International Round Table Held in Singapore Dedicated to 30th Anniversary of Kazakhstan’s Independence

Singapore, 8 October 2021 – Under the auspices of the leading think tank of Singapore – the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, University of Singapore - an international round table was held on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The event in hybrid format was attended by officials and expert circles of the Republic of Singapore and Kazakhstan, representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Singapore, as well as faculty and students of leading international think tanks: the Singapore School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University and Stanford University.

Opening the event, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Singapore Arken Arystanov gave a briefing on the main events in the life of Kazakhstan over the past 30 years. Among major achievements of Kazakhstan, he noted the foundation of the new capital of the country, the successful implementation of a number of remarkable international and regional initiatives, including founding the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia, the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as the fruitful work of Kazakhstan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and the upcoming chairmanship of the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization.

Congratulating Kazakhstanis on the anniversary, the event’s moderator – Vice Dean and Associate Professor in Practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Francesco Mancini noted that “over the past 30 years, Kazakhstan has made an amazing journey, turning into one of the most industrially developed economies in Central Asia, as well as a diplomatic leader not only in its region, but also globally, while maintaining very productive relations with the West and East”.

 Among the main achievements of Kazakhstan, Singapore’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zulkifli Baharudin noted the historic decision of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev to close the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site on 29 August 1991, an act that found broad support from the Kazakhs and the wider international community.

 In general, the anniversary event attracted the close attention of the public from a number of countries and, above all, students of Nazarbayev University. The Diplomats and experts of the Singaporean think tank answered a number of questions from participants about the future of Kazakhstan, prospects for further advancement of the country along the path of further reforms, touched upon the promotion of certain sectors of the economy of Kazakhstan for further sustainable development of the country.