+3° / +1°C WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017 No 21 (135) www.astanatimes.com King Abdullah II awarded Country drops one inaugural Nazarbayev Prize spot in Doing Business By Aigerim Seisembayeva ASTANA – King Abdullah report, shows progress II of Jordan was awarded the Nazarbayev Prize for a Nuclear- Weapons-Free World and Global Security during his Nov. 1 official in separate areas visit to Kazakhstan. The Jordanian sixth in enforcing contracts. By monarch was decorated for his By Aigerim Bulambayeva introducing additional time stand- contribution to “regional stability, ards for key court events respected global security and steadfast stance ASTANA – Kazakhstan was in the majority of cases, the coun- against war and the proliferation of ranked 36th on the Doing Busi- try eased enforcing contracts. weapons of mass destruction.” ness 2018 report released Oct. 31, Another significant improve- “This award is in recognition of one point lower compared with ment was observed in “Register- your contributions and manifesta- last year’s ranking. In separate in- ing Property” where Kazakhstan tion of hope that as conflicts rage stances, however, it showed defi- is now ranked 17th. Kazakhstan’s you would continue with a peace- nite progress. business reforms made it easier to making role, which brings people Although Kazakhstan’s overall transfer a property by improving closer,” said Kazakh President rating dropped from its record high transparency and the land adminis- Nursultan Nazarbayev. last year, the country was rated tration system’s dispute resolution He specifically highlighted Jor- first among the 190 countries con- mechanisms. dan’s acceptance of up to 1.3 mil- sidered in “Protecting Minority In- Several areas must be improved lion refugees since the Syrian cri- vestors.” The position is due to the for the nation to provide additional sis began more than six years ago, policy reform undertaken this year. benefits while doing business. One as well as Amman’s involvement The nation strengthened minority vulnerable area is trading across in the Astana Process peace talks investor protections by increasing borders, where Kazakhstan’s on Syria as an observer. Jordan’s rights and roles of shareholders 2018 rating is 123rd. An explana- contribution to peace process be- in major corporate decisions and tion for this is border compliance tween Israel and Palestine was also clarifying ownership and control measured in time to be exported. noted. structures, as well as requiring In Kazakhstan, the indicator is 133 King Abdullah thanked the Ka- greater corporate transparency and hours in contrast to 12.7 hours in zakh President for the invitation, providing greater access to corpo- high income Organisation for Eco- rate information during trial. the warm welcome rendered by the King Abdullah II of Jordan (L) and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev (R). nomic Co-operation and Develop- Kazakh hosts and expressed grati- In addition to protecting minor- ment (OECD) countries. tude for the award. Iraq, the diplomatic crisis around At a briefing that followed the cerns. Today, Kazakhstan is a ity investors, Kazakhstan ranked Continued on Page A6 He emphasised the trusting na- Qatar, as well as the fight against bilateral meeting, Nazarbayev champion of global co-existence ture of the relations between the terrorism and joint efforts to pro- noted February 2018 will mark the and cooperation,” he said. two countries and highlighted the mote religious tolerance and nu- 25th anniversary of Kazakh-Jorda- The meeting resulted in the important role of Nursultan Naz- clear non-proliferation. nian relations. signing of bilateral agreements, arbayev in the peaceful settlement The Jordanian leader visited Ka- He also thanked the Jordanian including those on extradition of of international conflicts. zakhstan the day after the seventh side for their active participation in persons, on the transfer of con- Kazakhstan to “We value what you do to make high-level international meeting the EXPO 2017 international spe- victed persons, on legal assistance this world a better and safer place. on Syria concluded in Astana. Jor- cialised exhibition in Astana and in criminal matters, on cooperation Your leadership is important for all dan participated in the talks as an the first Summit on Science and in combating terrorism, organised of us,” said the king. observer. Nazarbayev stated that Technologies of the Organisation crime, illicit trafficking in narcotic switch to Latin He stressed that “this award is the Astana Process helped dimin- of Islamic Cooperation. drugs, psychotropic substances, for the entire people of Jordan.” ish the level of violence in Syria King Abdullah confirmed Jor- their precursors and other types of His office is reported to have add- significantly, as the local popula- dan’s willingness to continue the crimes. ed that the prize money would go tion have a chance to return to close cooperation with Kazakh- The Nazarbayev Prize for a alphabet by 2025 to support excelling Jordanian stu- peaceful life. stan and thanked Kazakhstan and Nuclear-Weapons-Free World and dents in public schools. The Kazakh President and the its leader for its contribution to the Global Security was established The leaders of the two countries Jordanian King agreed to continue international community. in 2016. Its objective is to urge in- also tackled international issues, developing bilateral ties and coop- “My dear brother, you have ternational actors to pursue more including the war in Syria and the erating on efforts for international brought global vision to today’s vigorous efforts to rid the world of Astana Process, the situation in peace. most pressing international con- nuclear weapons. Latest Syrian peace talks in Astana focus on humanitarian issues The version of the alphabet approved by the Decree. By Aigerim Bulambayeva Kazakh alphabet to Latin-based script. The corresponding docu- ASTANA – Kazakh President ment was published Oct. 27 on the Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a de- Akorda website. cree Oct. 26 to change the existing Continued on Page A2 One millionth tonne of cargo shipped Photo credit: Akorda.kz Photo credit: from Kuryk port statement by the three guarantor ian government and the Syrian of UN Special Envoy for Syria cals, as well as transit cargo com- By Assel Satubaldina states of the process – Russia, armed opposition, delegations Staffan de Mistura, who attended By Zhazira Dyussembekova ing from China, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey and Iran. from Iran, Russia and Turkey at- a couple of previous rounds. Uzbekistan, are exported via the ASTANA – The Oct. 29-30 lat- Participants discussed ad- tended closed-door negotiations. During the talks, head of the ASTANA – The one millionth Kuryk ferry complex. From the est round of Syrian peace talks herence to de-escalation zones U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary Syrian government delegation tonne of cargo left Kuryk port beginning of operation to the pre- in Astana, the seventh in what agreed-upon in previous Astana of State David Satterfield and a Bashar al-Jaafari called upon the Oct. 19 for the Azerbaijani port of sent day, the volume of cargo has is known as the Astana Process Process talks as well as humani- delegation from Jordan and the guarantor states to abide by pre- Baku. The Kuryk port, launched reached one million tonnes,” said meant to supplement UN-bro- tarian issues, primarily the issues United Nations (UN) also at- vious agreements, including de- in December, is under its second port general manager Myrzabek kered peace talks in Geneva, of exchange of detainees, prison- tended. escalation zone agreement. phase of construction. Saktaganov at the ceremony dedi- focused on humanitarian issues ers of war and missing persons. The UN delegation was led “At present, Kazakh grain, coal, cated to the milestone reached. and resulted in another joint Representatives of the Syr- by Milos Strugar, an associate Continued on Page A5 oil products, fertilisers and chemi- Continued on Page A2 INSIDE NATION ECONOMY&BUSINESS EDITORIALS OPINIONS NATION&CAPITAL Association of businesswomen presents Industrialisation initiative results Digital Kazakhstan programme NAKAO: A New Era of Cooperation Kazakh restaurant opens gender budgeting project A2 in economic growth A6 key to country’s development A8 for Central Asia A9 in Manhattan B1 Multilateral strategy to combat corruption Cryptocurrencies are natural evolution A well deserved prize and a token of stronger BURIAN: EU-Central Asia: A new generation East Kazakhstan promotes domestic tourism, discussed at public hearings A2 of payment systems, says expert A7 cooperation to come A8 of partnership and cooperation A10 educational tours B6 US$ 1 = 334.52 KZT € 1 = 388.14 KZT 1 = 5.68 KZT A2 NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017 NATIONAL Association of businesswomen presents NEWS IN BRIEF Training seminars for high-level Corps A civil servants were held Oct. 30-Nov. 3 in Astana, accord- gender budgeting project ing to the organisation’s press ser- of both genders, is envisioned in to its crucial goal of entering the “Our experts suggested con- significant issue, as it affects all vice. The programme on leadership By Assel Satubaldina the Kazakhstan 2030 Concept on world’s 30 most developed coun- ducting gender-based analysis of segments of the population, said and transformation initiatives was Family and Gender Policy, said as- tries by 2050. the budget, state programmes and national commission for women, coordinated by the Astana Civil ASTANA – The Association of sociation chair and national com- The project revealed several legislative framework before en- family and demographic policy Service Hub, Nazarbayev Univer- Businesswomen of Kazakhstan mission member Raushan Sarsem- important factors predominant dorsing the relevant documents, deputy chair Lyazzat Suleimen. sity and the U.S. Federal Executive presented a project to introduce bayeva. in society and across all levels of ensuring broad public discussion “But we need to start from small Institute. “We are very interested gender budgeting in the nation “Gender budgeting is quite a government that could impede involving women NGOs and in- things.