and I hope many people can dis- the capital. vide conversation,” she said. cover it,” she said. “I feel like I have more rela- During her stay in Kazakh- “I feel like Central Asia often tives in Kazakhstan than I do in stan she has visited Turkestan, gets overlooked by many peo- the States,” she added. Shymkent, Aktau, Mangystau ple. Whenever I share with oth- Swanson, whose interest in region, Karaganda and Ust-Ka- ers where I am going or where Russian began several years ago, menogorsk, as well as Charyn I am studying, I always have to speaks the language fluently. Canyon, Kolsai Lakes, Borovoe come with the map and point – “I thought it was important for and many other sights. ‘I’m here.’ And they react by say- me to study my mother’s native “I think it is a wonderfully ing, “that’s huge!” They know language. I started taking classes warm country with some of the Mongolia, but they don’t know in college. My university has a best landscapes I have ever seen – Kazakhstan. I hope that by go- wonderful Russian flagship cen- mountains to steppes to canyons. ing back to the States I can bring tre, which is an initiative of the It is a very diverse place; it has the stories and the pictures of government for students to study something to offer everybody. this place. Kazakhstan is already critical languages. The study The warmth of the people and on the map, but I want to make abroad component of the program diversity of the nation are what sure it is a recognised place,” she often sends students to Almaty,” makes this place really special, added. she said. Swanson first visited Kazakh- stan in summer 2015, returned last August 2016 and studied for an academic year until May 2017. She then went home for a few days before returning to work at the expo. In Almaty, she stayed with Kazakh families, with whom Vera Swanson with her great-uncles. she keeps in touch and has only wonderful memories. “One time we went to the Bara- By Zhazira Dyussembekova setia, and her father was born and Swanson discovered her grand- kholka Market to eat the best raised in Minnesota. Her mother’s father was one of four brothers, shashlik. I remember my fam- ASTANA – Vera Swanson was parents, however, are from Taraz, one of whom was the chief phy- ily recognising Oraza and fast- one of the 40 student ambassa- Kazakhstan. During Soviet times, sician at the regional hospital ing that first summer I came. We dors who worked at the United her grandfather moved to Almaty where his memorial plaque is dis- would have dinner very late. My States Pavilion at EXPO 2017. to study at the Mining Institute played. A second brother worked host mom’s mom would always Two years ago, she learned Ka- and was then sent to the Caucasus as a chief builder in Taraz. Un- visit and I’d call her ‘apashka,’” zakhstan was not only the des- to work as an engineer. He ulti- fortunately, only two of the men she said, smiling and using the tination for her Russian lan- mately settled in the region. are still living. Her grandfather is Kazakh word “apa” (grandmoth- guage studies, but also the place Vera, a Russian name meaning buried in Vladikavkaz; his broth- er) in a diminutively affectionate where her grandfather was born. “faith,” was also her grandmoth- er, in Taraz. way. Through her summer experience, er’s name. The reunion was very senti- After almost a year in Almaty, she reunited with her relatives in “My mother grew up in the mental, said Swanson. Swanson was selected to be one Taraz and now has a big family in Caucasus but later moved to “I was very emotional because of the United States Pavilion’s Central Asia. Moscow for graduate studies. She I could now connect faces to the student ambassadors at expo. “I attended college at the Uni- then studied in the United States names and stories I heard grow- “What makes our pavilion spe- versity of Wisconsin-Madison, under the Fulbright program. She ing up. Having gained and devel- cial – we have 40 students, re- where I studied environmental now works as virologist at the oped the language skills I did, I cent graduates, all from different science and Russian. In summer Mayo Clinic. The last time she am now able to converse freely states, working here and interact- 2015, I had the opportunity to was in Kazakhstan was around 40 with my relatives or read books ing with the local Kazakh citi- come to Kazakhstan and study years ago,” she said. from their libraries. I visited my zens. Our job is to greet people Russian. Before coming, my In 2015, Swanson came to Al- relatives in Taraz for New Year’s in their native language. All of us mom shared with me that we have maty to study in the philology this year with my mom and uncle know Russian and we are learning relatives there who I absolutely department at Kazakh National and remember making shashlik Kazakh to explain a little about needed to meet,” said Swanson University. Later, she travelled to together and joking around. Be- ourselves and, if they have ques- in an interview with The Astana Taraz with her aunt (her mother’s ing able to understand those inter- tions, explain what life is like for Times. cousin), who lives in Moscow actions and connect on a deeper us. Because oftentimes through Her mother was born and raised and grew up in Merke, a city near level was very special,” she said. the media, people have a different in the Caucasus, in Northern Os- Taraz. Swanson has relatives living view of a place. We were there to Vera Swanson’s grandparents Gennady and Vera. B3 NATION&CAPITAL CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 Astana opera lovers give thunderous applause to La Scala antics. The production creates a By Yerbolat Uatkhanov connection between Verdi’s last opera and his charity, underlining ASTANA – For more than 200 a common atmosphere of mel- years, La Scala, the prestigious ancholy and the composer’s pro- Italian theatre, has brought its mu- found humanism. sical pleasures to various corners Charismatic Ambrogio Maestri of the world, delighting fans at is considered to be the role’s most every stop. The first Kazakh tour celebrated baritone. His debut in of the famous Milanese orchestra 2001 and more than 250 subse- and chorus, held Sept. 1-9 at the quent performances have been ap- Astana Opera, was dedicated to plauded at nearly 30 of the world’s EXPO 2017. most famous venues. The capital’s premiere of Gi- The artists performed under useppe Verdi’s comic opera “Fal- the leadership of Maestro Zubin staff,” presented Sept. 1, 4, 6 and Mehta with choirmaster Maestro 8, was a sensation. As the organis- Bruno Casoni. The tour was made ers promised, residents and guests possible thanks to the Kazakh were treated to an emotional expe- Ministry of Culture and Sports and rience. Eni, an Italian energy company Stage Director Damiano working in the country since 1992. Michieletto noted the composer Established in 1778, Teatro alla created a work unlike any other Scala is one of Italy’s most im- written throughout his life. portant cultural institutions and “There are no arias and cho- the world’s most notable opera ruses. The opera is completely houses. Many operas by the most different. As for me, it was a life prominent Italian composers of the lesson: you can never stop in 19th and 20th century premiered search of a new one. Verdi found there, including “Falstaff,” first new ways of solving problems; presented in 1893. hence, all of us should strive for Despite Milan’s rich opera and something more! Come listen to ballet season, the theatre regularly the opera and see for yourself,” performs in all the top internation- he said. al venues, accomplishing its mis- Dreams and reality, past and sion to promote Italian culture and present are intertwined in a fasci- musical heritage. La Scala has re- nating production which combines ing and unpredictable story of Sir vourite of listeners throughout the Falstaff is an aging singer deal- illusions of love and the story is alised more than 800 performances various styles and eras. The touch- John Falstaff’s adventures is a fa- world. ing with the last temptations and filled with escapades, tricks and in 39 countries. Kazakh TV unveils KitapFest book festival held in Almaty bookstores. Readers met not only shows what people are interested is interesting for Kazakh readers; By Frol Leandoer with the authors of popular books, in. This shows that what our writ- for example, the book that people but also with famous Internet per- ers present is not interesting for would have taken with them to a fascinating ASTANA – For the fourth con- sonalities. readers. We need to develop the deserted island,” said the organis- secutive year, KitapFest, organised As the organisers noted, Ka- market,” she said. ers. by the Bauyrzhan Charity Founda- zakhstan’s National State Book Venues like KitapFest allow KitapFest, held for the first tion and Eurasian Franchise As- Chamber has registered only 235 readers to meet directly with writ- time in August 2014, proved its new season sociation with support from the books this year, a small number ers, providing an opportunity to status as the most interesting cooking outdoors in nature. For akimat, was held in Almaty on for the country. To help increase expand the audience of Kazakh and large-scale book festival in By Yerbolat Uatkhanov example, in such regions as Aktau the square in front of the National that figure, Bauyrzhan Founda- literature. the country, gathering more than and Balkhash, where fresh fish in Academy of Sciences. tion social projects coordinator “The main mission of the festi- 3,000 visitors of different ages ASTANA – Kazakh TV is an local cuisine is very popular, the The event, with the main goal to Maira Alzhanova feels modern val is to cultivate reading, and we and professions. The festival image-building, nation’s leading presenter will reveal the secrets of popularise reading, hosted a large Kazakh writers need to develop are giving away 4,000 books free offered guests a range of emo- educational channel about the dy- preparing fishbarmak and koktal book exchange, meetings and mas- marketing skills to promote their of charge. Many visitors who came tions and surprises: a corridor namically developing Kazakhstan, according to local recipes. That is, ter classes with Kazakh writers, work. were surprised at the amount of of books, meetings with Kazakh in each region residents keep their contests and events, a poetry read- “Bayan Yessentayeva’s book Kazakh literature that they did not writers, lectures and seminars, own secrets of cooking the most ing and fair from Kazakhstan’s sales exceeded 20,000 copies, know before. We have also con- contests and gifts, and, of course, popular dishes, and we will tell largest publishing houses and which is a breakthrough. This ducted a mini-poll to find out what thousands of books. you about them,” she added. Australian traveller Robert Boyd, the host of Invite Me, will get acquainted with unique person- alities and their families who are engaged in unusual businesses and contribute to developing their na- tive land. The heroes are engaged in beekeeping, farming, tailoring and even famous stunt director Zhaidarbek Kulguzhinov, noted Aikumys Seksenbayeva the host. Cultural and historic shows have its investment and tourist potential, a special place on the channel. global initiatives and cultural and The premiere of the Kui (stories historic heritage. The network re- told by music) cycle will bring to- cently launched the fall season with gether the sound of the best kuis of 15 new shows demonstrating the popular composers such as Kur- unique local flavour of national cui- mangazy Sagyrbaiuly, Tattimbet sine and the history of ancient Kyp- Qazangapuly, Dina Nurpeissova, chaks, Turks and Guns and promot- Kali Zhantleuova and many other ing domestic singers abroad. traditional musicians. The main The channel is broadcast na- goal is to acquaint viewers with tionally and in 118 countries in- national music in all its diversity, ternationally in Kazakh, Russian volume and significance. and English. Kazakh TV content “I would also like to mention the is generally defined in six main project Following the Ancestors’ categories – global economy and Traces, which was made based on international relations, nature and the results of the expedition of the tourism, history, heritage and tra- research group led by Sapar Iska- ditions, culture, art and people and kov, who visited 65 countries study- outstanding persons. ing the migration of ancient Kyp- “We have been actively prepar- chaks, Turks and Guns. The project, ing for the new autumn TV sea- called Treasure of the Nation, is de- son and planned the premiere of voted to the study of the directions 15 new TV shows. Our channel of the ancient Silk Road in the terri- is widely known among viewers tory of Kazakhstan and neighbour- thanks to tourism projects, so we ing countries,” said Seksenbayeva. Films in memory of Nelson Mandela could not get around this topic. We “We hope the younger genera- present Invite Me, Culinary Tour tion of our viewers appreciates the and Tugan Olke. These shows will uniqueness of the projects Quest.kz feature the remote corners of our and Hot Q, which are promoting do- shown in Astana vast country through the history mestic performers abroad and popu- “Mandela: Long Walk to Free- rebuild the country’s once segre- of people and their nature, there- larising their creativity. The modern By Frol Leandoer dom” is a 2013 British-South Af- gated society. by encouraging viewers to travel Kazakhstan music industry is not rican biographical film directed “More than Just a Game” is a around the country, opening it a fake interest of an international ASTANA – The South African by Justin Chadwick from a script 2007 semi-documentary film di- from a new, unexplored side,” said audience and can compete in the Embassy in Kazakhstan with the written by William Nicholson and rected by Junaid Ahmed. The film Kazakh TV General Producer Ai- world music business. We see this support of Kinopark 8 IMAX Sar- starring Idris Elba and Naomie shows how political prisoners on kumys Seksenbayeva. from the experience of Dimash Ku- yarka (Kazakhstan), Videovision Harris. Robben Island in South Africa “We are launching a very in- daibergenov and Ninety-One group. Entertainment (South Africa) and The film is based on the 1995 founded the Makana Football As- teresting culinary project called All of them can become bright am- the South African Honorary Con- autobiographical book “Long sociation in 1966. Culinary Tour. Together with bassadors of modern Kazakh cul- sulate in Almaty presented free Walk to Freedom” written by anti- The screenings were pre- Konstantin Druzhinin, the host of ture outside the country and we re- screenings Sept. 8-9 of the South apartheid revolutionary and for- sented with the support of the the show, the audience will travel ally want to contribute,” she added. African films “Mandela: Long mer South African President. The South African Honorary Consul around Kazakhstan. Studying the All the programmes are avail- Walk to Freedom” and “More than film illustrates Mandela’s early Nurlan Abdulov. South African unique local flavour of national able at www.kazakh-tv.kz and on Just a Game” in memory of late life, coming of age, education Minister of Science and Tech- cuisine and using the most popu- social networks. Use hashtag #ka- South African President Nelson and 27 years in prison before be- nology Naledi Pandor also at- lar products, the presenter will be zakhtv to find the new shows. Mandela. coming president and working to tended. B4 NATION&CAPITAL COUNTRY

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 Burial of Eneolithic era man Nurly Zher programme discovered in East Kazakhstan introduces first across the country and in the East By Dana Omirgazy Kazakhstan region. It includes several dozens of projects, which ASTANA – The burial of a man, are based on the diversity of the re- housing in Aktobe representing the Afanasevo culture gion’s cultures. Sacred geographi- of the Eneolithic era was discov- cal places are among the prior- ered near the village of Karatal in ity developments. As Akhmetov the Zaisan district, the Kazinform noted, the country has something news agency reports, citing the to tell the present and future gen- press service of the East Kazakh- erations. stan region akimat (administra- Afanasevo culture is the tion). southern Siberian archaeologi- According to head of archaeo- cal culture that spanned the late logical excavations Abdesh Toleu- Eneolithic and the early Bronze bayev, the unique artefacts found Ages. The name of the culture during excavations surprised was generated from the Afana- scientists and archaeologists. It sevo Mountain (near the village turned out that the territory of East of Bateni in the Bograd region Kazakhstan had a settlement of the of Russia’s Khakassia region), Afanasevo culture in the third and zakhstan region Daniyal Akhme- Archaeological excavations are where the first burial ground second millennium BC. tov said. carried out within the framework of this culture was unveiled in “Previously, there were doubts The head of the region allocated of a three-year plan for the de- 1920. In addition to the main that our ancestors of the Afana- approximately 300 million tenge velopment of scientific research district – Altai and Khakass- sevo culture period lived in the (US$889,200) for the continua- in archaeology. Today, a large- Minusinsk Hollow, – the area of East Kazakhstan region. But tion of archaeological research. A scale programme named Ruhani monuments includes the eastern

now, obvious evidence is found,” sarcophagus will be built on the Zhangyru (Modernisation of Ka- Kazakhstan, Western Mongolia forbes.kz Photo credit: Akim (Governor) of East Ka- burial place. zakhstan’s Identity) is continuing and Chinese Xinjiang. By Dana Omirgazy tion sector and the mortgage lending market have begun ASTANA – The first housing showing positive dynamics. We, constructed under the Nurly Zher for our part, will continue to par- programme was commissioned ticipate in the programme and in Electric car charging 700,000 South Kazakhstan in Aktobe, reported forbes.kz. the near future we plan to finance Regional Akim (Governor) developers in Kyzylorda and Berdibek Saparbayev, Aktobe Uralsk,” he added. Akim (Mayor) Ilyas Ispanov, Ibragimova talked about the stations launch in inhabitants to be provided House Construction Savings scope of the project. Bank (HCSB) chair Lyazzat “The programme provides for Ibragimova, Damu Entrepreneur- many directions designed to im- ship Development Fund chair prove the living conditions of our Astana and Almaty with drinking water Abai Sarkulov, Sberbank chair citizens. One of them is the stim- kW, and the process requires one- South Kazakhstan Kazse- Alexander Kamalov and Sollers ulation of housing construction Staff Report four hours. By Frol Leandoer lezaschita department head Yerbol Construction Director Andrey by private developers. Today, the For safety, the stations provide Alzak spoke about the current state Storozhev took part in the cer- first house was commissioned ASTANA – Construction of differential protection against cur- ASTANA – Forty moraine lakes of moraine lakes in mountainous emony. within the framework of this electric car charging stations un- rent leakage and emergency power have been identified in the high- areas. Sberbank financed construc- direction and the bank deposi- der the pilot project has been com- off, as well as current sensors for land areas of the South Kazakh- “This year, one aero-visual and tion of the multi-storey house, tors are among the new settlers. pleted with the active support of automatic power off when the stan region which, due to their four ground-based research works a 502 million tenge (US$1.47 We will hear such positive news the Almaty and capital administra- charging process is complete. melting and the Ugam River, are were carried out in the territory of million) project. A three-year, more than once. The bank plans tions and private investments. More than 200 electric vehicles expected to provide drinking wa- the South Kazakhstan region in the 400-million tenge (US$1.17 mil- to introduce more than 12,000 The Ministry of Energy will are presently on Kazakh roads. ter to 700,000 people living in the Karzhantau, Ugam and Maidantal lion) line of credit was issued to apartments and about 350 private be increasing construction of up While they are designed primarily Kazygurt, Maktaaral and Sarya- mountain ranges. Based on the Sollers, which invested 102 mil- houses by the end of the year,” to 100 charging stations and cor- for movement within the city, an gash districts. The assessment was results of the studies, the moraine lion tenge (US$300,288) of its she said. responding infrastructure in both increased network of fast-charging made at an altitude of 3,340-3,500 lakes of the mountainous areas own funds. Sarkulov noted the housing cities by the end of the year. The stations will accommodate longer metres through an aero-visual sur- were found not to be dangerous,” ministry plans to build another 20 trips of several hundred kilome- vey of moraine lakes and rivers he said. “The programme provides for many stations with instant charging sys- tres. There are also plans to devel- in the Ugam range of the Aksu Thirty-two million tenge tems (up to 30 minutes) along the op electric vehicles domestically Mountains, said South Kazakhstan (US$95,412) was allocated from directions designed to improve Astana-Almaty roadway. and pilot production has already Akim (Governor) Zhanseit Tuime- the regional budget this year for The first charging stations in the been tested in Kostanai. bayev. aero-visual work, 19 million the living conditions of our citizens. capital were installed at Nursultan The research group carried out “Preliminary negotiations with (US$56,651) of which has been One of them is the stimulation of housing Nazarbayev International Airport electric car tests to determine the Uzbekistan were held as well and disbursed to date. and Nurly Zhol railway station. In possibility of their operation in the agreements on the joint use of wa- During the meeting, Tuime- construction by private developers.” Almaty, the station was construct- Kazakh climate and learn more ter were reached,” he noted. “From bayev provided instructions to the ed in the central part of the city. about the country’s necessary infra- a scientific point of view, there is heads of the relevant departments The new charging stations com- structure conditions. The research a need to correctly plan this pro- on floodwater prevention and con- Sberbank, HCSB and Sollers programme is not the first backed ply with all international stand- is continuing in an effort to reduce ject aimed at supplying drinking trol on the current state of rivers, agreed to sell 50 percent of the by the fund. ards and are capable of charging the cost of electric vehicles for local water.” lakes and glacial lakes in the foot- apartments to HCSB depositors. “To date, the Damu fund has all available brands and models customers. Scholars feel one of the A helicopter with Tuimebayev hills. He asked them to keep the The 27 apartments will be pro- already subsidised two develop- of electric vehicles. The charger best approaches for increasing the aboard flew around Badam Lake issues of supplying drinking water vided to them at a fixed price ers. These are Sollers and Altyn combines all existing charging advantages of electric cars as a fast and the mountainous areas of the from Ugam River to the three dis- of 140,000 tenge (US$413) per Shar West from Astana. Thus, modes with alternating current. and environmentally-friendly type Tolebi and Tulkubas districts, al- tricts under strict control. square metre. According to the we expect the commissioning of Four vehicles can be charged at of motor transport will be develop- lowing him to monitor the moraine “Every year in the spring time document, the developer can sell another residential complex of one station at the same time, as ing a charging station network and lakes. He also chaired a meeting there is a threat of flooding in our the remaining units independent- 20,000 square metres in Astana the capacity of each station is 51 corresponding infrastructure. with Uzbek representatives at a region. In this regard, we are plan- ly or offer them to HCSB clients. in the near future. Altyn Shar is high-altitude lake to discuss issues ning the construction of 30 small Sollers received a 14-percent located near the EXPO 2017 pa- related to flood water prevention, reservoirs next year. In addition, per annum interest rate sub- vilions. The complex will feature constructing additional small wa- we use the water of the Ugam Riv- sidy under the Nurly Zher pro- children’s and sports grounds, ter reservoirs and efficient use of er for drinking water,” he said. gramme, 7 percent of which is comfortable sidewalks and drive- the Ugam River waters. “There is also a need to build a subsidised by the Damu fund. ways, covered parking and com- Regional emergency situations hydroelectric power station in the The total area of the residential mercial and office premises. Now department head Nurbolat Derbis- riverbed and conduct water pipes complex is 3,115 square metres. there are 24 more developers’ ov elaborated on measures taken to from the tops of the mountains. At “This project is an excellent projects in the second-tier banks, prevent floods. the same time, I instruct scientists example of effective cooperation of which five have already been “Protective dams are installed in and specialists in this field to carry between business, government approved. Interest of developers the territory of rivers and lakes in out thorough work, as well as to agencies and banks,” said Kam- in the Nurly Zher programme is the region, the length of which is implement the construction of this alov. visible, which, of course, will 86.95 km. Their security is under project in a high-quality and effi- “Thanks to the state pro- have a positive impact on the fi-

Photo credit: kazpravda.kz. Photo credit: strictly control,” he said. cient manner,” he added. gramme, the housing construc- nal cost of housing,” he said.

ginning this year, Food Corpora- and the use of mineral fertilis- tion will stop working with grain- ers. As a result, this year’s share receiving enterprises that have an of third-class grain is 76 percent Harvest campaign shows positive results unreliable rating. compared to last year’s 44 percent. ners per hectare. The harvesting reaped and 2.7 million tonnes of Kazakhstan has introduced a To improve the quality of this Grain containing more than 25 By Yerbolat Uatkhanov speed exceeds the last year’s level crop collected. Kazakh farmers new methodology for determining year’s grain, measures have been points has reached 47 percent in by 2.5 million hectares, or 16 per- have harvested about 24 percent of and assigning granary ratings. Be- taken to support seed production contrast to 9 percent in 2016. ASTANA – Prime Minister cent. oilseeds areas, exceeding the 2016 Bakytzhan Sagintayev reviewed Approximately 76.7 percent level by 10 percent. Close to 1.2 the nation’s harvesting progress of all crops have been harvested million tonnes have been threshed. Sept. 12, noting the quantity of in the three main grain produc- Vegetable crops are still being Kazakh grain has increased this ing regions. The Kostanai region gathered in the Almaty, Zhambyl year. The gross grain harvest is has collected 3.8 million tonnes; and South Kazakhstan regions. To expected to exceed 19.5 million Akmola, 3.5 million tonnes and date, 76 percent of the areas have tonnes, which will raise the coun- North Kazakhstan, 3.3 million been harvested and 3.1 million try’s export potential to eight mil- tonnes. tonnes of vegetables collected, a lion tonnes. The harvest is complete in the 13-percent hike over last year. Harvesting operations are cur- South Kazakhstan, Zhambyl and The government supports farm- rently underway in all regions, said West Kazakhstan regions, where ers during harvesting, providing First Vice Minister of Agriculture farmers collected 1.4 million a discount on the necessary die- Kairat Aituganov. As of the report tonnes. The yield is 3.5 percent sel fuel and organising reception date, 11.6 million hectares have more than last year. points for crops throughout the been harvested and 14.7 million Barley harvesting has nearly state. The reception points are tonnes of grain have been cropped concluded; 1.8 million hectares, or ready, according to the Ministry of with an average yield of 12.6 cent- 86 percent of the area, have been Agriculture press service. kazakh-zerno.kz Photo credit: B5 NATION&CAPITAL SOCIETY

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 After competition, Almaty awards best landscapers Day. Kassymzhan Mametbakiyev zakhstan has been supporting the Staff Report was named the best yard keeper of contest for five years. Almaty. He is 56 years old. Over “We are a socially responsible ASTANA – One hundred land- the last 41 years, he has been company and pay a great attention scapers of Almaty took part in the working as a landscaper. Resi- to environmental issues. The city’s recent competition for the title of dents of the micro district, where cleanliness is directly linked to the the best, held by the Chisto po- he works, have already nominated environmental situation. On the Almatinsky (Clean as in Almaty) him three times to participate in initiative of Almaty akimat (city fund with the support of the Efes the contest. Twice the man was administration), we initiated the Kazakhstan company. among the top three winners and competition five years ago, and The competition lasted four this year he finally became the we were pleased with the results. months. All of the city’s condo- best. Among the winners of the We believe that the competition miniums applied for participa- competition, there was a woman. is very fair and has a deep social tion in the competition and then Tatyana Khramova is a novice in character, because, in comparison local residents voted for the best the profession. Her work experi- with the salary that yard keepers worker. Thirty people reached the ence is just over a year. How- receive, we present very substan- final stage. Secret visitors checked ever, Almaty residents noticed tial prizes,” Corporate Relations the yards that they tend to figure the tenacity, diligence, honesty Department Director of Efes Ka- out whether it was clean in the and responsiveness of Khramova zakhstan Chingiz Kaskeyev said. yard, whether the children’s play- and she received a well-deserved At the beginning of the year, the grounds were cleaned and whether award. social project received the Ecol- the paths to the entrances were Six landscapers were awarded ogy nomination at the Best in CSR swept. with money prizes. The compe- contest in the area of corporate so- The results of the competition tition’s prize fund was 650,000 cial responsibility and sustainable were announced on the Family tenge (US$1,914). The Efes Ka- development in the CIS. Kassymzhan Mametbakiyev

as creating virtual tours to muse- Kazakh artists, like Alan Buribayev, ums and galleries via free online Dimash Kudaibergen and Mariya platforms; supporting young tal- Mudryak, whose performances Modernising Kazakhstan’s identity ents and partnering at international are met with ovations around the book festivals, including supply- world. He added the national ope- ing Kazakh books to the events. ras “Kyz Zhibek” and “Birzhan Ministry of Culture and Sports Sara” are expected to be translated in globalised world discussed in Astana culture and arts department direc- into the languages of the countries department head, welcomed the called “golden fund,” a selection ed the results of the overseas study tor Almaz Nurazkhan listed Ka- where they will be performed. By Aigerim Bulambayeva participants as she discussed the of best works in literature, cinema, on successful cultural promotion zakhstan’s cultural achievements “Integration of our culture into modern Kazakh culture project. music and the arts, was systemised the globalised world is our main ASTANA – The Institute for “National Kazakh culture must through the project. It is planned The modern national culture so-called “golden objective,” he noted. Eurasian Integration held its sec- not be limited by geographic bor- that works of literature will be Other speakers, such as cul- ond international conference in the ders and remain within the nation. translated into six official UN lan- fund,” a selection of best works in literature, turologist Zira Nauryzbayeva and capital Sept. 15 within a series of Its objective is to enter the global guages. producer Karlygash Alzhiyeva, meetings on “Modernisation 3.0: scene and become a part of the uni- “This is an enormous number of cinema, music and the arts, was systemised named the existing issues that Modernisation of Kazakhstan’s versal cultural fund,” she said. achievements which deserve to be through the project. must be addressed for successful identity.” The conference included Balayeva stressed the impor- presented to the world. The project cultural modernisation to occur. two sessions – “Modern Kazakh tance of not only preserving the will become a facet that will en- Nauryzbayeva stressed the impor- culture in the global world” and national culture, but also promot- able our culture to shine in a new practices that can be implemented and discussed their presentation tance of a free market approach “Modernisation 3.0: social and po- ing it abroad. She noted switching light,” said Balayeva. in Kazakhstan. The practices are abroad. to book publications and the need litical trends.” to the Latin alphabet is a crucial Ministry of Foreign Affairs in- government institutions partici- “The most important asset is our to implement it, while Alzhiyeva Aida Balayeva, the President’s step in reaching that goal. ternational information committee pating in the promotion process; creative youth,” he said. identified art specialists’ brain Executive Office domestic policy The modern national culture so- chair Talgat Zhumagulov present- digitalising cultural heritage, such Nurazkhan mentioned popular drain as a hindrance. Kazakhstan to have 36 new schools in 2018 were opened in the country, which “Three-shift education was By Aigerim Bulambayeva enabled elimination of three-shift eliminated in 42 schools in seven education in 27 schools and dis- regions and nine schools in dis- ASTANA – Kazakhstan will repair in five schools,” added the repair were substituted in five re- unveil 36 schools next year, Ka- official. gions,” added Assylova. zakh Vice Minister of Education Assylova also noted that the Space will be created for ap- and Science Bibigul Assylova an- amount of the funds from the Na- proximately 45,000 additional nounced at a Sept. 11 Mazhilis tional Fund allocated to resolve the students, said the vice minister, (lower house of Parliament) meet- problem of three-shift education which will enable the elimination ing. The meeting addressed the was 72 billion tenge (US$212.8 of the three-shift education in 63 elimination of three-shift educa- million) this year and 112 schools, schools. tion, schools in disrepair and over- including 56 new ones, are under Earlier, in his annual state-of- crowding at preschools. construction. the-nation address, President Nur- “Twelve schools in disrepair will The plan of the akimats (regional sultan Nazarbayev set three tasks be substituted by new schools. In and city administrations) envisions in the sphere of education until 2018, 36 schools will be opened, and 76 schools to be put into operation 2020 – eliminating three-shift edu- the construction of all those schools by the end of the year, including cation, addressing schools in dis- began this year,” said Assylova. 52 schools that have been commis- repair and providing children aged “In 2015 and 2016, 35 schools sioned as of Sept. 1. 3-6 years with kindergartens. B6 NATION&CAPITAL EXPO 2017

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 Italy celebrated national day as exhibition neared its end manity. Therefore, for the future people visiting the venue, said By Zhazira Dyussembekova prosperity and for our genera- Italian Pavilion General Manag- tions, we must come up with new er Valentina Pomatico. She was ASTANA – The Italian pavilion ways of solving difficult prob- pleased with the turnout. celebrated National Day at EXPO lems,” he said. “We are happy, we are satisfied 2017 Sept. 4 with a performance The opening ceremony was fol- – I think we had big success,” she by the Nello Salza Ensemble and lowed by Salza performing with said. the famous trumpeter for whom the capital’s Philharmonic Cham- “Milano was an international the group is named. The event ber Choir. He began his career exhibition, while the one is Astana opened by raising the flags and as first trumpet of the San Carlo is the specialised one in the mid- performing the national anthems Theatre in Naples, then with the dle between Milano and Dubai. of Italy and Kazakhstan. Opera Theatre in Rome. Salza has The Kazakhstan one is strategic. “Italy rightfully occupies an travelled to five continents with Italy decided to participate in this. important place in the foreign the Academy of Santa Cecilia Or- It is different from Milan, but I policy of Kazakhstan, being one chestra and soloists Andrea Bo- think it was very successful. The of the most active economic part- celli, Jose Carreras, Placido Do- Kazakh side did a very good job,” ners among European countries. mingo and Katia Ricciarelli. she added. This is evidenced by the pres- Known as “The Trumpet of the The pavilion features 15 of ence of a number of large Italian Italian Cinema, Salza has per- Italy’s 20 regions presenting rel- companies and the dynamic de- formed popular scores in films evant achievements in green en- velopment of trade and economic such as “Once upon a Time in ergy and using the platform to cooperation. I would like to note America” directed by Sergio Leo- develop business and cultural the fruitful work of the Kazakh- ne, “The Untouchables” by Brian events, said Italian Ambassador Italian intergovernmental work- De Palma, “The Legend of 1900” to Kazakhstan and EXPO 2017 ing group on industrial economic and “Cinema Paradiso” by Gi- commissioner Stefano Ravagnan. cooperation, which strengthens useppe Tornatore, “Life is Beau- The pavilion has also hosted im- the partnership relations between tiful” by Roberto Benigni and portant events in the space and the two countries,” said Kazakh the recent “The Hateful Eight” transport industries. He noted the Vice Minister of National Econ- a 39-percent increase compared to tion’s renewable energy sector in and EXPO Astana 2017. Both by Quentin Tarantino. The last nation succeeded in finding pros- omy Aibatyr Zhumagulov during 2016. cooperation with other countries, exhibitions call for finding diffi- featured the 2016 Oscar winning pects in green economy, as Italian the official part of the event. Italian Ministry of Economic including Kazakhstan. cult solutions to global problems, best original score by Ennio Mor- company Bionet SRL signed a He noted trade between Ka- Development Undersecretary Ivan “Indeed, there is a great simi- since the deficit, shortage of food ricone. memorandum with Kazakh Invest zakhstan and Italy for the first Scalfarotto noted the expo will larity between the themes of the and energy resources are always National Day is an important in July to construct a plant in the half of this year was $4.8 billion, give impetus to developing his na- exhibitions – EXPO Milan 2015 topical issues at any time for hu- celebration, with more than 400 capital. EXPO 2017 manifesto lays out Russia celebrates national day environmental calls to action with cultural programme the Protect Our Planet Movement According to steering commit- by Kazakhstan, with which we The celebration featured per- By Dmitry Lee and president of the World Sus- tee members, the manifesto’s pro- By Dana Omirgazy enjoy a friendship and strategic formances by groups includ- tainable Development Forum. ject papers are aimed at becoming partnership. It is always nice to ing the State Academic Rus- ASTANA – The Manifesto of “The implementation, I think, the road map to spread the most ASTANA – Russia celebrated visit Astana, the city that was at sian Folk Ensemble, trumpeter Values and Principles, presented will have to be done by the expo’s thought-provoking ideas and pro- its National Day at EXPO 2017 the origin of the Eurasian integra- Vadim Eilenkrig, Buranovskiye Sept. 5 during the EXPO 2017 host country. It is to their glory and jects showcased during the expo. Sept. 8 with Kazakh First Depu- tion project,” he added. Babushki Ensemble, Slavyane Future Energy Forum (FEF) at credit that there will be a legacy of “The manifesto is the result ty Prime Minister Askar Mamin Dvorkovich thanked Kazakh- Folk Band and Altai State Youth the capital’s Congress Centre, ad- the exhibition, so we expect that of the brainstorm sessions that and Russian Vice Prime Minister stan for creating comfortable Song and Dance Ensemble. The dresses global environmental is- there will be an effort on the part have taken place during the three Arkady Dvorkovich leading Rus- conditions at the exhibition, indi- Coffeetime Band performed the sues and calls for action. of the leadership of this country to months of the exhibition,” said Dr. sia’s delegation and ambassadors cating Russia submitted a bid to expo anthem in Kazakh, trigger- The manifesto is the concept see that the legacy of the expo be- Kanat Baigarin, vice president for and exhibition visitors joining the host EXPO 2025. He hoped his ing joy and pride among local combining project papers and comes a reality,” he added. innovation and research at Naz- official ceremony. colleagues, partners and friends citizens. Guests also enjoyed an proposals voiced during the exhi- The document is designed to arbayev University and a member “The Russian pavilion demon- would support his country’s can- interactive programme, gifts and bition, according to steering com- tackle current global climate is- of the steering committee. strates the powerful energy poten- didacy. surprises. mittee head Dr. Rajendra Pachauri. sues and help promote alternative The project papers include top- tial and technological capabilities “There are plans for EXPO “I took part in many celebra- “The manifesto is the product of energy across the world. It covers ics and proposals such as a global of the country. Russia is an impor- 2025 to take place in Yekater- tions of the national days at the tant trade and economic partner inburg between May 2-Nov. 2, the group of experts who consti- key global issues such as transfor- future energy institute, post-expo expo. All of them impressed me mation to higher efficiency levels, green fund for a sustainable future for Kazakhstan in the world. For 2025. The core theme of the up- tute the steering committee and the greatly. Today, I really enjoyed result of various conferences with transition to low carbon and zero (a project of the Astana Interna- the third consecutive year, Rus- coming exhibition is ‘Changing Russia’s day with fascinating tra- fine speakers. Now, it’s our offer- carbon energy sources, energy for tional Financial Centre), access to sia is Kazakhstan’s largest trading the World: Innovations and Better ditional songs and dances. Eve- ing to the government of Kazakh- an urbanised world and a call for energy for all including off-grid partner. According to the results Life for Future Generations,’” he ryone was delighted to hear the stan and it is up to them whether international cooperation. solutions for rural areas, values of the first half of this year, the said. to accept what’s been proposed by During the FEF, experts stressed and principles for a new GDP trade turnover increased to $7.4 Following the introduction, vis- expo’s anthem in the Kazakh lan- the manifesto,” he said during a 50 percent of Kazakhstan’s elec- standard and solar power to Ka- billion, which is 34 percent more itors were treated to a number of guage performed by the Russian press conference. tricity supply will be generated by zakhstan’s high-profile municipal than in the same period last year,” Russian cultural events, partici- band. I feel sad the expo is com- Pachauri is the chief mentor of renewables by 2050. buildings. said Mamin. pated in a national parade accom- ing to an end,” said visitor Irina He noted Kazakh-Russian rela- panied by the sounds of the Omsk Nazarova. tions have become a model not Philharmonic brass orchestra and The Russian pavilion is one of only for the Commonwealth of enjoyed traditional songs, dances the biggest at the expo, occupying Independent States (CIS) coun- and snacks. more than 1,000 square metres. It tries, but also an example of how Talented artists from the has welcomed nearly 800,000 vis- EXPO 2017 best pavilions bilateral relations between na- world’s largest country created a itors. The exhibition space, focus- tions should develop in the 21st festive atmosphere. Visitors wel- ing on the Arctic, nuclear power century. comed the dancers, singers and and renewable energy sources, “It is important that the first musicians, applauding and sing- features a piece of a real iceberg awarded as exhibition closes, expo in the CIS region is hosted ing with them. from the Arctic. legacy lives on Continued from Page B1 and expo commissioner Rapil 700 square metres), Qatar was Zhoshybayev for attracting such granted the gold award for exhi- Astana was nominated the “City a large number of participants. bition design, with Azerbaijan re- of the Future” by National Geo- Certificates of merit were given to ceiving the silver and Monaco the graphic Traveler magazine and the all expo volunteers for being the bronze. For theme development, organisation featured the capital in backbone of the exhibition and the the gold award in the category was its documentary “Megastructures: expo’s communications service for given to Switzerland, with Hun- Astana – City of the Future.” Ap- covering the event in the media. gary receiving silver and India the proximately 196 companies and BIE announced an additional bronze. 200,000 individuals were involved award and $24,000 cash prize to For type C pavilions (less than in the expo construction. the National University of Lesotho. 400 square metres), the gold award One hundred and fifteen countries “The EXPO 2017 Astana edi- for exhibition design was granted and 22 international organisations tion of the BIE Cosmos Prize has to Poland, with silver going to took part in the exhibition, which been awarded to the National Uni- Slovakia and bronze to Latvia. opened June 9. Each participat- versity of Lesotho for its initiative Finland received the gold award, ing nation presented its own vision to design and produce low-cost Singapore the silver and the Czech and concept of future energy and solar collectors. Jointly awarded Republic the bronze in theme de- showcased its latest technological by the BIE, the Expo ’90 Founda- velopment. achievements in the energy field. tion and the expo, this year’s edi- Among category D pavilions The International Exposition tion of the BIE Cosmos Prize was (joint pavilions within the pla- Bureau (BIE) awarded 24 gold, open to not-for-profit projects and zas), the Caribbean Community silver and bronze medals of hon- citizen and group initiatives work- plaza received the gold award for our, certificates and prizes to ing in the area of ‘Future Energy,’ exhibition design, with the Pa- participants and pavilions in sev- the theme of the expo in Astana,” cific Ocean plaza taking the silver eral categories. The Gold Medal – noted the official BIE statement. and the Latin American plaza the BIE’s highest award – was given Russia received the gold award bronze. The theme development to Nazarbayev for his contribution for exhibition design among type awards were given to Tajikistan and success in hosting the exhibi- A pavilions (more than 700 square (gold), Ghana (silver) and Ukraine tion. A second gold was awarded metres). The silver award went to (bronze). Honorable mention went to international participants for the United Kingdom, the bronze to to the International Organisations their spirit and support. the Republic of Korea. For theme joint pavilion. Medals of honour were pre- development, the gold award was Close to 3.8 million people vis- sented to the Astana EXPO 2017 presented to Germany, with China ited the exhibition, nearly twice as national company for its dedica- and France receiving the silver and many as the 2 million anticipated tion and high professionalism, the bronze, respectively. by expo officials. The event closed capital’s authorities and citizens Among type B pavilions (400- with late-hour grand fireworks. B7 NATION&CAPITAL SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

be very difficult to be victorious on the second day. Initially, Den- is Yevseyev was to partner with Kazakhstan beats current champ Argentina Aleksandr Nedovyesov, but short- ly before the game Doskarayev made a substitute, introducing Timur Khabibullin. The decision to return to Davis Cup World Group proved to be the right one. In a do it; they proved it many times,” very difficult game, Nedovyesov By Anuar Abdrakhmanov he said before the match, which and Khabibullin earned an impor- was contested Sept. 15-17 at Asta- tant win against Maximo Gonzalez ASTANA – After a year-long na’s National Tennis Centre. and Andres Molteni. hiatus, Kazakhstan’s men’s tennis Kazakhstan’s number 1, Mikhail Kukushkin vs. Schwartzman team returned to the Davis Cup Kukushkin, met Guido Pella in the was the decisive confrontation of World Group by defeating Argen- first game, earning the first point the three-day match. The Kazakh tina in the playoffs. for his team with a 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, player moved better and was more The Argentines, the current 6-4 victory. The match was quite accurate in key episodes, which Davis Cup champions ,were the long, lasting more than three hours. allowed him to beat his opponent clear favourites in the match, “I have never played the Argen- 6-4, 6-4, 7-6, bringing his team an even though their 3-2 home loss tinean in individual tournaments, early victory and an elite place in in February to Italy sent them but I knew that my opponent was next season’s Davis Cup. to the playoffs. Kazakh captain a very strong player, so I set my “If you play for your coun- Dias Doskarayev, however, never mind on the hardest fight with him. try and your people with all your stopped telling his players they I believe I could only have won heart, if you fully believe in your- over Pella thanks to our fans. They could surprise any opposition. self and the team, you can beat any gave me great support and helped opponent, even such a strong one “There are always chances. We me win,” said Kukushkin after the as Argentina. I congratulate every- are playing at home on an impor- match. one on our victory. Kazakhstan’s tant stage. We have good statistics The guests equalised the score in tennis is now at a very high level. at home, regardless of the oppo- the match after Argentinean lead- More and more people are get- nents. Of course, we are playing er Diego Schwartzman defeated ting interested in it. Some people the current Davis Cup champions Dmitry Popko 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. take tennis classes, others come to and it will be very difficult. The Few could suggest Kazakhstan watch and support the players. It is most important thing for our tennis would win the doubles. The loss of great. I hope that this victory will players now is to prepare well and Andrey Golubev, who was always contribute to this great trend,” said

Photo credit: Sergiy Kivrinç Sergiy Photo credit: believe in victory. Our players can good in this format, meant it would Doskarayev. Jordan launches ‘GGG’ clothing Kazakh curling team line with Kazakh ornamentation prepares for World Cup Golovkin signed an exclusive Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (49-1- 1, for Apple Watch. Golovkin found are going to have trainings in Korea Staff Report advertising contract with Jordan 34 KOs). himself shadow boxing in a white By Yerbolat Uatkhanov again,” he added. in April 2016. He became the The sixth winter sports and ath- ASTANA – The Jordan Ameri- third boxer who represents this ASTANA – Curling has never letic meeting, the main start of the can brand of sportswear recently brand. Pioneers were Americans Golovkin, who is 35 years old, is the first been popular in Kazakhstan, but four-year national level, will kick off presented a collection of clothes Andre Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) and interest in the sport has developed in Kazakhstan in December. Curling devoted to Kazakh boxer Gen- Roy Jones Jr. (65-9, 47 KOs). Kazakh athlete for which a major dynamically since the Winter World will be presented in four disciplines: nady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs), Jordan is a joint brand of Nike international sports brand has produced Universiade 2017. The country now men, women, mixed couples and vesti.kz reports. Nike has already and legendary basketball player has a national team, which is hold- mixed teams. started selling two kinds of caps, Michael Jordan. The company has clothing. In 2015, he starred in a new ing friendly matches in preparation As a new sport for the country, curl- four T-shirts and one sweatshirt also specially made boxer shorts for the World Cup. Competitions be- ing is unfamiliar to many citizens, but from the Golovkin’s collection. in the Kazakh style for Golovkin. commercial for Apple Watch. tween mixed teams and juniors are there is a keen interest. The 827 of- The design is based on Kazakh GGG himself took part in the organised at the Almaty Arena ice ficially registered athletes claim this ornamentation and uses the box- presentation at a store in Paris in Golovkin, who is 35 years old, is room and checking his heart rate palace, reported Zakon.kz. sport is absolutely for everyone. er’s phrase – Big Drama Show December. In June, Jordan invited the first Kazakh athlete for which with the brand new Apple Watch. “Despite the fact that the new Curlers take turns sliding heavy, and his initials – GGG. Cost of the Kazakh boxer to visit him and a major international sports brand The commercial ends up with the curling season has just begun, we polished granite stones across the did not stop training. National men’s ice towards a target area of four con- the clothing starts from $32. The handed him the equipment for the has produced clothing. In 2015, words “Track Every Beat” ap- and women’s teams, mixed teams centric circles. The two competing most expensive item costs $65. Sept. 16 fight against Mexican he starred in a new commercial pearing on the white background. Apple’s official YouTube chan- (men and women) and athletes with teams have four players and eight nel and website as well as GGG’s hearing disorders and organ trans- stones. Points are scored for the stones resting closest to the centre of official social media accounts plants are involved in the trainings. We recently used a training camp the target area and teams strive to ac- shared the video. in Korea, where we were supported cumulate the higher score. Golovkin is a professional and provided everything necessary “Today is the first training after boxer from Kazakhstan, who for the trainings. We spent 10 days our trip to Korea. In fact, there is a currently holds the unified WBA at one of the best stadiums in the difference between our ice and the (Super), WBC, IBF, and IBO world,” said Kazakhstan Curling Korean one, which corresponds to middleweight titles. As of May Association Secretary General and Olympic standards,” said women’s 2017, he is ranked as the world’s head coach Viktor Kim. national team captain Zarema Ab- best middleweight by BoxRec “Now, we are preparing for the dykadyrova. and the Transnational Box- new season and we will soon go to She believes in the need to have a ing Rankings Board (TBRB), Turkey to prepare for the World Cup will and if there is a will, there will and second best by The Ring. among the mixed teams, which will be a result. Abdykadyrova suggests The Ring also ranks him as the be held Oct. 14-16 in Switzerland. everyone engage in the sport, be- world’s second best active box- After that, we plan to participate in cause it is suitable for people of all er. The BoxRec and the TBRB the Pacific-Asian championship, ages, adding the number of people find him the fifth best active where teams for the Olympic Games interested and involved has grown boxer. will be selected. After this event, we significantly in recent years. Astana loses first UEFA Europa League match in Spain By Anuar Abdrakhmanov timately, a shot by forward Nicola Sansone reached its aim for a 1-0 ASTANA – FC Astana, the only lead. The visitors§’ forward Roman Kazakh club in this year’s UEFA Murtazayev responded with a dan- Europa League, lost 3-1 while visit- gerous header, followed by Beise- ing Spanish club Villarreal CF in its bekov and Twumasi’s long-range first group stage match on Sept. 14. shots, all saved by Villarreal goal- The teams played one another keeper Mariano Barbosa. three years ago in the last qualify- Astana finally managed to even ing round of the same tournament. the score midway through the sec- The Spaniards, known locally as ond half. Assisted by Twumasi’s cor- El Submarino Amarillo or Yellow ner kick, defender Yuri Logvinenko Submarina because of their home headed the ball into the hosts’ net. kit colour, secured a confident 4-0 Villarreal needed only seven min- win in that battle. Four members utes, however, to prove its status of Astana’s current line-up played as the team to beat. First, Cédric in that game, including defenders Bakambu had a clear run on goal, Abzal Beisebekov, Yevgeny Post- sending the ball into the right top cor- nikov and Dmitry Shomko and for- ner of the net. Russian Denis Chery- ward Patrick Twumasi. Midfielder shev then finished his partner’s cross Serikzhan Muzhikov went to Spain from the right flank, setting the final as well, but sat out the match. This score and win for the Spanish club. time Villareal, known for its suc- “We tried to play good football. cessful performances in the last The team can be more dynamic two decades in the Spanish Premier and aggressive. Slight mistakes League and European tournaments, were made [when we missed] was the favourite again. three goals. I am glad we scored To the surprise of the host team’s a goal [following our good perfor- fans, Astana was quite active early mance early] in the second half, in the match. Muzhikov made the but we still weren’t active enough game’s first shot towards the goal, in attacking,” said FC Astana head but it went above the bar. Villar- coach Stanimir Stoilov. real responded by dominating for The team’s next match will be Sept. a long period, putting pressure on 28 against SK Slavia Prague. Kick- Kazakh goalkeeper Nenad Eric. Ul- off will be 9 p.m. at Astana Arena. B8 NATION&CAPITAL CAPITAL

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 Astana hosts Global Islamic Finance Awards Int’l audience gathers and finance,” said Azmi. “GIFA By Assel Satubaldina is a global brand recognised as a most respected finance award in ASTANA – The Astana Inter- the world,” she noted, that has the to advance sustainable national Financial Centre (AIFC) “most detailed approach to screen hosted Sept. 6 the Global Islamic the best of the best.” Finance Awards (GIFA), a prestig- The awards’ most prestigious ious award honouring individuals honour is Global Leader in Islamic development goals and institutions that have contrib- Finance. uted to the promotion of Islamic Nazarbayev received this award in banking and finance. 2014 as part of the 10th World Islam- Established in 2011 by Edbiz ic Economic Forum in Dubai. During Corporation, an international Sha- the Sept. 6 ceremony, Nazarbayev riah advisory firm, the award seeks presented the award to President of to push Islamic banking and fi- Djibouti Ismaïl Omar Guelleh. nance forward worldwide. The in- “It is an honour to host the GIFA. augural GIFA ceremony took place Gathering participants of the glob- Dec. 7, 2011 as part of the Oman al financial market is an effective Islamic Economic Forum (OIEF). tool of international cooperation. By Dana Omirgazy across Kazakhstan, we are now working to reduce carbon inten-

This year, the event gathered more akorda.kz Photo credit: Today’s ceremony identifies lead- ASTANA – Horyou, an action sity in a series of Kazakh cities,” than 200 representatives of the Is- Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev (L) presents the Global Leader in ers in various fields of Islamic fi- lamic finance industry, including 50 Islamic Finance Award to President of Djibouti Ismaïl Omar Guelleh. nance. This will contribute to the oriented social network for social he noted. winners, from more than 20 coun- further development of finance good, organised the Social Inno- Parienti added it is important tries. Kazakhstan President Nursul- “In 2009, Kazakhstan became “AIFC will serve as an Islamic services. I thank the founder of the vation and Global Ethics Forum that the sustainability agenda is tan Nazarbayev and high-ranking the first country in the CIS region finance getaway and Islamic fi- award for bringing it to our coun- (SIGEF) Sept. 5 to discuss future driven by youth, children and all Kazakh officials also attended. and Central Asia to create a path nance hub for the region,” said try,” Nazarbayev said. energy, smart cities and the UN citizens of Kazakhstan. AIFC Governor Kairat Kelim- for Islamic finance industry. Since Kelimbetov. He also reiterated the impor- Sustainable Development Goals Reinforcing its global presence betov opened the award ceremony. then Kazakhstan has witnessed a Edbiz Corporation CEO Sofiza tance of Islamic finance for the (SDGs) and lead an official dele- and impact, Horyou organised the He called Kazakhstan a pioneer gradual growth in developing of Azmi also addressed the gathering. country, referring to the results of gation to EXPO 2017. Internation- first SIGEF this year in Central of Islamic banking and finance Islamic finance industry,” said the “I am both honoured and de- the Boston Consulting Group re- al speakers, panellists and modera- Asia, with an agenda of discus- in the Commonwealth of Inde- AIFC governor. lighted to be here today to cel- search that estimated the assets of tors attended the event. sions deeply anchored in the future pendent States incorporating the One of the pillars in the work ebrate the success of award win- the Islamic finance sector in Ka- “With SIGEF, Horyou is com- of interconnected societies, ac- regulatory framework for Islamic of the AIFC, scheduled to launch ners who have made outstanding zakhstan will reach $23 billion by mitted to encouraging multi-stake- cording to horyou.com. banking in the national legislation next year, is Islamic finance, added achievements contributing to the 2025 and make up 10 percent of holders to gather, interact and es- Horyou and the SIGEF team in 2009. Kelimbetov. sustainability of Islamic banking total banking sector assets. tablish partnerships to shape better plan to visit the expo country pa- times to come. SIGEF will bring vilions Sept. 6-7, the biggest future together social entrepreneurs, im- energy gathering this year. pact investors, philanthropists, “We are thrilled to bring our government officials and repre- SIGEF international delegations sentatives from civil society to to connect with participants from International green technologies centre to help spread the message that we can all all continents who are attend- be changemakers,” said Horyou ing EXPO 2017 Astana, to build founder and CEO Yonathan Pari- bridges of collaboration and foster enti. sustainable solutions that will ben- Kazakhstan transition to a green economy Participants discussed the chal- efit our societies,” said Parienti. ated on the basis of EXPO in the Delegates of the two-day forum hopes the share of renewable en- lenges of climate change amid Through technology, innovation By Frol Leandoer coming month. Its tasks include also discussed sustainable en- ergy sources will be 3 percent by economic development and urban and social entrepreneurship advo- transforming the energy sector and ergy source management, climate 2020, 10 percent by 2030 and 50 growth. UNDP Deputy Resident cacy, Horyou promotes meaning- ASTANA – The international the transition to a green business. change and carbon dioxide emis- percent by 2050. Representative for Programme and ful and global interactions amongst green technologies centre to open It will cooperate with the industri- sions reduction. The gathering “Undoubtedly, we feel the influ- Operations Munkhtuya Altangerel its adherent organisations, mem- in Astana next month will help alised (Organisation for Economic also discussed energy efficiency ence on taking these responsible focused on low carbon urban de- bers and personalities. With its Kazakhstan transition to a green Cooperation and Development) and smart energy as well as nu- decisions on the further develop- velopment in Kazakhstan. platform, app and Spotlight, the economy and will focus on renew- OECD countries, with Russia, clear and uranium industry devel- ment of the industry. I am confi- “Cities represent entire systems first Global Social Currency for able energy throughout Central China, the United States, India, opment. dent that by joint efforts we will be or I can even say ecosystems. If Impact, it helps transform posi- Asia, Kazakh Energy Minister and countries of Latin America. Kazakhstan is the world’s lead- able to build a reliable foundation we are to build smart and sustain- tive ideas into concrete actions Kanat Bozumbayev said at the re- The centre will become a worthy ing uranium supplier and that mar- for an effective, cleaner and green- able cities, we need to think how while building constructive rela- cent Eurasian KAZENERGY fo- continuation of EXPO’s practice. ket is expected to grow, said Bo- er future of energy. We are obliged we bring more sustainability into tionships both online and offline. rum, Kazinform reports. The centre will be focused not zumbaev. to provide precisely this kind of every part of urban infrastruc- The Horyou community embraces “An international centre of green only on Kazakhstan, but on the The minister noted that Kazakh- future to the next generation of ture. After having tried and tested more than 1,000 organisations and technologies and future energy entire Central Asian region,” said stan uses traditional and renewable power engineers,” Bozumbayev demonstration projects promot- 220,000 users from more than 180 investment projects will be cre- Bozumbayev. energy sources, saying the country concluded. ing greater energy efficiency countries. St. Regis opens hotel in Astana more appealing destination for so- pitality and comfort, the St. Regis Global Brand Leader Lisa Hollo- sons, as they can take advantage ballroom, five meeting rooms and By Assel Satubaldina phisticated travellers. Astana is nestled beside the Yessil day. of the hotel’s close distance to a business centre for meetings and With the first flagship St. Re- River, one of the most prestigious “Astana is a rapidly developing the city’s popular sights and gov- events. ASTANA – Astana is becom- gis opening in New York in 1904, areas of Astana, offering a spec- city with the rising popularity. ernmental and commercial build- The guests are also welcome to ing an attractive tourist destina- the St. Regis now has 61 hotels tacular view to the riverside. We would be happy to offer our ings. immerse themselves in a distin- tion, as the young and vibrant city worldwide that extend the brand’s “The St. Regis Astana reflects services to business people and The hotel includes 120 guest guished dining experience with has been recently hosting numer- timeless elegance and impeccable the country’s rich history and cul- tourists visiting Astana,” added rooms, including 14 Ambassador La Rivière restaurant, the Grill ous international events and the service, including a new one in ture and the design, services and Holloday. Suites, six St. Regis Suites, two and the St. Regis Bar offering an Aug. 21 opening of the St. Regis Astana. cuisine offerings of the St. Regis,” The St. Regis serves as an ideal Royal Suites and a Presidential extensive menu of vintage wines in Astana makes the city an even Introducing an exceptional hos- said St. Regis Hotels & Resorts stay for tourists and business per- Suite with private terraces, and a and champagnes.