+15 / +12°C WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2015 No 10 (76) www.astanatimes.com Kyrgyzstan Becomes Fifth Member China, Kazakhstan of Eurasian Economic Union Agree to Align Development Strategies By Michelle Witte Road Economic belt, saying the two projects would be connected ASTANA – Chinese President “in very interesting ways.” In the China Xi Jinping and Kazakh talks on May 7, he repeated this, President Nursultan Nazarbayev saying Kazakhstan will work with agreed during Xi’s May 7 visit to China to build the new Silk Road Kazakhstan to align development and cooperate with China on trade, strategies, Xinhua News reported. energy, technology and building In 2013, Xi announced in a industry. speech at Astana’s Nazarbayev China is currently the chair of University China’s New Silk Road the Conference on Interaction and Economic Belt initiative, which is Confidence-Building Measures in meant to facilitate the integration Asia (CICA), and Xi noted that of the economies of the old Silk China values the position and will Road. use it to work toward making CICA “We are ready to align the Silk a useful platform for promoting Road Economic Belt initiative to consensus, unity and mutual trust Kazakhstan’s new economic poli- among Asian countries, Xinhua The leaders of the Eurasian Economic Union, the presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and newest member Kyrgyzstan meet in Moscow. cy [Nurly Zhol], so as to achieve reported. A year ago in Shanghai, cooperation, as well as the process of strengthen ties between our countries on concluding an agreement on common development and pros- China announced at CICA its con- By Malika Orazgaliyeva Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the union. and will give a powerful impetus to partnership and cooperation. The perity on the basis of equality cept for a new regional security Addressing the participants at the development of the Eurasian Un- next potential partners at this stage and reciprocity,” Xi said during architecture, an “Asian security Kyrgyzstan officially became the meeting, Nazarbayev empha- ion as a whole,” he said. could be Turkey, Iran, India, Mon- talks with Nazarbayev, Xinhua partnership programme,” which the fifth member the Eurasian Eco- sised that one year had passed Nazarbayev noted the growing golia and Azerbaijan,” he added. reported. He also said that China would see dependence on bilateral nomic Union (EAEU) on May 8, since the agreement was signed interest of the international com- In his speech, Atambayev noted and Kazakhstan should continue military alliances reduced, and in joining Kazakhstan, Russia, Bela- establishing the EAEU. munity in the economic union. that in order to harmonise the legal rus and Armenia. The meeting of “I am convinced that an integra- “Today, a number of states pro- framework of Kyrgyzstan with the Trade between China and Kazakhstan the five leaders, Nursultan Naz- tion alliance based on equity of inter- pose establishing trade and eco- standards of the EAEU, the country’s arbayev, Vladimir Putin, Alexan- ests, pragmatism and gradualism can nomic relations. For example, parliament has adopted the complete reached $17.2 billion in 2014, and in March der Lukashenko, Serzh Sargsyan strengthen our states and economies during the meeting of the inter- relevant legislative package. He also and the newest member, Almazbek in conditions of the global crisis. governmental council there were expressed his gratitude to Russia and the two countries signed 33 deals worth Atambayev, took place in Moscow. Since the EAEU started to function plans to sign the first agreement Kazakhstan for providing assistance $23.6 billion on cooperation in industry, The parties discussed current one year ago, the composition of the on a free trade zone between the to Kyrgyzstan in the framework of EAEU issues, prospects for deepen- union enlarged with the accession of EAEU and Vietnam. Also, our accession in the integration process- covering energy, metals, automobile ing partnership within the organisa- Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. I believe agenda includes the beginning of es on a bilateral basis. tion and expansion of international that in the future, the cooperation will the negotiation process with China Continued on Page A3 production and more. to develop cooperation in infra- which China would take a leading structure, energy, finance, security, role. The CICA platform was first and cultural and people-to-people proposed by Nazarbayev in 1992. exchanges. Nazarbayev said that his country Enlarged Government Meeting Trade between China and Ka- supports Xi’s efforts toward Asian zakhstan reached $17.2 billion in unity, economic and otherwise, 2014, and in March the two coun- which he said was a natural result tries signed 33 deals worth $23.6 of historical trends as well as in the Addresses Action Plan for Five billion on cooperation in industry, interests of individual countries, covering the energy, metals, auto- Xinhua reported. Kazakhstan is also mobile production and more. ready to work with China within Speaking with Xi, Nazarbayev the Asian Infrastructure Investment Institutional Reforms noted that friendly relations with Bank (AIIB), the newly launched meeting, outlined a number of vices that are accountable to local attention to the importance of start- Kazakhstan’s eastern neighbour multilateral development bank with By Malika Orazgaliyeva specific objectives for each re- communities. ing the privatisation of agricultural was a “priority” for Astana. “We the mission of supporting Asian in- form. Such services “will be responsi- lands, reform of the tax system, have a plan, and we have outlined frastructure projects, he said. ASTANA – During an en- In particular, Nazarbayev em- ble for the maintenance of public revision of power sector policies, specific actions that will take Ka- Xi travelled to Moscow on May larged meeting of the Kazakh phasised that the Agency for Civil order, combating domestic crime changes in the construction indus- zakh-Chinese relations to a new 9 for celebrations marking the 70th government on May 6, partici- Service Affairs and Combating and control of traffic police offic- try and further implementation of level,” he said. anniversary of the end of World pants discussed practical aspects Corruption should become a single ers’ activities. This service in close the industrialisation programme, In an April 27 press conference War II, along with Nazarbayev and of 100 concrete steps to imple- recruiting centre, which will guide cooperation with the local commu- as well as improvement of customs in Astana immediately following other regional leaders. Nazarbayev ment five institutional reforms human resource management for nity should ensure ‘zero tolerance’ procedures and trade policy with- his reelection as president, Naz- confirmed during talks with Xi that proposed by President Nursultan the entire public service. for minor offenses,” Nazarbayev in the framework of the Eurasian arbayev specifically linked his he would attend China’s WWII Nazarbayev. Also, the President noted the said. Economic Union. Nurly Zhol economic stimulus victory celebrations this Septem- The President, who chaired the need to establish local police ser- The head of state further drew Continued on Page A2 programme to China’s New Silk ber. NU Executive MBA Programme GGG Retains WBA Title Helps to Change Business Culture in Kazakhstan business oriented: ‘Let’s cut to the The EMBA is designed for pro- By Michelle Witte chase, here are my questions, this fessionals with at least five years is what I need, here is my position, work experience, though Patrick ASTANA – Nazarbayev Uni- what is yours?’ It doesn’t always Duparcq, associate dean for ex- versity’s Executive Master of work that way, and I had not put a ecutive programmes, pointed out Business Administration (EMBA) lot of value on getting to know the in an interview that 25 percent of programme attracts middle and other party, or getting to know my- this year’s cohort have 20 years or upper-level managers with its self, for that matter, because self- more experience. These big players Duke University strategic coop- awareness was not something I val- in Kazakhstan’s business circles are eration and convenience to Astana. ued a lot. So that was the number drawn by the prospect of studying But perhaps its biggest impact will one. I began to ask questions – not under professors from Duke Uni- come not through the network and related to the matter at hand, but in versity, the EMBA’s strategic part- the hard data it offers students, but an effort to learn about the other ner, Assistant Dean of Marketing from changing their thinking about party,” he told this newspaper in an Richard Castleberry said on April building relationships and creating interview on May 13. 30. But they’re also drawn to the corporate culture. “That’s not to say that we didn’t networking possibilities they create. How to foster relationships is have a lot of math and finance, “Of course, one of the main factors one of the most important things of course … this, of course, was for this particular programme is the Kazbek Aubakirov, vice president a huge body of knowledge; very extremely high quality network of of manufacturing at Heartstitch, practical, very applicable. And contacts.” And these are regional took away from the programme. maybe to some people that came and local contacts, he points out, far Aubakirov was in the EMBA’s first first – to me, that came second. more relevant than establishing a cohort and graduated in November First was myself,