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News Briefs
Inauguration of the reelected President of Kazakhstan held
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On January 11, the Inauguration of re-elected President of Kazakhstan Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev took place at the Ak Orda Presidential Residence following his landslide election victory last month.
In his oath, the Head of State pledged “to serve the people of Kazakhstan, strictly follow the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to guarantee rights and freedoms of citizens, scrupulously fulfill obligations of the President of Kazakhstan”.
The lavish and colorful ceremony was attended by a great number of Heads of State/Government, including President of Russia Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Ukraine Viktor Yushenko, President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmonov, President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, Vice-President of China Mr. Zeng Qinghong, leaders of 70 foreign countries and heads of international organizations, including OSCE Secretary General and ECO Secretary General.
In his inaugural speech the President highlighted the achievements reached by Kazakhstan in recent years and set forward new tasks to |
| increase the welfare of each citizen. In particular he put forward the aim of making Kazakhstan one of the 50 most dynamic economies in the world.
High-level attendance of the inauguration ceremony indicates the growing importance of Kazakhstan in the international community. |
The President of India congratulates the
President of Kazakhstan on his inauguration
| On 10 January 2005, the President of India
H.E. Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam congratulated the President of Kazakhstan H.E.Nursultan Nazarbayev on his inauguration for the next term. The text of the congratulatory message is as follows: |
PRESIDENT
REPUBLIC OF INDIA
10 January, 2006
Your Excellency,
Thank you for your kind invitation to attend the Inauguration of the President of the Republic оf Kazakhstan. Please accept my sincere felicitations оn your re-election as the President of Kazakhstan. I also wish to convey my best wishes for а successful tenure in your high office and for your personal well-being. |
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I regret that my earlier commitments do not permit me the pleasure of personally attending the Inauguration. I am requesting the Indian Ambassador in Kazakhstan to represent India on this joyous occasion.
Тhe relations between our two countries have strengthened over the past several years. I am confident that under your enlightened leadership, India and Kazakhstan will successfully cooperate in multiple fields to mutual benefit.
I take this opportunity to extend to the friendly people of Kazakhstan my best wishes for their well-being and prosperity.
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
H.E. Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev,
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Astana
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Kazakhstan’s Parliament Adopts New National Anthem
Kazakhstan has adopted a new national anthem, which was proposed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev and approved by the Parliament on January 6.
The new anthem will give the citizens of Kazakhstan a greater sense of solidarity and
pride. The new anthem, a very popular patriotic song titled “Menin Kazakstanym” (My Kazakhstan), has become Kazakhstan’s unofficial anthem during the years of independence and is performed with great enthusiasm at many public and private occasions. It was originally written in 1956 by composer Shamshi Kaldayakov and the poet, Zhumeken Nazhimedenov. The President himself suggested some changes to the lyrics in recent years.
In his letter to the parliament, the President said the anthem reflects Kazakhs’ long struggle for independence and promotes hope for future generations to have a better life. “I offer you the reworked lyrics... but I do not claim the authorship,” the President wrote in his letter.
The Parliament accepted the changed lyrics meaning the President will be listed as a co-author. The bill was signed into law on January 7, 2006.
The new anthem has replaced the one adopted at the collapse of the Soviet Union which still uses old Soviet era music and slightly adapted
lyrics.
The inauguration of the President was the first to be the solemn occasion where the new anthem was played.
Muslim and Russian Orthodox Festivals declared Public Holidays
| Kazakhstan people celebrated the Muslim festival of Kurban Ait (Eid al-Adha), or the Feast of Sacrifice, and the Russian Orthodox Christmas for the first time as public holidays.
The bill was approved by the Parliament and signed into law just well before the start of the holidays of the two predominant religions in Kazakhstan. There are more than 40 different religions in
Kazakhstan.
The Kurban Ait is the most important feast of the Muslim calendar. It concludes the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and this year begins on January 10. The Kurban Ait lasts for three days and commemorates Ibrahim’s (Abraham) willingness to obey God by |
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| sacrificing his son. According to the Koran, Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son when a voice from heaven stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead. The feast re-enacts Ibrahim’s obedience by sacrificing a cow or ram. The family eats about a third of the meal and donates the rest to the
poor.
Kazakhstan’s Government has also moved a day off from Saturday January 14 to Wednesday January 11 to allow for longer celebration this
year.
Russian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7. This year these two holidays come at almost the same time.
The legislative amendments were introduced into the Labor Code, and not the Constitutional Law on Public Holidays, as Kazakhstan is a secular state. |
Kazakhstan Offers Amnesty to Thousands
The Majilis approved a bill on December 28 which would give amnesty 19,000 convicts, if and when approved by the Senate and signed by the President. The amnesty, timed to the 14th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence last December, would apply to convicted minors, women, and the elderly who will return to their families and enjoy normal
lives.
Sergei Magda, Vice Minister of Justice of Kazakhstan presented the bill at the Majilis session and said it would affect 5,456 convicts now behind bars and 13,500 people whose conviction did not entail imprisonment. The amnesty would free those convicted for crimes of light and medium seriousness, as well as those convicted for serious crimes provided they have served a certain amount of their sentences.
“We believe giving freedom to these people should not lead to a rise in the crime rate,” Magda told his listeners, “for example, during the previous amnesty in February 2002 when approximately 10,000 people were freed, only 48 people committed new crimes and that represents only 0.2 percent of those
released.”
Kazakhstan has been continuously humanizing its criminal punishment system, decriminalizing some offenses, shortening sentences for others and substituting imprisonment with alternative punishments for yet other crimes.
This strategy has born fruits. As late as 2001, Kazakhstan was among the top three countries with prison population rates trailing only the US and Russia in the number of prisoners per 100,000 of national population. Then the reforms were enacted. As a result, in the spring of 2005, the total prison population in Kazakhstan dropped to 52,608, according to Penal Reform International, an NGO in Almaty. This added up to 342 prisoners per 100,000 of national population of 15.4 million. This put Kazakhstan into 24th place on the list, and the expected amnesty should improve this situation even further.
Kazakhstan’s Known Recoverable Oil Reserves Grow Twofold
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Kazakhstan’s proven recoverable oil reserves grew twofold over recent years to reach 30 billion barrels (4 billion tons) even as production expands and is expected to almost triple over the next decade, according to a senior Kazakh energy official.
Amantay Suyesinov, Deputy Director of the Department of Petroleum Industry of Kazakhstan’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said Kazakhstan also possessed three trillion cubic meters of natural gas. He added probable reserves of oil fields in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea would likely exceed 124.3 billion barrels (17 billion tons).
Total oil production in Kazakhstan reached 61.4 million tons (1.3 million barrels a day), Suyesinov said. From that total 52.6 million tons (just above 1 million barrels) were
exported. |
| The three largest oil producers in Kazakhstan were Tengizshevroil JSC with 13.56 million tons, Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. with 10.32 million tons and Kazakhstan’s National Oil and Gas Company KazMunaiGas with 9.39 million
tons.
Experts estimate oil production will continue to increase in Kazakhstan over the next decade from 1.3 million barrels per day in 2005 to 3.6 million barrels per day (180 million tons) and 2015
accordingly.
The largest increase is expected to come from commercial production at Kashagan, a behemoth Caspian offshore oil field considered among the top five in the world. It was discovered by an international consortium in 2000. Kazakhstan is also planning to develop more oil fields in its sector of the Caspian under a long term program. Already, 224 contracts for oil and gas development are on the books in Kazakhstan, and more are expected this year.
Oil produced in Kazakhstan is shipped mostly to or through Russia, but in mid-2006 the recently opened pipeline to China will begin carrying oil east. Kazakhstan is also negotiating access to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline from Azerbaijan to the Mediterranean and is expected to sign an agreement in 2006. In the meantime, oil tankers are being constructed for transportation of oil from the port of Aktau port through the BTC pipeline. Plans are afoot to enhance throughput capacities of Kazakhstan ports on the Caspian Sea to 45.8 million tons per year. |
56 Kazakh Athletes Will Compete in Turin
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Fifty six athletes from Kazakhstan will compete at the 20th Winter Olympic Games which begin February 10 in Turin,
Italy.
Skiers and ice hockey players make up most of the Kazakh team, and the nation is pinning its hopes on its skiers. Kazakhstan’s ice hockey team’s first match will be February 15 against Sweden.
A total of 12 teams will compete in ice hockey competition. Kazakhstan and Sweden are in Group B which also includes Latvia, Russia, the Slovak Republic and the USA. Group A includes Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy and
Switzerland
The Kazakh athletes are expected to journey to Italy in early February. |
For more news and information visit us at www.kazind.com
Weekly News of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in India
(Compiled from own sources and agency reports)
Contact person: Anelya Shabarbayeva
61, Poorvi Marg, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi-110057
Tel.: (91) 11-51669464-65 ext. 17, Fax: (91) 11-51669467
E-mail: embaskaz@vsnl.com
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