INTERVIEW OF HIS EXCELLENCY MR. KASSYM–JOMART TOKAYEV, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN, TO THE RUSSIAN MEDIA OUTLET “KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA”

INTERVIEW OF HIS EXCELLENCY MR. KASSYM–JOMART TOKAYEV, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN, TO THE RUSSIAN MEDIA OUTLET “KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA”

NUR–SULTAN

 

03/06/2020

 

INTERVIEW OF HIS EXCELLENCY MR. KASSYM–JOMART TOKAYEV, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN,

TO THE RUSSIAN MEDIA OUTLET “KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA”

 

(EXTRACT)

 

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ANSWERS TO THE 15 MOST ACUTE QUESTIONS ON THE PRESSING TOPICS

OF THE BILATERAL COOPERATION BETWEEN KAZAKHSTAN AND RUSSIA,

AS WELL AS ECONOMY, FOREIGN AND INTERNAL POLICY

OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

 

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  1. ACCORDING TO THE SURVEYS, CONDUCTED IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, CITIZENS OF RUSSIA ARE CONSIDERING BELARUS AND KAZAKHSTAN AS THE MOST FRIENDLY COUNTRIES.

WHAT DO SUCH SURVEYS DEMONSTRATE IN KAZAKHSTAN?

 

– For the citizens of our country, Russia has been and remains the closest state. Confidence and mutual understanding between our peoples has been developing for centuries. We have always been together even during periods of difficult trials. Many Russians and Kazakhstanis are united by kinship, friendship, and professional ties. Sociological polls show a warm attitude of our citizens towards Russian Federation. The level of confidence of Kazakhstani people in your state over many years exceeds 75 percent. This is a very high indicator and, most importantly, stable showing. Russia is perceived by our public opinion as a strategic partner and ally.

 

  1. COULD KAZAKHSTAN, FOR INSTANCE, JOIN THE UNION STATE OF RUSSIA AND BELARUS?

DOES SUCH UNION NEED A UNITED CURRENCY AND CUSTOMS, AS WELL AS UNITED PARLIAMENT? OR, ALTERNATIVELY, SHALL WE TRANSFORM THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION (EAEU), ASAP, INTO SOME KIND OF THE EASTERN “EUROPEAN UNION”? IS IT POSSIBLE?

HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF EAEU AFTER 10–20 YEARS?

WHICH FORMS OF OUR MULTILATERAL COOPERATION AND JOINT PROJECTS WITHIN EAEU MAY YOU EVALUATE AS THE MOST PERSPECTIVE?

 

– Kazakhstan is actively cooperating with Russia and Belarus both in a bilateral format and within the framework of integration associations (EAEU, the Collective Security Treaty Oorganization - CSTO, the Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS). We have no plans for joining the Union State of Russia and Belarus. The priority area is the further development of integration within the framework of the mentioned organizations. For our country, the strengthening of the potential of the EAEU as an economic union is of the utmost interest. By developing cooperative ties, creating a common market for goods, services, labour, enhancing the investment attractiveness of the member states of this Union, we could transform the EAEU into an effective global structure. Work in this direction is progressing steadily. By 2025, common energy and financial markets will be formed. Digital collaboration is another promising area. Sometimes in the EAEU, even at the highest level, there are heated discussions, but they are dictated by the general desire to make the Union more successful, prestigious and attractive. We evaluate such things as natural and useful, because indifference means degradation.

 

III. MORE THAN A YEAR HAS PAST FROM THE MOMENT WHEN YOU REPLACED H.E. MR. NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV AT THE PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE.

BUT HIS EXCELLENCY DID NOT LEAVE THE HIGH POLICS. TO THIS END, SOME POLITICAL SCIENTISTS ARE SPECULATING NOWADAYS THERE IS A DUALITY OF POWER IN KAZAKHSTAN.

WHAT DO YOU SAY IN THIS REGARD?

 

– H.E. Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, our First President, is a figure of historical proportions, the founder of modern Kazakhstan. Next month (on 6 July 2020) we will celebrate His Excellency’s 80th birth anniversary. Of course, we will talk about his merits to our people and the international community. It is important for us to preserve His Excellency’s historical and political heritage, this is necessary to strengthen Kazakhstan’s statehood. Therefore, the first point of my election platform was called the ‘continuity’. In the current difficult situation, H.E. Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev strongly spoke out in support of my course towards an accelerated way out of the crisis, the creation of a new economy and material support for citizens. There is no way in our country for the duality of power, H.E. Mr. Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev himself has repeatedly said this, urging all our citizens to unite around the current President.

 

  1. THE STATE IS THE FAMILY OF PEOPLES WHO LIVE IN IT.

HOW MANY RUSSIANS LIVE IN KAZAKHSTAN TODAY AND HOW THEIR RIGHTS ARE  PROTECTED IN YOUR COUNTRY?

 

– In our opinion, inter-ethnic harmony is the most important factor to ensure internal political stability. On the other hand, without this harmony sustainable development of the country is also impossible. Kazakhstan, like Russia, is a polyethnic state. I believe that this is a big strategic advantage. Hence, we proceed from the principle of “unity in diversity”. In fact, Kazakhstanis, regardless of their ethnic origin, consider themselves to be a single people, a single nation. In Kazakhstan there is no concept of “national minority”. More than 3.5 million Russians live in Kazakhstan, their share in the total population is about 19%. The Russians living in our country are an integral part of our people, they enjoy all the rights of the nationals of Kazakhstan. Recently, in one of the foreign analyses, I came across the wording “Russian diaspora in Kazakhstan”. I warned our ideologists and analysts in no case to use such expressions that fundamentally contradict the true state of things. Russians are integral part of our people, their contribution to the formation and development of Kazakhstan is huge and cannot be forgotten. Many Russian names are written ‘in gold letters’ in our history: Grigory Potanin, Pavel Zenkov, Evgeny Brusilovsky, Alexander Zatayevich, Alexander Barayev, Sergey Lugansky, Ivan Shukhov, Ivan Panfilov, Ivan Pavlov, Nikolai Makiyevsky. These and many other people are the pride of Kazakhstan. Similarly, our boxing star Gennady G. Golovkin (GGG, Triple G), our cycling star Alexander Vinokurov, our athletics star Olga Rypakova, and other eminent athletes successfully defend the honour of Kazakhstan in world sports arenas.

 

  1. MR. DMITRY STESHIN, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE “KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA”, VISITED KAZAKHSTAN A YEAR BACK. WITHIN HIS TRIP, HE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITIZENS OF YOUR COUNTRY OF RUSSIAN ORIGIN.

DURING THAT CONVERSATIONS THEY, IN PARTICULAR, NOTED SUCH TRENDS AS THE RENAMING OF SOME SETTLEMENTS AND STREETS, AS  WELL AS CERTAIN PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES FOR THE SLAVIC POPULATION TO BE EMPLOYED AT THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMMENT IN THIS VEIN?

 

– The renaming is not a wide-spread trend in our country. We restored the original names of several settlements and streets. Dissonant names and toponyms, reflecting the realities of the Soviet era and completely not popular among local residents, for example, “Diesel Locomotive Street” and “Channel Street”, are left in the past. Each renaming is preceded by explanatory work and a historical justification. The opinion of citizens expressed in the course of opinion polls and gatherings is taken into account as well. The authorities of Kazakhstan did not set the goal of completely removing the Russian names. Most recently, the streets of Gregory Potanin (Russian geographer, publicist and explorer of Central Asia) and Alexander Zatayevich (Russian and Soviet musician, People's Artist of the former Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic) appeared in Qaragandy (administrarive centre of the Qaragandy Region in Kazakhstan). I can not agree with the allegation of discrimination against those our citizens of Russian origin wishing to enter the Kazakhstani civil service. Slavic and other ethnic groups are represented nowadays in Governmental offices, Parliament and Maslikhats (local representative bodies). Russians make a significant contribution to the development of SMEs, industry, and agriculture. In accordance with the Constitution of Kazakhstan, the Russian is recognized as the language to be officially used in the governmental bodies of our country.

 

  1. ON THE OTHER HAND, RUSSIANS IN KAZAKHSTAN LIVE COMPACTLY IN THE NORTHERN AND EASTERN REGIONS. SOME EXPERTS MAKE THEIR “SPECULATIVE FORECASTS” ABOUT POSSIBLE REPEATITION IN KAZAKHSTAN OF THE SCENARIOS HAPPENED IN CRIMEA OR DONBASS.

COULD YOU PLEASE COMMENT ON THIS “SPECULATIVE FORECASTS”  AS WELL?

 

– Such ‘speculative forecasts’ are issued by pseudo-experts and do not have a serious ground. It is highly likely that they are designed to destabilize the situation in the Republic Kazakhstan, as well as to undermine good-neighbourly and allied relations between our two states, Kazakhstan and Russia. We believe that such ‘speculative forecasts’ can be expressed only by incompetent people, ill-willers, and they typically echoing some other ill-wishers.

 

VII. IN KAZAKHSTAN THE PROCESS OF TRANSITION FROM CYRILLIC TO LATIN SCRIPT IS IN PROGRESS.

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT OUR LONG-TERM COMMON HISTORY, OUR CLOSE CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL TIES THIS TREND, TO SOME EXTENT, CAUSES A CERTAIN ANXIETY IN RUSSIA.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THIS END?

 

– This process was initiated by H.E. Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, our First President, as part of the concept of spiritual modernization. He repeatedly stated that the transition into Latin script will affect only the Kazakh language, and this will not affect the positions of the Russian language in our counrty. The global information space, as a result of the accelerated introduction of new technologies, is rapidly transforming. Our children have to organically fit into the new realities, since the main information flow is based on Latin graphics. Modernization of the Kazakh alphabet is dictated by the desire to expand the communication capabilities of the Kazakh language. At the same time, we will switch to the Latin alphabet gradually, without artificial acceleration, taking into account the experience of Central Asian states. After all, this is not about a simple switching from Cyrillic into Latin script, but about reform of the orthography of the Kazakh language. In addition, we must not forget that all the significant works of the classics of Kazakh literature were created in the Cyrillic script, many generations of Kazakhs received education (and continuing to receive education) in the Cyrillic alphabet. Hence, haste can harm this big initiative, and we therefore indend to implement it thoughtfully.

 

VIII. RUSSIA AND KAZAKHSTAN ARE THE LARGEST PRODUCERS AND EXPORTERS OF GRAIN IN THE WORLD.

HOW DO YOU PERCEIVE THE IDEA OF CREATING A “GRAIN OPEC”                    TO REGULATE THE GRAIN PRICES?

 

– Indeed, Russia and Kazakhstan are among the Top 10 world wheat exporters. The Kazakhstani share in the world wheat exports is about 3%.                   As you know, OPEC decisions are aimed at curbing production volumes to achieve favourable oil prices. The creation of a “grain OPEC” may prove to be an interesting initiative aimed at ensuring the stability of the grain market and coordinating the pricing policy for grain. But the grain market has its own specifics. Grain prices are strongly influenced by weather conditions and productivity. There are natural trade restrictions due to the fact that some grain producer countries, including Kazakhstan, are land-locked, and, accordingly, may suffer from the introduction of threshold prices. When creating such a cartel, it is necessary to take into account the interests of small actors, and also think about how the creation of a “grain OPEC” complies with the WTO standards. However, the concept itself certainly deserves an interesting discussion of specialists.

 

  1. KAZAKHSTAN IS RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE LEADING COUNTRIES IN THE FIELD OF TAXATION AND BUSINESS-TO-GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP.

WHAT POSITIVE THINGS RUSSIA AND OTHER CIS (FORMER U.S.S.R.) COUNTRIES COULD BENEFIT FROM THE STRENGTHS OF THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF KAZAKHSTAN?

 

– Relieving the tax burden is a strategic goal set by both Kazakhstan and Russia. This is an important factor in improving the competitiveness of the economy and ensuring the attractiveness of the investment climate. Tax rates in Kazakhstan are lower than current rates in the CIS countries. In particular, income taxes applied to individuals citizens, self-employed enterpreneurs and legal entities, as well as VAT. At the same time, the tax system of Kazakhstan, like Russia, is “more hospitable” than in most developed countries, and is aimed primarily at supporting SMEs. The advantage of our tax system is the minimal contact of entrepreneurs with fiscal authorities. Tax administration procedures can and should be done through an information system. In Kazakhstan, tax authorities are prohibited by law from interfering in business activities. Entrepreneurs are provided with a wide range of tax benefits, including special taxation regimes. We have exempted micro and small business entities from paying income taxes for three years, and a moratorium on tax audits has been introduced as well.

 

  1. DOES RUSSIA HAVE SOMETHING THAT KAZAKHSTAN WOULD LIKE TO BENEFIT?

 

– We see the evident success of Russia in the digitalization of customs operations and tax administration. The customs authorities introduced technologies that almost completely exclude human participation – automatic registration and automatic release of declarations. In this regard, Kazakhstan is interested in the Russian model of an intellectual checkpoint. In the field of digitalization of tax administration, Russia occupies one of the leading positions in the world. Your practice of strengthening tax control and the application of big data technologies deserves close attention.

 

  1. IT IS WELL-KNOWN THAT RUSSIAN BUSINESSMEN ARE WILLINGLY REGISTER THEIR COMPANIES IN KAZAKHSTAN BECAUSE OF THE GREATER COMFORT OF DOING BUSINESS IN YOUR COUNTRY.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION IN THIS REGARD AND HOW EFFECTIVE ARE THE RUSSIAN BUSINESSES FOR KAZAKHSTANI ECONOMY?

 

– Russia is the main trade and economic partner of Kazakhstan. The volume of direct investments from Russia to Kazakhstan amounted to USD 15.7 billion. Bilateral trade in 2019 increased by 6.2% compared to 2018 and amounted to almost USD 20 billion. More than seven thousand Russian companies and about 3.5 thousand Kazakh-Russian joint enterprises are successfully operating in Kazakhstan. These joint projects are actively implemented in priority sectors of the economy.

For example, in 2018, one of the largest Russian mining companies ‘Polymetal’ launched in the East Kazakhstan Region the Baqyrshyq Gold Mining Enterprise with an investment volume of USD 418 million.

REFERENCE. Polymetal International plc is a precious metals mining company, established in 1998, headquartered in Saint Petersburg, registered in Saint Helier, Jersey. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, Moscow Exchange and Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KaSE) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE Gold mines, RSX and Euromoney Global Gold indices. This company is engaged in the mining of silver, gold, copper and platinum group metals.  

In general, joint implementation of 53 investment projects in the amount of USD 6.6 billion is planned between Kazakhstan and Russian Federation. In April 2019, we have adopted a joint ‘Road Map’ programme in the field of industrial cooperation.

In October 2019 the first joint project within this ‘Road Map’ was launched – the production of ‘Kirovets’ tractors in the city of Qostanai (administrative centre of the Qostanai Region), with a capacity of up to 500 tractors per year.

We intend to actively promote cooperation with Russia in the fields of oil and gas, as well as in petrochemical and other sectors, where high value-added products are produced. Our cooperation on offshore oil and gas projects on the Caspian sea shelf has been intensified. We rely on Russia as a strategic partner. One of the largest Russian companies in this field, Lukoil, is successfully operating in our country as well.

REFERENCE. The PJSC Lukoil Oil Company is a Russian multinational energy corporation, established in 1991, headquartered in Moscow, specializing in the business of extraction, production, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products.

We intend to support those Russian businesses, who implement various investment projects in Kazakhstan. And we expect that by the results of our cooperation, our joint production will enter the markets of the People’s Republic of China, P.R.C., and Central Asia. This fall, we plan to hold the Kazakh-Russian forum and adopt decisions on regional economic cooperation. I am grateful to H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, for his continued attention to this particular topic, as well as to the entire range of our bilateral cooperation.

 

XII. HOW STRONG IS THE PRESENCE OF CHINA IN CENTRAL ASIA? WHAT DO YOU SAT ABOUT SO CALLED “CHINESE EXPANSION” AND “THREAT POSED BY THE PRC”?

 

– The peoples of Central Asia, China and Russia have been actively trading with each other for centuries, exchanging their spiritual knowledge as well. Therefore, the Great Silk Road has become a historical symbol of this part of the world. The geostrategic location and great potential of Central Asia attract the close attention of the world community, and, of course, China. The “Belt and Road” initiative allowed launching interesting projects in Central Asia. Many of them were implemented with the assistance of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Silk Road Fund. It is obvious that the land component of the “Belt and Road” is inconceivable without Kazakhstan and other countries of the region acting as a bridge between China and Europe, and similarly, between China and the Middle East. The volume of Chinese investment to the Central Asian economies and its bilateral trade with Central Asuan states is growing steadily. In 2018, the accumulated direct Chinese investment in five countries of the region is approached USD 15 billion. Last year, the total commodity turnover of Central Asia with the PRC is exceeded USD 33 billion. The interest in the development of trade, economic and investment cooperation is of a mutual nature. In this vein, I do not think that the speculations about ‘Chinese expansion’ correspond to the real situation.

 

XIII. HOW DO YOU SEE THE PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF COOPERATION BETWEEN KAZAKHSTAN AND CHINA?

 

– H.E. Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, our First President, has started and been always actively engaged in the development of fruitful cooperation between Kazakhstan and China. At present, relations between our states have reached the level of a long-term strategic partnership. The dynamics of our contacts at the highest political level is positive. During our negotiations with H.E. Mr. Xi Jinping, the President of the People’s Republic of China, held last September, a Joint Statement was adopted. This document has reflected the promising areas of cooperation between our two countries. We actively interact within the framework of international and regional organizations (UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO, as well as the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building measures in Asia, CICA).

China is an important economic partner of Kazakhstan. In 2019, our bilateral trade has reached the level of USD 14.5 billion.

Solidarity and mutual assistance in the fight against the COVID-2019 pandemic can be called a bright page in the history of our partnership. Kazakhstan has sent its medical humanitarian aid to Wuhan. During our phone conversation, H.E. Mr. Xi Jinping, the President of the PRC, has stated that the genuine sympathy and sincere condolennces, expressed by the Kazakh side over COVID-2019 epidemic in China, once again confirmed the fidelity of the proverb, “friend in need is friend indeed”. When the wave of coronavirus reached Kazakhstan, the Chinese side immediately responded with humanitarian assistance and sent a group of qualified medical specialists.

 

XIV. IS THE APPEARANCE IN KAZAKHSTAN OF THE US MILITARY BASE POSSIBLE?

 

– The construction of a US military base in Kazakhstan has never been discussed and is not on the agenda. At the same time, cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United States is successfully developing in such strategic areas as energy, investment and technology. We are in constant contact on the topics of disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. We also worked in the field of biosafety at the base of the former anti-plague institute in Almaty, but now, due to the expiration of the contract, the American side has left the said reference laboratory. Nowadays only Kazakhstani specialists work there at the expense of our own budget. Given the relevance of researches in this area, we are ready for the most transparent cooperation with the Russian specialists in this area.

 

  1. HOW DOES THE TOWN OF BAIQOŃYR (WHERE ONE OF THE LARGEST SPACEPORTS IN THE WORLD – THE BAIKONUR COSMODROME IS LOCATED) LIVE NOWADAYS?

HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF THIS ONE OF THE MAIN WORLD’s SPACEPORTS, WHERE THE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN SPACE EXPLORATION HAS BEGAN?

IS THERE A PLACE FOR RUSSIA IN THE FUTURE OF THE BAIKONUR COSMODROME?

 

– Our interaction in the space sector and the joint development of the town of Baiqońyr is a clear example of the multifaceted cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia. The topics of the day-to-day activities and the effective development of this spaceport are considered by the Intergovernmental Commission. Priority is given to the creation of civil spacecrafts, used in the fields of communications, television, and scientific research. We are collaborating on the Gagarin Start Project. Investors from Kazakhstan, Russia and the UAE intend to invest in the modernization of this historic site, from which the first manned space flight took place. The goal of the Baiterek Joint Project is to build a Aerospace Complex for launching vehicles on environmentally friendly, innovative carriers – instead of the legacy ‘Proton’ rockets, which use toxic fuel. I would like to highlight the initiative of Kazakhstan to establish a Free Economic Zone “Baikonur”, which could make a significant contribution to the development of the national economies of our two countries. In October, the Baikonur Cosmodrome will celebrate its 65th Anniversary. I believe that our countries should commemorate this significant date at a decent level, because Baikonur is the property of all humanity, and its historical role in world cosmonautics is undeniable.

 

GENERIC REFERENCE FOR THE INTERVIEW:

 

During the Soviet era, the “Komsomolskaya Pravda” (lit. the “Komsomol Truth”, founded in 1925) was a daily newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the All–Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol.

Nowadays the “Komsomolskaya Pravda” is a daily socio–political newspaper and also online media outlet of the Russian Federation.