Award for a true friend of Kazakhstan

For a decade, the Kazakh-Austrian cooperation has been the “engine” of development of the Kazakh-Austrian society, which has been headed by Dr. Richard Schenz, Vice-President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce and Co-Chair of the Kazakh-Austrian Business Council.

Being a long-time and sincere friend of Kazakhstan, R.Schenz contributed to the establishment and strengthening of close ties between Kazakhstan and Austria. His contribution to the development of Kazakh-Austrian cooperation has been repeatedly noted with awards of our country. This year, as a sign of respect and recognition of the great merits of R.Schenz in the field of deepening bilateral relations, he was awarded the highest state award of the Republic of Kazakhstan - the Order of Dostyk.

Representatives of the socio-political and economic circles of Austria, as well as the diplomatic corps of Vienna, were invited to the award ceremony, which was held in a festive atmosphere on June 3 at the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Austria.

Opening the ceremony, Ambassador Kairat Sarybay emphasized that the Kazakh-Austrian relations established 28 years ago are characterized by high dynamics of development in all areas: politics, economics, as well as the cultural and humanitarian spheres. At the same time, attention was drawn to the fact that it is trade and economic relations that create a solid foundation for dynamic mutually beneficial cooperation between states and peoples. In particular, during the post of R.Schenz as Chairman of the Board of the OMV Austrian oil and gas group in 1992-2001, the first major investments were made from Austria into the economy of Kazakhstan. Our award recipient was appointed by the Government of Austria as the national commissioner of the international exhibition EXPO-2017 in the capital of Kazakhstan.

As the Kazakh diplomat outlined, Dr. Schenz is a man “whose merits cannot be overstated, therefore it is especially pleasant for me to fulfill the honorable mission - on behalf of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev to present him with the Order of Dostyk.

In his response, the President of the Austrian-Kazakh Society thanked for the high appreciation of his contribution to the development of mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation. He emphasized that the awarding of the Order of Dostyk (Friendship) to him is a very symbolic event, reflecting the traditionally close and friendly relations between Kazakhstan and Austria.

R.Schenz noted the growing role of Central Asian countries in the Eurasian region. At the same time, Kazakhstan acts as a driver in the development of regional cooperation and socio-economic reforms, the foundations of which were laid by the First President Nursultan Nazarbayev, continued by the implementation of the President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s State of the Nation Address entitled “Constructive public dialogue - the basis of stability and prosperity of Kazakhstan” dated September 2, 2019.

The guests of the festive event were presented the work of the “Artel” string quartet, consisting of graduates of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna Djanay Tulenova (violin), Zarina Imayakova (violin), Liliya Nigamedzyanova (viola) and Malchior Saux (cello). The concert program, organized as part of the project “Pearls of Kazakhstan - Melodies of the Great Steppe”, was comprised of the works of Kazakh and European composers.