Kazakhstan President

KAZAKHSTAN PRESIDENT

MrNursultanNazarbayevwas first elected president on January 10, 1999 and re-elected on December 4, 2005.In 2010 President Nazarbayev rejected a call from constituents to hold a referendum to keep him in office until 2020 and, instead, insisted on an election to be held in April 2011. In April of 2011, President Nazarbayev was reelected to a third five-year term as Kazakhstan’s President; receiving 95.54 percent of the vote with 89.9 percent of registered voters participating. Many observers lauded the substantial progress toward Kazakhstan’s democracy.

Under President Nazarbayev’s leadership, Kazakhstan has adopted a market economy, experienced growth and diversification and is a beacon in the region for economic prosperity.

An overview of the Doing Business 2011 report by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation begins:

Among the world’s economies, Kazakhstan improved business regulation the most in the past year, according to Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs, the eighth in a series of annual reports published by IFC and the World Bank. Kazakhstan improved conditions for starting a business, obtaining construction permits, protecting investors, and trading across borders. As a result, it moved up 15 places in the rankings on the ease of doing business

Other highlights of economic progress under President Nazarbayev’s leadershipinclude:

  • Kazakhstan in 2010 announced a Business Road Map – 2020, which aims to create permanent jobs through business development. According to the program, funds are allocated for further subsidization of interest rates on loans, loan guarantees, development of industrial infrastructure, internships and social assistance. As of January 2011, over 225 applications worth 101.2 billion tenge were approved for subsidizing within the Road Map. More than 30 projects of 129 business entities received loan guarantees. Approximately 1,175 enterprises received orders for rendering services in industrial zones. The total number of employees involved in the program exceeds 20 thousand people.
  • A state-run scholarship programme ‘Bolashak‘ (―Future‖), since its establishment, in 1994 has increased the number of graduating scholars from 187 in 1994 to 1,259 in 2010. During 1993-2009, Bolashak scholars numbered 6,788. In 2011, approximately 1,058 scholars will receive their Bachelor, Master and PhD degrees.
  • Kazakhstan has accommodated 8000 foreign companies (270 of them are companies listed in the Fortune 500), which invested over $13.1 bln. in Kazakhstan in 2010.
  • Kazakhstan in 2010 continued implementing of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative with the aim of delivering a clear signal to international investors and financial institutions that Kazakhstan is committed to greater transparency and accountability and improvement in its investment climate
  • Following adoption of the Law on Islamic Finance in 2010, Kazakhstan is planning to issue by the end of 2011 a $500 million debut Islamic bond (sukuk), which could create a benchmark for corporate lenders aiming to develop an Islamic finance sector in Central Asia. Kazakhstan plans to attract up to $10 billion in Islamic finance over the next 5 to 7 years. Islamic finance would play a major role in funding Kazakhstan’s drive to develop its industrial base.
  • Kazakhstan‘s Government is developing a program for initial public offerings (IPO) of the national companies owned by the sovereign welfare fund Samruk-Kazyna, which controls around $70 billion on assets in banks, state energy companies and other major industries. Samruk-Energy, KEGOC and KazPost will put their shares up for an IPO by the end of the year. National companies such as KazMunaiGas, Kazakhstantemirzholy railways and Kazatomprom should follow with initial public offerings in 2012-2013. Later on, the metal producers Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC), Kazakhmys, Kazzinc, and Arcelor Mittal‘s Karmetkombinat will offer some of their shares.

As in the United States, Kazakhstan‘s President annually delivers to the people his vision, a so called road map for future development of the country. Comprehensive development targets are outlined by President Nazarbayev in his State-of-the-Nation address every year. On January 28, 2011, President Nazarbayev delivered his message to the people of Kazakhstan at a joint session of the Kazakh Parliament.  In it he said Kazakhstan‘s foreign policy will meet hopes and expectations of all our partners. He went on, “I stand for the principle,strong business means a strong state‘. Last year Kazakhstan was recognized by the World Bank as the country that improved conditions for domestic businesses the most in a single year. The World Bank also ranked Kazakhstan 59th out of of 183 countries in terms of having the most beneficial business climate. On other fronts, Kazakhstan adopted 16 laws to reform the system of law enforcement and the protection of human rights, while state bodies slashed their staffs by 15 percent. Kazakhstan will continue fighting corruption without compromises.”‖Nazarbayev noted that the country jumped 45 places in Transparency International‘s Corruption Perception Index in three years. President Nazarbayev is committed to preserving religious freedom in Kazakhstan.

In accordance with its foreign policy priorities, during the 66th UN General Assembly session Kazakhstan will continue to work to strengthen and advance the Organization’s role in the prevention and settlement of conflicts and crises, in uniting the efforts of the international community to achieve sustainable development, in the prevention of and dealing with man-made and natural disasters, as well as in tackling other modern global problems.

President Nazarbayev affirmed his commitment to democracyin a Washington Post op-ed,Kazakhstan’s democracy shows steady progress. As he did as well with President Bush, President Nazarbayev has a positive relationship with President Obama.

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