29th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence celebrated in Сanada
Ottawa, December 16, 2020 – In honor of Independence Day of Kazakhstan the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Canada, with the assistance of the city of Ottawa organized a solemn ceremony of raising the flag of Kazakhstan in the host country's capital – Ottawa. the flag of Kazakhstan was also raised in the business capital of Canada - the city of Toronto.
During the ceremony, Deputy Mayor of Ottawa City Laura Dudas made a speech, who drew attention to strong cultural ties between the two countries and peoples. “Kazakhs living in Canada are an important part of the multi-ethnic Canadian society and share our common values and principles. We highly appreciate their contribution and want to congratulate all Kazakhstanis both in Canada and Kazakhstan on the Independence Day and wish your country prosperity, happiness, and a sustainable future», ” L. Dudas said.
On the same day, the Embassy organized a solemn online reception on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of Kazakhstan's Independence. The event, which was held in a virtual format, was attended by the leadership of the Canadian Foreign Ministry, MPs, representatives of government agencies, business circles, prominent public and scientific figures, and members of the Kazakh diaspora in Canada.
The ceremony was opened by the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Canada Akylbek Kamaldinov. In his speech, the Ambassador highlighted the high level of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Canada. “A good impetus to bilateral relations was given by the first visit of the Governor-General of Canada J. Payette to Kazakhstan in 2018 and the meeting of President K.Tokayev with the Prime Minister of Canada J. Trudeau in Munich this year. Inter-parliamentary ties are developing. In November of this year, the 4th meeting of the Kazakhstan-Canada Business Council was held, following which the participants agreed to adopt a Roadmap for the implementation of the agreements. In honor of the 29th anniversary of Independence Day, we opened the Center for Kazakh Culture and Kazakhstanis in Canada. Because of the pandemic, all our events were held online for the first time, ” the Ambassador noted.
The Kazakh diplomat stressed that for Kazakhstan, independence is the highest value and fundamental principles such as secular ideology, unitary form of government and a democratic, legal and social state are enshrined in the Constitution of our country. Ambassador A. Kamaldinov also informed the participants about the political reforms being carried out in Kazakhstan, and also spoke about the preparations for the parliamentary elections in January 2021.
The main guest of the virtual reception of the Embassy was the Parliamentary Secretary (in the rank of deputy minister) of the Canadian Foreign Ministry, Robert Oliphant. The High Representative of the Canadian Foreign Ministry emphasized the particularly friendly relations that have developed between Kazakhstan and Canada. “Canada was among the first countries to recognize the independence of Kazakhstan 29 years ago. Today Kazakhstan is our closest partner in Central Asia.
This year we held meetings and events at a high level, discussed cooperation in all areas - political, trade, economic and other issues of mutual interest. Over this year, our interaction has strengthened at the multilateral platforms of the UN and the OSCE. Our countries are interested in further strengthening the international partnership. The 4th meeting of the Kazakhstan-Canada Business Council ended with great success, and we are interested in developing trade and economic relations with Kazakhstan.
The ambitious agenda of Kazakhstan to improve the well-being of all citizens of the Republic, improve public administration, ensure the rule of law, as well as protect human rights, in particular the rights of women and children, provides our countries with great opportunities to expand cooperation in these priority areas,” - R. Oliphant said.
The opening was also made by the co-chairman of the Kazakhstan-Canada Business Council, President of the Cameco Corporation Tim Gitzel, who was appointed this year Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. In his speech, T.Gitzel spoke about his warm attitude towards Kazakhstan. “Kazakhstan occupies a special place for me - of course, in terms of business, but also personally. My relationship with the country and the wonderful people of Kazakhstan goes back over 25 years. Since then, Cameco has invested over half a billion dollars in Kazakhstan through our joint venture Inkai, a uranium mine we are developing with our Kazakh partner Kazatomprom. I have watched with great interest the progress of Kazakhstan over the past few decades, and recently I had the honor to participate in the 33rd Plenary Meeting of the Foreign Investors Council under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The President of Kazakhstan spoke about the work carried out in the country to strengthen its presence in the world economy. "
“Under the leadership of President K. Tokayev, the country strives to continue to lead in the Eurasian space through technological, social and other achievements. Priorities include things such as digitalization and artificial intelligence, oil and gas, natural resources, agriculture, health care, transport - frankly, all these main areas were also discussed at the working groups of the 4th meeting of the Kazakhstan-Canada Business Council, which we held in November this year ”.
“Much of what President K. Tokayev spoke about depends on building relations between Kazakhstan and world companies and other countries. In this respect, the relations between Kazakhstan and Canada can serve as an example for other countries, ”T.Gitzel noted.
The former Ambassador of Canada to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, a Senior Fellow of Carleton University Margaret Skok congratulated the Kazakhstanis very warmly. She marked the important stages in the development of the young Republic, which she witnessed. “New international partnerships, membership in multilateral organizations, economic and social reforms and opportunities for young people to study abroad are significant progress. Personally, I believe that institutional and social reforms have progressed very quickly. What impressed me most was the efforts put into developing rural and urban areas, creating a strong middle class and striving to move towards strengthening agriculture and food processing, mining and energy, as well as various industries, from engineering to healthcare, architecture, legal services".
The honorary Canadian diplomat recalled Kazakhstan's early and firm commitment to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, as well as Kazakhstan's signing of the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Anti-Personnel Landmines. M. Skok supported the continuation of reforms in our country and noted their positive impact on the development of partnership relations between Canada and Kazakhstan. “And it is this ongoing reform that will contribute to the development of partnership between the two countries and will benefit the people of Kazakhstan,” Skok stressed.
During the solemn online reception, the participants were presented with episodes from the opera "Abai", the ballet "Nutcracker" performed by the Astana Opera, folk music masterly performed by the Kazakh dombra player Kyranbek Altanuly. The guests were also familiarized with the investment and tourism opportunities of our Republic. The solemn event ended with the illumination of Niagara Falls in the colors of the flag of Kazakhstan, organized on December 15, especially for the celebration of the 29th anniversary of Kazakhstan's Independence in Canada.