Nine o'clock supplement about Kazakhstan and its business and political relationship with Romania

1. NINE ’CLOCK SUPPLEMENTS
23 years since Independence:Kazakhstan
builds up its ambitious and deserved future
Every year, on December 16,
the Republic of Kazakhstan and
the Kazakhs all over the world are
in celebration. This holiday
marks the independence of
Kazakhstan declared on
December 16, 1991 through the
adoption of the Constitutional
Law following the collapse of the
Soviet Union. On this day, the
Kazakhs all over the world
solemnly celebrate their inde-pendence,
proudly honoring
their historical past, the national
values and symbols, but also
looking faithfully to a blossoming
future.
Kazakhstan Independence
Day is marked by festivities in the
presidential palace and all over
the country. People dress up in
traditional clothes, yurts (tradi-tional
tents) are set up in many
villages where local delicacies are
served.
In a world with a fast chang-ing
architecture, facing new chal-lenges
and threats, the 23 rd
anniversary of the Independence
finds the country embarked on a
very ambitious and challenging
road drawn up two years ago by
president Nursultan Nazarbayev
when he has launched
“Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy”.
Called “Eternal Kazakhstan”, this
milestone visionary project marks
the beginning of a new era in the
history of this nation, with the
goal to shape and develop a coun-try
able to join the group of the
most 30 developed countries in
the world.
“Over the last 23 years
Kazakhstan has accomplished a
great deal. We have created our
own successful model of develop-ment.
Every citizen is immensely
proud of their country. They have
faith in tomorrow and believe in
the future of Kazakhstan. 97 per-cent
of our citizens recognize the
stability of their social-economic
condition and its continuous
improvement year to year.
Today the achievements of
our country are the national pride
of every citizen. Strong and pow-erful
countries are formed on
long-term vision and stable eco-nomic
development.
continued on page 12
“Today between Kazakhstan and
Romania there is a consistent intensifica-tion
of political dialogue, dynamic devel-opment
of bilateral trade-economic, cul-tural
and humanitarian ties, as well as
coordination of efforts between the two
countries within the UN, OSCE and
other international organizations.
Bilateral relation between our coun-tries
is evolving rapidly and continuously
in the right direction. I will just add to
this the fact that “KazMunayGas
International” (former Rompetrol) invest-ment
is the largest foreign investment of
Kazakhstan outside our borders and we
have the plan to continue and develop our
investment into Romania.
I will reiterate the fact that the
Memorandum between the Romanian
State and “KMG International” is creating
a bilateral investment fund of up to one
billion dollars that will dramatically
increase and diversify the investments of
Kazakhstan into Romanian economy, cre-ating
a solid base for our ever-developing
bilateral relations.
If we add to this, the reality that our
political dialogue is based on a perfect
understanding and our recent history is
paved with moments that are marking our
bilateral friendship such as: the Romanian
support for Kazakhstan Chairmanship at
Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the high
level presence of Romanian President and
Prime Minister at the OSCE summit in
Astana 2010 and we have a dynamic view
of this relation.
Continued on Page 11
H.E. Mr. Bogdan AURESCU, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs:
“Cooperation between Romania
and the Republic of Kazakhstan
has been steadily growing”
“On 16 December Kazakhstan cele-brates
its National Day and this year - the
anniversary of 23 years of Independence of
the State.
It is an auspicious moment and offers me
a great opportunity to highlight the excellent
relations between Romania and the
Republic of Kazakhstan, currently defined
by the terms of the Declaration of
Partnership and Cooperation signed by the
Presidents of our countries in September
2003.
In its 22 years of bilateral diplomatic rela-tions,
the cooperation between Romania and
the Republic of Kazakhstan has been steadily
growing and achieved outstanding overall
results. The economic ties have continuously
strengthened, on a solid basis and with prom-ising
prospects for the future. The high-level
political dialogue is systematic and substan-tial,
economic exchanges are expanding while
cultural and scientific relations are equally
developing on an upward trend.
Romania was, throughout these 22 years,
a constant supporter of the Republic of
Kazakhstan as part of its efforts to emphasize
the importance of Central Asia region on the
international arena. Thus, Romania has sup-ported
and promoted initiatives and projects
launched by Kazakhstan at the multilateral
level, with regional impact. One such exam-ple
is Romania’s support for Kazakhstan’s
taking over the Chairmanship-in-Office of
the OSCE and for hosting in Astana the
OSCE Summit organized in 2010. The
bilateral cooperation within the United
Nations framework is equally rich and diver-sified.
Continued on Page 7
H.E. Mr. Daulet BATRASHEV, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Romania:
“Kazakhstan-Romania bilateral relation
is evolving rapidly and continuously
in the right direction”

2. S P E C I A L PAGE 6 NINE O’CLOCK • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014
President Nursultan Nazarbayev about
the future of Kazakhstan
Remarks near Ulytau Mountains, Zhezkazgan city.
First of all, I do think that this
is a very historic moment for
Zhezkazgan, as well as this city that
is connected to the name of the
famous Kazakh scientist and geolo-gist
Kanysh Satpayev and copper
deposits. So much copper and ore
have been extracted for the last 50-
60 years, and all these mineral
resources began to run out.
Accordingly Zhezkazgan started to
come across with these issues, and
the welfare of the city began to
deteriorate.
This is a natural issue. It was
Soviet period time, when large
mineral deposits and each power
station began to appear near towns
and villages. Therefore, first,
Zhezkazgan always remained on
the railway deadlock, it has always
been a problem, secondly, during
the Soviet period, all railway were
built northwards towards Russia,
while the construction of railway
lines in the east-west direction to
connect cities was not included in
the plans of Russia and the Soviet
Union. No one could even imagine
these things.
Nowadays, since our economy
began to grow, we have allocated
2,75 million dollars for the con-struction
of these rail routes with a
length of 1,200 km. It is very easy
to say, but in terms of significance,
it will be used at least in the next 50
and 100 years.
When I was flying in the heli-copter,
I was looking at this
absolutely clean land and did not
even notice a single sparrow. There
are no people in this clean land,
because there are no jobs, no
households for the people. This
railway will give a life to the region,
people will have an opportunity to
find jobs, they could send and
receive mails. To extend the life of
the factory, there are some sort of
pillars under the ground, which are
rich for ore, and to extract the ore
which has villages above it, the
ground beneath them could col-lapse.
Due to this, the state have
allocated 250 million USD, and
6,000 houses in bad condition have
been moved to good new built
houses, and now we will extract
200 million tons of ore, 2 million
of copper, which means that this
will give a life for the factory for the
next 20-30 years. Furthermore, if
further exploration works will be
carried out, then there may be new
deposits.
It is very vital to know your his-tory.
Future of a nation who does
not know its history is difficult.
Nowadays, we make a lot of efforts
to get to know our history. One of
these histories is ULYTAU
Mountains. When I was searching
for a place for future capital, I came
to Ulytau. This is truly a historic
center of the Kazakh nation. But
from a modern point of view, you
can see for yourself, there is nothing
here. No roads, no water, no air-port.
Nothing! For construction,
this place would require a lot of
money and, ultimately, it is the
inappropriate place for the capital
of the country. But it is a sacred
place, and so it will remain.
Construction of railroads and high-ways
is underway. In the future, it
will be a place attractive for tourists,
people will come here to honor the
memory of our ancestors.
Generally speaking, to tell the
truth, we are the nation that could
have lost its language and religion.
During the Soviet time, there was
strict russification process. The sta-tus
of Kazakh language was very
low, but in general, for our nation,
country and people, our history,
culture and customs we can show
only through our language. For
example, we cannot translate some
poems of Abai from Kazakh into
Russian, English or another lan-guage,
it is impossible because it
has its own features, therefore, if we
lost language, we may lose these
features. As for religion, since we
gained our independence, we are
getting back our religion. Now you
can notice that Kazakhs have
always been close to religion. Many
people are religious, lots of
mosques are being built, we are
preparing people who are preach-ing
religion. And this is right, we
have to maintain our religion and
traditions. We all need these.
Nevertheless, nations which con-sider
their religion is the only good
faith face many challenges now.
There are some nations that divide
Muslim religion for Sunnis and
Shiites which sheds bloods now.
There are many Catholics that at
war with each other. Therefore, it is
very important to respect other reli-gions,
study and know them, and
then they will respect Islam.
The state undertakes all meas-ures
and provides all opportunities
to let the people to study Kazakh
language. It is written in the
Constitution that the state language
in our country is Kazakh. There is
nobody that prohibits speaking
Kazakh, no one interferes with the
Kazakh language. We need to speak
Kazakh, and have to respect this lan-guage.
There are some intellectuals,
writers, cultural figures complaining
that our language has become
orphan, cannot get up off its knees
during the years of independence. If
you think you are unhappy, you will
be so. If a man says that he is happy,
then he will be happy. We will not
change if we constantly insist that
we do not have it. No need to cre-ate
a panic, we must use the Law
“On languages” to speak Kazakh,
we have to communicate freely in
own language and show this exam-ple
to others.
Annually in Kazakhstan over
100,000 children graduate from
schools, 80,000 of whom study in
Kazakh language.
At every school, Russian or
another, studying of the Kazakh
language is mandatory. Any school
kid in grades 6-7, for example, now
can speak both Kazakh and
Russian, and even English. This is
our concern for the language.
For the moment, we are trying
to translate international universal
words into Kazakh. For example,
international word “piano” "was
translated as “Kuisandiq”. It does
not correspond to the meaning.
Another international word “com-poser”
was translated as “Sazger”.
“Saz” gives a different concept. By
thinking that we must move away
from the Russian language, we take
it from Turkish, from Arabic, from
Persian, and thus spoiling the lan-guage.
We must enrich the lan-guage
by international terms, and
there is nothing bad about it and
should not be this scared. The state
language is not in danger, the lan-guage
grows and gets richer, and it
has a great future.
There are 6,000 languages in
the world, 10 percent of which are
dying annually.
Seventy percent of the world’s
population use English. Because it
is the language of science, educa-tion,
medicine, culture and media.
Of course, you can live without the
knowledge of the English language,
but you will be deprived of the
knowledge which allows you to get
the language. Without this knowl-edge,
we put an obstacle to our
future development and growth.
So, how can we develop to boost
the economy, to enter the top 30
developed countries, if our people,
our young people do not speak
English?
I believe that tri-lingual policy
is right. Among this, our national
language is competitive. If we
know these three languages, then
we get a great opportunity. This is
what we need to understand.
The number of Kazakhs is
growing, as well as the impact of
our language. In the record keeping
sphere, Kazakh language is being
used, and no one interferes with it.
In addition, there are many other
ethnic groups who speak Kazakh.
We must appreciate their own lan-guage.
Kazakhstan is in the centre of
the world map, and we have no
access to ocean.
For shipping goods by the train
we pay for every single kilometer to
deliver it to the Black Sea, we pay
to ship it to China, Russia, Europe,
therefore, our oceans are the terri-tories
of Russia and China. If we
consider these countries as oceans,
then we can feel ourselves as if near
the ocean. So it is very important to
trade with them.
As for the disadvantages of
Kazakhstan’s participation in the
Eurasian Economic Union is a
manifestation of dilettantism.
Thanks to creation of the
Economic Community between
Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus,
the cost of goods delivery on the
territory of the member countries
of the Union have become cheaper,
and, therefore, the Kazakh prod-ucts
to become more competitive
in the global market.
This union is only an econom-ic
union, not a political one. All
members have an equal voice and
everything is decided by consensus.
Kazakhstan is always right to secede
from the union if it would pose a
threat to independence.
The union has a lot of advan-tages
and there are no arguments
for pessimism. In addition, the
strengthening of trade and eco-nomic
relations with the neighbor-ing
countries will strengthen our
security, as the stable political situa-tion
is beneficial for trading part-ners’
territories.
The western sanctions relate to
many sectors of the economy of the
neighboring state. Maybe some
Russian factories will not be able to
work in full force. This means they
cannot buy our raw materials to the
extent in which bought earlier, and
here we may have difficulties.
Russia undertakes retaliatory
sanctions and bans the import of
certain foodstuffs from the West on
its territory. In this regard, we are
able to increase export of food
products to Russia, including fruits
and vegetables, meat and so on.
In general, direct Western sanc-tions
against the Russian
Federation do not relate to
Kazakhstan. This year we plan to
solve the problem of joining the
WTO. We plan to continue the
development of relations with the
EU, and to conclude new agree-ments
on cooperation.
Time will put everything in its
place. Therefore, I do think that
Kazakhstan’s future is bright,
because we are a peaceful country,
we are not an enemy to anybody,
and we have no enemies, and have
no external enemies.
My dream is to make
Kazakhstan the eternal state, so I
proposed the idea of “Mangilik El”
(Eternal Nation), and we do every-thing
to become an Eternal Nation.
I believe today’s younger gener-ation
are patriots of their country
who are able to develop of
Kazakhstan in future. I dream of a
bright future for Kazakhstan. I
hope our children and grandchil-dren
will live better.
PHOTO: WWW.AKORDA.KZ/EN/MAINPAGE

3. NINE O’CLOCK • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014 S P E C I A L PAGE 7
H.E. Mr. Petru LIFICIU, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Galati:
“This honorific consular relationship is an opportunity
window between Romania and Kazakhstan”
“In august 2012 I had the
great honor to be nominated as
Honorary Consul of the
Republic of Kazakhstan in
Romania.
The Republic of Kazakhstan
has developed immensely in the
last decades and I believe this is
because their President, His
Excellency Nursultan
Nazarbayev, has devoted all of his
time and energy in creating the
best strategy for his country -
complex, well-designed, covering
all essential aspects needed for an
economy to flourish.
With the help of their long
term plan “Kazakhstan 2050
strategy”, they want to make
Kazakhstan one of the 30 most
developed countries in the world,
and I’m absolutely sure that he
will achieve this goal in the near
future.
By 2030 Kazakhstan will be a
role model for all developing
countries, it will become the
“leopard” of Central Asia, the
Kazakh snow leopard, gifted
with western elegance multiplied
by an advanced development
level, with Eastern wisdom and
tenacity.
I deeply admire President
Nazarbayev, a strong and well
prepared leader who can take
control and guide the state's
economy on the right track, a
leader who has firm opinions on
global issues, a man whose vision
is involved in all areas. He knows
he has to make investments in all
economic departments, that a
country needs to develop its
transport, energy, industrial and
social infrastructure in order to
grow.
As the Honorary Consul of
the Republic of Kazakhstan in
Romania I feel that I have not
only the honor to occupy this
position, but also the responsibil-ity
to help improve the bilateral
relations, to bring investments
from Kazakhstan to our country,
because we have so much to offer
and so many areas that can be
developed. I have also tried to
open the way for companies and
business men from our country
to reach the Kazakh market. Our
Romanian furniture is extremely
appreciated, constructions and
installations are also important
areas in which the two countries
can collaborate.
Opening the Honorary
Consulate of the Republic of
Kazakhstan in Galati, my home
town, was a very proud moment
for me. It was truly a joyous and
exciting occasion, to see so many
important people come together
to celebrate this strengthening of
economic and cultural relations.
I was joined there by many sup-portive
people, such as the
Charge d'affaires of the Republic
of Kazakhstan in Romania, the
mayor of Galati, presidents of
county councils, prefects and
sub-prefects of counties, mayors
of different villages, representa-tives
of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
I was able to organize in col-laboration
with the Embassy of
Kazakhstan many events that
brought together business men
and companies from both coun-tries.
I led a delegation of
Romanian businessmen in
Kazakhstan where we took part
at the Astana Forum and at the
World Anti-Crisis Conference
and we had a meeting with Mr.
Anuar Akhmmetzhanov, Deputy
Governor of the Karaganda
Region.
We took part at the Joint
Commission for Economic and
Scientific-Technical Cooperation
and the Romania-Kazakhstan
Economic Forum, with 25
Romanian companies and 35
companies from Kazakhstan.
We also organized the semi-nar
“Kazakhstan- the best cli-mate
in Central Asia” and the
Economic Mission in Astana and
Almaty, in partnership with the
Association of Employers in the
Construction Field in Romania
and with the Ministry of
Economy.
There have been numerous
economic and cultural actions
and I’m very proud that I can say
that I played a part in helping
strengthening the relations
between the two countries.
We have organized economic
seminaries to inform Romanian
businessmen about the many
benefits and opportunities that
the Kazakh market has to offer.
For example, Kazakhstan is
the second place in the world in
regards of reserves of uranium,
chromium, plumb, zinc, third
place in the world in manganese;
5th place in cooper, and in top
10 in the world at coal, iron,
gold and 11th place in the world
at proven reserves of oil and nat-ural
gases.
The Republic of Kazakhstan
has created an economic environ-ment
that is extremely friendly
and welcoming for foreign
investors, with low taxes and sub-sidies
from the Government.
Kazakhstan is the heart of
Eurasia. All main routes pass
through its territory. In the next
few years it will become a major
transport hub between Europe
and Asia with a most comfortable
environment for investors.
Another important project
that the Honorary Consulate has
collaborated on with the authori-ties
in Kazakhstan was trying to
facilitate the exchange of students
and teachers from the two coun-tries.
The Karaganda State
Medical University has signed a
memorandum of understanding
with several medical universities
in Romania: “Victor Babes” in
Timisoara, “Ovidius” in
Constanta, “Lucian Blaga” in
Sibiu, “Iuliu Hatieganu” in Cluj
Napoca. the Univeristy in Oradea
and in Targu Mures. I would be
extremely happy and proud to see
our students study abroad in
Kazakhstan, but also see Kazakh
students come here, because we
have good academic centers and
well prepared professors.
I visited the Republic of
Kazakhstan many times, and each
time I was pleasantly surprised,
every time I discovered some-thing
new and interesting that I
brought back to Romania, I met
quality people that love their
country and believe in their
future.
I’m very happy that I can say
that I have a very good relation-ship
with all of my friends from
the Embassy of Kazakhstan. We
collaborate very well, we have
common goals - to open a way
for further and better coopera-tion
between our countries.
Kazahstan is mainly known in
our country because of the acqui-sition
of Rompetrol by
KazMunayGaz, but the country
has many more other things to
offer, economic, political and cul-tural
aspects. Astana is a very
beautiful city that has grown and
developed very much in the last
years. Occasion
The Kazakhstan we know
today is a state that was created
from zero, that has known a
development unlike any other
modern country. I think it can
be an example for many – if you
have a good leader with a good
long-term economic strategy,
and people that love their coun-try
and work for its future, that
amazing things can and will
happen.
This honorific consular rela-tionship
is an opportunity win-dow
between Romania and
Kazakhstan, and we should make
the best of it and learn from their
wisdom.”
“Cooperation between Romania and the Republic
of Kazakhstan has been steadily growing”
Continued from Page 5
The Universal Expo Astana
2017 and Romania’s participa-tion
with a national stand may
generate additional business
opportunities that could benefit
the freight transport potential
between Central Asia and
Europe which could maximize
the shortest and most profitable
transit over the Black Sea.
In recent years we have wit-nessed
a number of positive
developments that brought our
relations to a new qualitative
level. Among them I would men-tion:
KazMunaiGaz Company’s
presence in Romania; upgrading
the diplomatic level of represen-tation
of Kazakhstan in Bucharest
to Embassy; the recent appoint-ment
of the first Kazakhstani
Ambassador to Romania, H.E.
Mr. Daulet Batrashev. They all
testify to the willingness to fur-ther
develop the bilateral rela-tions
and to the prospects to
make best use of the untapped
potential for cooperation.
Romania and Kazakhstan
relations are close to a partner-ship
with strategic value.
Kazakhstan remains among
Romania’s most important part-ners
in Central Asia, both in
political and economic terms.
Even if our economies have been
affected by the global economic
crisis, we still maintain a healthy
trade partnership. For Romania,
it is an unparalleled trade rela-tionship
in the region, with a vast
potential to bring diversity to the
current oil-based imports from
Kazakhstan.
With the Protocol of cooper-ation
between the Black Sea port
of Constanta and the Caspian
port of Aktau signed in 2007 we
have a solid framework for devel-oping
cooperation between the
two ports and overall the trans-port
cooperation.
Kazakhstan remains a valu-able
partner for the European
Union within Central Asia. I
want to take this opportunity to
congratulate the Kazakhstani
Diplomatic Service for conclud-ing
the negotiations on a new
legally-binding frame between
the European Union and
Kazakhstan, embodied in a
Partnership and Cooperation
Agreement.
In view of enhancing trade
relations with the European
Union, Kazakhstan’s main trad-ing
partner, Romania has been a
constant supporter of
Kazakhstan in actively pursuing
accession to the World Trade
Organization. All these elements
shape up an optimistic outlook
for our bilateral relations and
ambitious prospects of strength-ening
the relations between
Romania and Kazakhstan.
On the occasion of the
National Day of the Republic of
Kazakhstan, it is my pleasure to
convey, through this way, on
behalf of the Romanian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and on my
own behalf, heartfelt congratula-tions
alongside with best wishes
of progress, prosperity and well-being
for the Kazakh people.
Happy anniversary to the
Republic of Kazakhstan!”

4. S P E C I A L PAGE 8 NINE O’CLOCK • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014
Azamat Zhangulov, Vice-President of KMG International:
“We are 7 % of Romania’s foreign
direct investment”
There are permanent dis-cussions
about your offer to
buy the shares owned by the
state – 26.69 per cent, at
Petromidia in Navodari.
How are things going?
We, as buyers, expressed all
our commitment and our firm
decision to acquire the shares.
The Romanian Government,
though, has a lot of proce-dures
to pursue. There are sev-eral
steps to be followed by the
Government, starting with
approving a strategy for priva-tization,
then approving the
tender for consultancy, then
approving the launch of the
privatization procedure. And
all of these need constant
involvement from all the
Government. And, due to the
elections, all of these got
delayed, because they had
other priorities in the cam-paign.
But there is progress on
their side as well. We are now
looking forward to the privati-zation
decision to be pub-lished.
How long do you predict it
will require them to pub-lish
that decision?
There are many things that
are difficult to predict. Such as
the formal steps of the proce-dure
or the oil prices. But
technically, each step requires
from a few weeks to a few
months. After the privatisa-tion
is published, we have 30
days to place our bid and we
intend to do it immediately.
By buying Rompetrol seven
years ago, you have become
quite familiar with the
Romanian market. How
did you find this market at
the time of the acquisition?
If we ran an analysis of dif-ferent
markets around the
Black Sea region, I think that
Romania is one of the best
markets possible. There are a
few arguments to support this
statement. First of all,
Romania has perhaps the
biggest potential of economi-cal
growth in Central –
Eastern Europe. Also,
Romania has natural
resources, worth exploiting,
and human resources, educat-ed,
young and reasonably
paid, unlike the rest of
Europe. There is also infra-structure
potential, as well as
energy-producing potential.
Therefore, Romania gives us
plenty of opportunities, com-pared
to other countries, as,
despite the low rate of foreign
investment, Romania shows
stable growth and was not
crushed by recession like other
countries.
How does Kazakhstan
relate to Romania?
We have identified
Romania as a important part-ner,
not only because of these
factors, but also because of the
direct access to the Black Sea,
which gains us access to sea
ports and other facilities. We
see that this country will grow,
and this also means a growth
in consumption. We identified
the necessity to build new gas
stations as new roads are built
and the transportation, under-developed
so far, has started to
show its potential. A huge
development opportunity is
also represented by the build-ing
of a road that connects
Europe to China and that
passes through Kazakhstan
and Azerbaijan. Romania may
be placed on this route and
represent an access way to
Europe, but it has to use its
potential. This transportation
potential could be a consider-able
point of growth and
regeneration for Romania’s
economy.
What are the challenges of
the Romanian market,
from your point of view?
The main challenge relies
on the low rate of foreign
investments. Awareness
should be raised regarding
Romania’s investment poten-tial.
There is the need for a
strong investment policy, clear
and understandable for any
investors. In Kazakhstan, by
example, we have a Foreign
Investment Council, chaired
by the President of the coun-try,
and it is working efficient-ly
with companies all over the
globe. They meet two times a
year to discuss any issues that
may have been appeared in the
foreign investment policy.
This is why the foreign invest-ment
rate is quite high.
Other issues are related to
taxes, efficiency of different
bodies of the Government and
of the legal system. These can
be improved, in my opinion,
to immediate positive effect in
foreign investments in
Romania.
One year ago, you
announced the intention to
open 100 new gas stations
in Romania. How are
things going on?
Our investments depend
on the memorandum we
signed with the Government,
as all these plans depend on
the Government. Our slow-down
depends on them. For
this year, we will be launching
this year four or five gas sta-tions,
on our own. We are also
working on two new projects,
the cogeneration plant and the
Midia facilities, with an
investment of USD 130 mln.
These projects are in the stage
of design, not in that of
implementation yet.
Which are your financial
results for this year?
The year is not accom-plished
and we are still wait-ing
for the data, but I estimate
an increase of 50 % compared
to last year. We have reached
the highest figures in the
entire history of Rompetrol.
This is the result of our heavy
investment, made a few years
ago. This year, despite of all
issues, our investment was
about USD 130 mln. If we
consider that the total value of
foreign investments in
Romania is about USD 2 bln,
we may say that we are 7 % of
Romania’s foreign direct
investment.
Also, we have launched a
few performance-enhancing
programs for our retail. We
simplified our procedures to
provide the best practices and
the results are obvious.
What is the company’s posi-tion
regarding social
responsibility?
We have one of the best
platforms in Romania for CSR
programs. There is an open
and very transparent selection
procedure for causes that need
help. Many projects have been
launched this way. There is a
list of all our projects on the
site impreunapentrufiecare.ro,
and they are all important, not
just moneywise, but also due
to the benefit we may offer
simple people, by sponsoring
programs such as OvidiuRo or
SMURD.
We also assume social
responsibility to our employ-ees,
providing them some of
the best social packages in
Romania, much better than
the national legislation
requires.
Is the drop in the price of
oil good news for you, or is
it bad news?
There is no direct link
between the price of oil and
the profitability of the refin-ing
industry. It may seem so at
first sight, but given the com-plexity
of the processing, it is
not. Yet, quotations for oil
products are going sometimes
lower than the quotations for
oil, which is a risk. A massive
drop in the oil price can create
a huge fluctuation on the mar-ket,
and this makes us very
cautious. These periods of low
prices give us the opportunity
to review our portfolio and
postpone certain projects. I
compare it to fasting. Fasting
is very healthy.
Has the Ukrainian crisis
affected your business in
Romania?
KMG was not directly
affected by problems in
Ukraine. We had no participa-tion
in Ukrainian refineries
either. There were no exports
of crude oil to Ukraine,
because Ukrainian refineries
were not working at full
capacity and needed small
amounts of imported oil.
Rompetrol exported oil prod-ucts
to Ukraine, and these
exports have not changed in
amount after the crisis started.
On the contrary, due to the
decrease of production, the
country will need to import
and will consume. And we are
confident that we will be a key
supplier. So, I do not see the
crisis affecting us in any way.
How do you think your
presence in our country
influenced the relations of
Kazakhstan and Romania?
Very positively, I think.
The level of diplomatic rela-tions
has systematically
improved, and also has the
number of diplomats present
in both countries. Second,
there’s a constant exchange of
visits at high level. Third, a
Kazakh – Romanian Business
Council was launched last
year, actively supporting
mutual investments. And, eco-nomically,
a whole new world
of investing possibilities is
opening up right now.
By Lorena Lupu
Contributing editor
Young, handsome and successful! Azamat
Zhangulov, Vice-President of KMG
International (formerly The Rompetrol Group), the
company that represents Kazakhstan’s greatest
investment in Romania is an excellent portrait of the
businessman as a young man. Highly energetic,
despite of the early hour, Mr. Zhangulov seems to
look forward to each day as a new opportunity for an
achievement and enthusiastically declares that his
company is the best in its domain.

5. NINE O’CLOCK • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014 S P E C I A L PAGE 9
EXPO 2017: The World Comes to Kazakhstan
One of the largest interna-tional
expos of the decade is
coming to the capital of
Kazakhstan. On Nov. 22,
2012, the 156 member nations
of the International
Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) met
in Paris and decided by an
overwhelming majority vote of
103 countries that EXPO 2017
will be held in Astana. “This is
the greatest achievement at the
international level of
Kazakhstan’s independence.”
EXPO 2017 is a recognized
expo, also referred to as an
international specialized expo,
and is part of the World’s Fair
system. Recognized expos are
smaller versions of the
Universal expos commonly
referred to as World’s Fairs.
Recognized expos center
around a particular theme and
are held between World’s Fairs,
which occur every five years.
Kazakhstan has chosen the
theme “Future Energy” to pro-mote
and discover sustainable,
global energy solutions.
Hosting recognized expos,
like hosting universal World’s
Fairs, World Cups or the
Olympics is a major coup for
any nation. The events bring
hundreds of millions of dollars
in revenue and immeasurable
international exposure to the
culture and economy of the
host nation. Countries launch
major multi-year lobbying
efforts to convince the
International Exhibitions
Bureau that their nation cap-tures
the zeitgeist of the
moment and is best suited to
represent the world and the
chosen theme. Benjamin
Loring, deputy director of
Ceres, the Center for Eurasian,
Russian and East European
Studies at Georgetown
University in Washington,
D.C., sees Kazakhstan’s success
in winning the competition to
host EXPO 2017 as the logical
next step in the process of inte-grating
that nation and the rest
of Central Asia into the global
community and economic
market place after long eras of
being cut off as part of the
Russian Empire and the Soviet
Union. “This region of the
world has been very poorly
understood outside its immedi-ate
environs in the past,”
Loring told EdgeKz.
“However, the last 20 years
have seen a gradual opening of
the region to the global econo-my
and to the world communi-ty.
This will be one more step
in that process.”
EXPO 2017 will last three
months, include representa-tives
from approximately 100
countries and is expected to
draw three to five million visi-tors,
which would make it the
largest international gathering
of this kind Central Asia has
seen. It will be held during
Astana’s 20th anniversary as
the nation’s capital and cele-brate
the emergence of inde-pendent
Kazakhstan and the
wider region as the energy and
communications hub of
Europe, Asia and the Middle
East since the collapse of com-munism.
“Traditionally, EXPO
exhibitions have been held in
Northeast Asia, Europe and
North America,” BIE Secretary
General Vicente Gonzalez
Loscertales said. “Holding an
exhibition in the new (Central
Asian) region, which is the
bridge between East and West,
in a young country, which has
developed very good relations
with European, Middle Eastern
countries, former Soviet
republics, as well as with all
countries of the Central Asian
region is an additional advan-tage,
which also strengthens
the position of Astana.”
In the 222 years since the
first international industrial
exhibition was held in Prague
in 1791, no World’s Fair, or
recognized exhibition, has been
held in Central Asia. The only
one to be held in the territory
of today’s 12 nations of the
Commonwealth of
Independent States that were
formerly part of the old Soviet
Union took place in Nizhny
Novgorod in Russia in 1875.
And never in the 84-year histo-ry
has the host city been cho-sen
by such a large majority of
votes.
“EXPO would not have had
any great significance if it were
to be held in Liege,” British
financial analyst Martin
Hutchinson, a contributor to
the New York Times, the Wall
Street Journal and Asiaweek,
and author of the
PrudentBear.com financial
columns, told EdgeKz. “That
city, like the rest of Belgium,
has been at the heart of
Western European trade and
communications routes for
many centuries. However,
Kazakhstan has spent the past
20 years emerging on to the
global scene after its past histo-ry
in the Soviet Union.”
President Nazarbayev’s own
comments reinforce that senti-ment.
“This will be a turning
point for Kazakhstan: It will
start a whole new chapter in
economic development,” the
president said. “I want to
emphasize the importance of
the fact that for the next five
years the whole world will be
talking about Kazakhstan,” the
president said, adding that
expos offer the opportunity to
showcase and advance the lat-est
technological, scientific and
cultural achievements.
EXPO 2017’s Future
Energy theme will promote
efforts to find sustainable ener-gy
solutions to meet growing
global demand. Kazakhstan’s
choice of the topic reflects the
recognition by the country’s
leaders and policymakers that
even its vast reserves of natural
energy resources are ultimately
finite and that eventually the
country, and the rest of the
world, will have to make the
transition to alternative energy
sources and greener economies.
Zhanar Aitzhanova, who
has led Kazakhstan’s negotiat-ing
team to enter the World
Trade Organization, sees
EXPO 2017 and its green ener-gy
theme as pointing the world
into new directions of growth
and development for the com-ing
century. “Today, the world
needs new, environmentally
safe, pathways for develop-ment.
Kazakhstan has already
set its course towards a green
economy. We consider that a
discussion about future energy
is one of the most universal
discussions of our time, which
is precisely why we have chosen
it as the central theme for
EXPO 2017,” she said. Even
beyond energy, the expo will
expand Kazakhstan’s global
cooperation with industrial-ized,
developing and less devel-oped
countries. Government
leaders are focusing especially
on developing nations around
the world south of the equator
and looking forward to a new
era of expanded development
programs with them.
The event will also be a
boon for Astana, which has had
a successful track record over
the last years of hosting major
international events, including
the December 2010 56-nation
summit of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation
in Europe and the Asian
Winter Games in January-
February 2011. Both were the
first major gatherings of their
kind in Central Asia. They also
provided Astana’s municipal
government, police and servic-es
the experience and confi-dence
to tackle hosting EXPO
2017.
Astana Mayor believes the
spirit and energy of his shining
new capital will ensure the suc-cess
of the EXPO. “Astana is
the place where the energy of
the youth sets the rhythm of
the city,” he said.
Astana’s unique location
should also significantly boost
the likelihood of a successful
and well attended event.
“A total of 2.5 billion peo-ple
live in close proximity to
our country. It’s only a three-hour
flight from the capital
city of India, a five-hour flight
from the capital of China and a
three-hour flight to Moscow. “
The EXPO will turn Astana
into a showcase for the latest
global developments in the
energy sector and will trans-form
it into a hub for develop-ing
alternative energy solutions
across Central Asia.
“The recognition, income
and interest the expo is expect-ed
to generate will also be felt
beyond Astana”, says President
Nazarbayev.
“For us, the EXPO has to
become a mega-project which
will benefit each and every
region,” the president told a
recent gathering in Astana of
mayors and governors from
around the country. “This will
give a powerful impetus to the
innovative development of the
country.”
“The national pavilions
that will be built to house the
EXPO will be retained for
future use, including as a labo-ratory
science park for the
introduction of new technolo-gies
in Kazakhstan”, he said.
EXPO 2017 will provide
Kazakhstan a unique opportu-nity
to showcase the achieve-ments
it has made and the cul-ture
it has developed since
gaining independence from the
Soviet Union.
“EXPO 2017 will promote
Kazakhstan all over the world.
The exhibition defines agenda
for the world economic devel-opment,”
said Nazarbayev.
And judging from its efforts
to win the expo and its plans
for hosting it, the country
plans to take full advantage of
that opportunity.

6. S P E C I A L PAGE 10 NINE O’CLOCK • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014
Kazakhstan 2050: Charting a nation
to prosperity and global significance
By Professor Dr. Anton CARAGEA
We are living through difficult
and boisterous time. A period of
rapid changes in world economic
and political system, a time of pow-erful
crisis that is shaking the funda-ments
of national states and of
national economies and is putting
under strain the social protection
and all the values of economic neo-liberalism.
In this chaotic period, just a few
nations are allowed the luxury of
economic and political long time
forecast and predictability: China
and United States are creating and
proposing to their people and for-eign
partners a long term vision of
development and national state-hood
construction.
In a time of peril and un-certi-tude,
when even a short time eco-nomic
prediction is considered haz-ardous,
just a few nations are having
the will to act as beacons of lights
and direction for their region.
In 17th of December 2012
Kazakhstan had enter to this select
club of nations, conscientious of
their role and position in the conti-nental
and world stage by present-ing
an ambitious, realistic and well
carved plan for future of
Kazakhstan until 2050.
By the voice of his President,
Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan
had created the prototype of a long
term, healthy and stable construc-tion
model for the country, the
region and the world.
KAZAKHSTAN 2030:
WEATHERING THE STORM AND
CREATING A NATION.
Kazakhstan it is not at the first
step in a managed transition
towards a stable and democratic
society and a powerful economy.
In 1997 Kazakhstan had already
carved the landmarks of his aston-ishing
development by the presi-dential
strategy- Kazakhstan 2030.
Far from being just a window
dressing, the strategy for 2030 had
proved to be a perfect way for chart-ing
Kazakhstan after the independ-ence
in the incertitude of nation
building and construction of a
viable economy.
The program had allowed
Kazakhstan to tap into national
reserves of oil and gas, to gush out
of the enclave country status via the
reconstructed Silk Road of energy
and trade, to create a modern econ-omy,
not depending only on energy
resources, to build a huge potential
of national intelligence and to foster
the economy of knowledge, the
base for a XXI century reliable
economy.
The long string of economic
successes was accompanied in the
internal sphere by political stability,
based on democratic and open soci-ety
values, the protection of nation-al
and religious minorities.
In the area of external policy,
Kazakhstan had gather the powerful
laurels of a successful reform project
carried out during his
Chairmanship of Organization for
Security and Cooperation in
Europe. An impressive success was
also the unprecedented two year
Chairmanship of Organization of
Islamic Conference that trans-formed
Kazakhstan in a leader of
dialogue between Islam and
Western world.
The latest major diplomatic
achievement of Kazakhstan was the
proposal of building an area of secu-rity
and cooperation in Europe and
Asia, launched in September 2012,
in Astana, at CICA Conference by
President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
This latest proposal makes
Kazakhstan the promoter of an all-inclusive,
intercontinental dialogue,
that could transform the political
landscape of XXI century.
In the end, Kazakhstan 2030
had proved to be not only a success-ful
strategy for Kazakhstan, but also
an example for all the countries of
the world on how a nation by the
sole fact of building himself, can
become a regional and world signif-icant
player.
THE MAIN PILLAR OF KAZAKHSTAN
2050: UNDERSTANDING
OF XXI CENTURY.
In its world acclaimed book:
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, the
famous Lawrence of Arabia had
mentioned that: the most impor-tant,
but also decisive part of a plan
is to be in line with the necessity of
his time.
Kazakhstan 2050 starts by out-lining
the fundaments of the world
in XXI century. A period of change,
of accelerating history, of economic,
political and ecological challenges, a
world completely different from the
world of XX century.
Instead of training to force the
reality to enter in the realm of pos-sibility,
Kazakhstan 2050 is offering
a realistic and practical assessment
of the necessities of today world and
of the available solutions.
Fallowing his long term tradi-tion,
Kazakhstan understands that
creating a success story and offering
solutions to the world is the best
way to serve not only his interest,
but also to add value to his place in
the world.
KAZAKHSTAN 2050:
GOOD NEWS FOR PEOPLE
OF KAZAKHSTAN.
Kazakhstan had become in the
last 20 years an abode of peace, inter-ethnic
and inter-religious under-standing
in a troubled world. One of
the explanation is undoubtedly the
economic success that made the
Kazakhstan not only one of the
fastest growing economy in the
world, but also a top investor destina-tion
in the world economy statistics.
Kazakhstan 2050 is providing
the basis for this healthy economy
to continue his growth process.
Investing in social protection and
creating a strong internal demand
are key factors for a stable rate of
growth. Modernizing the economic
potential, investing in new tech-nologies
are policy that will insure
the world competitiveness of
Kazakhstan national economy and
the creation of a knowledge based
economy are also a profitable long
term investment.
The modern economy is based
on technological transfer and
Kazakhstan is becoming a champi-on
in modernizing the basis of his
economy via technology transfer
and more important, Kazakhstan
educational system mixed with the
accent on entrepreneurship in eco-nomic
development is creating the
base for a managerial revolution,
that will put Kazakhstan among the
top economy`s of the world in term
of creativity and intelligence incor-porated
in economic production.
Extremely interesting it is also
the concept of a Kazakhstan patri-otism.
Instead of playing the card of
nationalism or chauvinism,
President Nursultan Nazarbayev is
calling for the tradition, language
and equality to blend into a new
and successful Kazakh: a person
well educated, wealthy , healthy
enjoying the benefits of a modern
state and administration and a state
of the art medical system.
Kazakhstan is promising to put
at the core of his foundation plan
for 2050 the individual and his
chances to prevail in a complex XXI
century.
FROM KAZAKHSTANTOTHE
WORLD. FROM WORLD TO
KAZAKHSTAN
One of the keys of Kazakhstan
national and international success
was understanding that Kazakhstan
could not evolve alone in the world,
but always must stay in touch and
be an intricate part of the world
evolutions. There are many exam-ples
that support this conjecture in
Kazakhstan two decades of inde-pendence
story.
Kazakhstan economic miracle
was built on partnership with west-ern
companies and oil extraction
technology, but also on political
negotiation with Russia on Caspian
Sea exploration.
The Astana Expo 2017 will also
be a proof of the lesson of mutual
profit that Kazakhstan is offering to
the world. Kazakhstan manage-ment
of energy, the lessons of ecol-ogy
and energy for a future, of envi-ronment
protection, are going to be
beneficial for the world economy
and for the generations to come.
This is just a new illustration of the
Kazakhstan concept of successful
quest for global significance.
Kazakhstan economic develop-ment
had transformed the country
in a major player in the develop-ment
of Asia and Europe.
Kazakhstan 2050 promises to con-tinue
this wise policy: from
Kazakhstan to the world, from
world to Kazakhstan, creating a
synergy that could only beneficial
for all the world nations.
Now the lessons of Kazakhstan
2050 are available for everybody: an
example of a society of free people
building a country for the future,
not in isolation or competition, but
in harmony with the world nations.
In the concert of nations
Kazakhstan is ushering in a new
tone: a tone of hope.
(Source: antoncaragea.word-press.
com. Professor Anton Caragea
is expert in international relation,
diplomat , historian and the
Director at the Institute for
International Relations and
Economic Cooperation of Romania.)
Astana plans to be the smartest city worldwide
By Alex MANNHEIMER
Astana plans to rank first in the
world’s “smart cities” ranking,
Akim (Mayor) of Astana Adilbek
Zhaksybekov said at the “Smart
Astana-2014” Conference Nov. 19.
“President Nazarbayev set a
task to build and improve Astana
as a smart city, which meets all
international standards,” he said.
“Toronto ranks first in the rank-ing.
Astana ranks 21st now. So
our task is to share the first place
with Toronto. I hope we will
achieve this.”
The mayor expressed confi-dence
that Astana will be an
advanced, intelligent, innovative
city in the world.
“All resources will be used for
this,” he said. “The processes will
be innovative, while technologies
– available to all layers of the
population.
“The measures and real proj-ects
will testify to the growth
potential and provide people
with an opportunity to use better
services,” he said.
(Source: kashagan.today)
PHOTO: HTTP://VK.COM/ARCHASTANA

7. NINE O’CLOCK • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014 S P E C I A L PAGE 11
Did you know that...?
LOCATION:
Kazakhastan is located in the centre of the Eurasian continent.
Total Area: 2 million 724,9 thousand square kilometers
Comparative Area:
Ninth largest in the world, equivalent to the size of Western
Europe
Four times the size of Texas
Five times the size of France
BOUNDARIES:
l The total length of overland borders - 13,200 km. The
Republic of Kazakhstan shares its longest borders with Russia,
7,591 km and China, 1,783 km.
l Kazahstan is the 9th largest country by size in the world
and the largest country that doesn’t have access to the ocean.
l The country is a melting pot of ethnic diversity, in part
because Stalin deported many different ethnicities here during
his rule. There are more than 131 different ethnic groups living
in Kazakhstan. Kazakhs are about 65% of the population, up
from 40% in 1991.
l The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana, in the central
Northern region of the country. It’s a relatively new city with a
fancy, over-the-top skyline! Astana – the name of the capital of
Kazakhstan – means “capital city”.
lThe primary city of Kazakhstan is Almaty, in the SE. It’s
a scenic city with snow-capped mountains on the horizon,
beautiful buildings and modern conveniences.
“Kazakhstan-Romania bilateral relation is evolving rapidly
Continued from Page 5
We in Kazakhstan noted the
enthused support of Romania
towards His Excellency President
Nursultan Nazarbayev’s initiative
for creating a platform of security
and cooperation in Europe and
Asia, based on the models of
OSCE and Shanghai
Organization that could be bene-ficial
to Romania, Kazakhstan
and the world.
Concluding, I will underline
the fact that Romania and
Kazakhstan are starting their jour-ney
on the road for a strategic
friendship based on our common
political vision, economic inter-ests
and common foreign policy
principles.
Kazakhstan of today envisages
becoming the main economic
hub on the new Silk Road
between Europe and Asia,
between the emerging markets of
China and the developed Europe.
The new Silk Road will boost
trade, commerce and will better
and faster connect the land mass-es
of Europe and Asia and will
become not only a viable eco-nomic
initiative, but will also gen-erate
work places, will help people
rip benefits and have a better stan-dard
of life and by this we will
enjoy in our regions political sta-bility
and prosperity.
I would like to emphasize a
new concept launched by
Kazakhstan under the name of
«Silk Wind» project, by launching
container train “China –
Kazakhstan – Caspian Sea –
Caucasus – Turkey – Europe. This
economic concept build by our
country within the framework of
the diversification of transport
and transit routes, was discussed
at the conference “TransEurasia
2014”, during the past VII Astana
Economic Forum in May 2014,
when we have started building an
international investors consensus
in bringing to light this “Silk
Wind” transnational project.
This commercial and eco-nomic
initiative was completed in
the political arena by President
Nazarbayev’s appeal for a better
dialogue and a common dialogue
between Europe and Asia known
as the Conference on Interaction
and Confidence-Building
Measures in Asia.
This is clearly marking the
fact that Kazakhstan foreign poli-cy
strives not only for economic
development and facilitating cre-ation
of trading corridors between
Europe and Asia, but also strives
for political dialogue, for creating
a climate of understanding, dia-logue,
avoiding tensions and con-flicts
and creating a platform for
dialogue between the countries of
Asia and Europe.
Our country’s initiative is
based on our successful
Chairmanship of Organization
for Security and Cooperation in
Europe for 2010 and on our
prominent track records as mem-bers
of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization and the Eurasian
Economic Union.
We are proposing our experi-ence
in dialogue and fostering
international organization in the
service of world peace and devel-opment,
and we hope that the
world is noting this Kazakhstan’s
effort.
I would like also to observe
our efforts in promoting religious
dialogue and better understand-ing.
Necessary to note our suc-cessful
two-year presidency of
Organization of Islamic
Cooperation, in difficult times,
when we helped the Islamic world
to concentrate on culture, educa-tion
and Islamic heritage as unify-ing
factors, as bricks of a better
understanding of Islam in the
world.
However, Kazakhstan was not
only satisfied to preserve its reli-gious
legacy but was actively
involved in the research for an
open and continuing dialogue of
religions and traditional religious
leaders. At the initiative of
President Nursultan Nazarbayev,
the Astana Religious Conference
– CONGRESS OF LEADERS
OF WORLD AND TRADI-TIONAL
RELIGIONS – has
become with the support and
presence of all world religious
leaders, the most impressive and
efficient world conference that
established rules and points for
inter-religious dialogue. President
Nazarbayev brought together rep-resentatives
of religious denomi-nation
from all continents and all
corners of the world, in an open
and long-standing dialogue. The
fact that this series of meetings
continues to be held continuously
from 2003 is self-expressing.
Our basic ideas where to use
this rostrum is to make a state-ment
of peace, concord and toler-ance
as stable principles of human
existence, to obtain the achieve-ment
of mutual respect and toler-ance
between religions, confes-sions,
nations etc. and to oppose
to the use of religious believes of
people for fostering conflicts.
I hope that our ideals develop
further and CONGRESS OF
LEADERS OF WORLD AND
TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS
continues to be a solid landmark
in the world of religions.
Besides, I want to remind that
Kazakhstan was the first country
in the world to voluntarily relin-quish
our atomic arsenal, left after
the dissolution of Soviet Union,
according the Decree from 1991
of H.E. President Nursultan
Nazarbayev.
We have, by our own accord,
accepted the dismantling of
nuclear warheads, the evacuation
of material that could be used for
nuclear armament and we have
stopped nuclear experience in the
Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.
These are valuable contribu-tions
of Kazakhstan to a secure
and safer world, a world without
nuclear weapons and in 2012 at
Seoul Summit, we have offered to
share our experience to help other
nations to embrace the concept of
a nuclear weapons free world.
In our bilateral relations, we
have to foster our political dia-logue,
to develop the economical
presence of Kazakhstan in
Romanian economy on the tem-plate
of the success that is
Rompetrol experience.
We are determined also to
help Romania balance the bilater-al
trade with Kazakhstan and we
hope that Romanian products
find their way to Kazakhstan mar-ket.
World renowned Romanian
products like Romanian wine,
agricultural products, high quality
industrial products, furniture that
is having a long tradition of pres-ence
on our market are just a few
of the Romanian manufactured
products that we will be happy to
see on our internal market.
Moreover, I tell the future busi-ness
partners of Kazakhstan not to
forget that our country is the cen-ter
of a free-tax zone in all Eurasia
through the Customs Union so
their products find their way not
solely to Kazakhstan, but to
Russia and Belarus as well.
We are speaking often about
the fact that Romania must
become the hub for Kazakh prod-ucts
to be spread across Europe
and this is equally true for
Romanian goods and services that
can take advantage of our relaxed
laws and regulation and tax free
zones and make Kazakhstan the
bridge head in conquering, with
their products, all of Asia.
I would like to conclude by
saying to the Romanian people
that you will always have in
Kazakhstan a proven friend, and
all that we have built in our bilat-eral
relation from economic
cooperation, to foreign policy
and to diplomacy, must be com-plemented
by people to people
interaction.
Kazakhstan is much more
than just a normal developed
country, it is also a country of
wonderful people, of breathtaking
scenery and scenic spots, it is a
wonderful place to visit and to
emerge in it.”
and continuously in the right direction”

8. S P E C I A L PAGE 12 NINE O’CLOCK • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014
Kazakhstan at a glance
l The chimney of Ekibastuz
GRES-2 is the highest in the
world (420 meters)
l Kazakhstan is home to the
Baikonur Cosmodrome, the
world’s first and largest space
launch facility. The first artifi-cial
satellite (Sputnik 1) and the
first man (Yuri Gagarin) were
sent into space from Baikonur
cosmodrome
l Almaty has a brand-new
Metro System that opened in
2011. There are currently seven
stations and they are all individ-ually
decorated and designed.
Very fancy for a subway! It was
about 50 cents per ride for
adults (all destinations are the
same price).
l Apples are reputedly to
originate from Kazakhstan and
there are still wild apple forests in
the country.
l Horses were first domesti-cated
on the territory of the
present Kazakhstan
l Half of Lake Balkhash,
one of the largest lakes in the
world, consists of fresh water,
the other half of the salt water.
l Medeo is the highest
mountain skating ring in the
world. Highlands and pure
mountain water to make the ice
contribute to achieving high
performance in speed skating,
170 world records were set here.
l In 2009, Kazakhstan took
the first place in the world in the
production of uranium (14020
tons); in 2011, the country pro-duced
19450 tons of uranium
(35% of world production).
Kazakhstan has the second
largest uranium reserves in the
world.
l Russian word for money
(“dengi”) comes from the Turkic
word “tenge” – the name of
national currency of Kazakhstan
l Kazakh means “wanderer”
or “independent.”
23 years since Independence: Kazakhstan builds up its
Continued from Page 5
Strategy “Kazakhstan - 2050”
is a modernization path for all
areas to provide sustainable
growth. It is a big challenge,
which will test and strengthen our
country, our unity, our courage
and our efforts. Our common
duty and responsibility is to
implement the strategy flawlessly
and overcome this test without
failures,” underlines the address to
the nation of the President of the
Republic of Kazakhstan,
Nursultan Nazarbayev, from
January 17, 2014 .
The same presidential address
emphasizes that Kazakhstan of
the 21st century is a country cre-ated
from scratch in just two
decades by talented, hardworking
and tolerant people! “This is our
creation in which we take huge
pride! It is our great creation that
we wholeheartedly love!
We’ve adopted Strategy-2050
so that Kazakhstan’s people can
hold firmly in their hands the
helm of the country's future.
Today, many successful countries
– China, Malaysia and Turkey –
follow their long-term strategies.
Strategic planning is a ‘number
one’ rule in the 21st century,
because no wind will be favorable
unless a country does not know
its route and destination harbor.
Strategy “Kazakhstan 2050”, as a
guiding beacon, allows us to solve
our people’s everyday issues, while
also keeping our priority aims in
mind. This means that we should
improve the life of our nation not
in 30 or 50 years’ time, but do so
every year. The Strategy is a pro-gram
of concrete practical actions,
which on a daily basis will
improve our country and the life
of every citizen of Kazakhstan.
However, everyone must under-stand
that, in market conditions,
we must work effectively, rather
than wait for “manna from heav-en”.
The government’s task is to
provide all conditions for this.
I am convinced that the pros-perous
future of our homeland
lies among developed countries.
Achieving this ambition will unite
the people of Kazakhstan forever,”
also says President Nazarbayev’s
address to the nation dedicated to
the steps to be followed by the
country to achieve the goals of the
“Kazakhstan 2050” Strategy shap-ing
the ambitious future of the
country.
“We are united by our nation-al
idea – Mangilik El (Eternal
Nation), making its way to the
independent development of
“Nurly Zhol”. To follow this path
we need to work hard, and to
unite our efforts on the way to a
brighter future. The Eternal
Nation is a unifying force and an
inexhaustible source of energy. It
is the basis for not only the
“Kazakhstan 2050” Strategy, but
also the strong ideological foun-dation
of Kazakhstan’s Statehood
in the 21st century! The Eternal
Nation is itself the source of a new
Kazakhstan Patriotism. It is a
great principle for the entire soci-ety
of Kazakhstan,” President of
the Republic of Kazakhstan,
Nursultan Nazarbayev, told in his
recent address to the nation on
November 11, 2014.
“Today, as we respond to the
challenges we face, I proclaim
Kazakhstan’s New Economic
Policy “Nurly Zhol” (The Bright
Road). This is what I devote my
state-of-the-nation address for
2015. The policy will have a
counter-cyclical character and will
be aimed at continuing structural
reforms in our economy,” added
Mr. Nazarbayev.
As a leader in the Central Asia,
the Republic of Kazakhstan
makes a considerable contribu-tion
to strengthening of the
region’s stability. The country has
achieved big successes on the
international scene and has con-stantly
increased its visibility,
image, credibility and prestige in
this respect. The evidence of this
is Kazakhstan’s OSCE
Chairmanship in 2010 conducted
with great success and big
achievements.
Due to its geo-strategic loca-tion,
the Republic of Kazakhstan
is an outstanding political actor
and respected voice in the region
but also at international level,
with core priorities in its foreign
policy directions oriented towards
developing and strengthening
strategic and comprehensive part-nerships
with its big and impor-tant
neighbours Russia and
China, with the other neighbours
from Central Asia, with the
United States and with the
European Union.
One of the won bets of
Kazakhstan in terms of increasing
more its international prestige,
image and fame in the world will
be the hosting of Expo 2017 in
Astana, a revolutionary project for
which huge financial resources
have already been allotted by the
Kazakh authorities to successfully
achieve it.
The Republic of Kazakhstan is
an industrial country with mining
operations being one of the main
sources of its economic growth.
The country’s mineral raw materi-al
base consists of more than 5000
deposits which expected value is
estimated at tens of trillion US
dollars. The country holds first
place in the world with regard to
explored reserves of zinc, tungsten
and barite, second - silver, lead
and chromites, third - copper and
fluorite, fourth - molybdenum,
sixth - gold.
Kazakhstan also has consider-able
reserves of oil and gas, which
are concentrated in its western
areas. Nowadays the country
belongs to the group of the
world’s leading oil-producing
states with volumes amounting to
more than 80 million tons of oil
and gas condensate a year.
According to plans the annual
extraction will be increased to 120
million tons by 2020. At present
Kazakhstan is in 9th place in the
world with regard to confirmed
reserves of oil. Besides that, the
country is in 8th place by the
reserves of coal and 2nd place by
the reserves of uranium.
“Kazakhstan owns a territory
so vast it would tire the wings of a
bird to fly over it. Thus, this plan
requires huge funds and hard
work. There is a saying: “If you
want to know a nation’s prosperi-ty
look at its paths.” Road con-nections
are of high importance,
not only for travel, but also for the
transportation of goods,” under-lined
President Nazarbayev in his
message to the nation, recalling
the focus put by the Government
on building modern highways
and railroads aimed at strengthen
trade and economic ties between
the regions.
“Over the past 22 years of our
sovereignty and development we
have formed our core values, they
are the foundation of our coun-try’s
future and unite all the peo-ple
of Kazakhstan. They are not
taken from mystical stories or the-ories.
These values are the embod-iment
of Kazakhstan’s Way, which
has withstood the test of time,”
President Nazarbayev pointed out
in his message addressed to the
nation on January 2014.
The stable growth of all
branches of the Kazakh economy,
the international recognition, the
political stability serve as a basis
for prosperity of the Kazakhstani
society that looks with optimism
to a great future ahead.
Summing up: A glorious past
and a rich cultural heritage and
patrimony behind, valuable
human potential, huge natural
resources, vision of its leaders and
a lot of ambition and effort of a
very talented and hard-working
people with incommensurable
creative potential. This is the
today’s Kazakhstan, a country that
follows its challenging path
towards a well deserved future in
the modern highly-competitive
and fast changing world.
ambitious and deserved future