Kazakh Officials Examine Estonia's Digitisation Programmes

A WEEKLY ONLINE PUBLICATION / WWW.MFA.GOV.KZ ISSUE NO. 552 / FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018

Kazakh Officials Examine Estonia’s Digitisation Programmes

CIS Foreign Ministers Sign Security, Education Agreements

In Focus: Foreign Policy Priorities

Also In The News

Kazakh and Estonian delegations discuss IT development

Kazakh Officials Examine Estonia’s Digitisation Programmes Officials from Kazakhstan learned about Estonia’s successful digitisation methods during a recent meeting in the Estonian capital, Tallin. At the meeting, Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs Andres Anvelt briefed Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Askar Zhumagaliyev on Estonia’s digital systems for registering its population, as well as logging state border crossings and crimes. Kazakhstan is now embarking on its own national digitisation programme, and Estonia is considered a leader in information technology logistics and business services. The country ranks first in Europe on the Global Index on cybersecurity and fifth worldwide and is just second in the world for its laws on information and communication technologies. Tallin’s investment in IT over the past 25 years has paid off, and today tech companies generate 6.8 percent of Estonia’s gross domestic product, make up 14.2 percent of Estonia’s exports and allow Estonian citizens to do business with more than 120 countries. Some 3,700 IT and tech companies are at work in Estonia, from start-ups to transnational corporations, working in finance, e-commerce, green technologies, trade, e-government and developing new games. With so much at stake in the digital sphere, it must be well protected. Ninety-eight percent of Estonia’s population have an electronic identification key. To safely sign contracts, process financial services and run their businesses in the online world, more than 33,000 business people use smart cards. These cards help create a secure environment for online transactions, Estonian officials say. Today, Estonia is beginning to introduce IT innovations into its industrial sector through the Industry 4.0 programme, which aims to facilitate the use of IT by entrepreneurs from the very beginning stages of business planning all the way through to final product delivery – including, in the case of exports, through electronic customs.

Now, Estonia is working on using digital tools to help improve access to and provision of healthcare services. The visitors from Kazakhstan also took a trip to Tallinn IT College, one of the eight universities and 14 business accelerators in Estonia where companies and investors cooperate on high-tech projects. Unsurprisingly, Estonia is at the global cutting edge of IT research and development. Kazakhstan’s delegation, with Zhumagaliyev as its head, also met with Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas and Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Kadri Simson. Other officials from Astana held discussions with Director-General of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board Valdur Lyde, Co-Chair of the Kazakh-Estonian Parliamentary Group Denis Borodich, President of the Estonian Information Technology College Pieter Lawrence and business leaders.

At the meeting, Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs Andres Anvelt briefed Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Askar Zhumagaliyev on Estonia’s digital systems for registering its population, as well as logging state border crossings and crimes.

The Estonian side also told Kazakhstan’s delegation about their successes in using the internet to improve government interactions with citizens. The X-Road communication and database system links the public and private sectors to electronic support services, for example. X-Road allows outgoing data to be digitally signed and encrypted; incoming data is checked for authenticity and registered. Tallin’s e-government now also uses an electronic taxation system that makes default calculations for citizens and allows them to file their taxes with a few clicks of a mouse.

Astana Calling

ASTANA CALLING / ISSUE 552/ 2

Back to Contents

Commonwealth of Independent States foreign ministers

CIS Foreign Ministers Sign Security, Education Agreements Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov discussed Astana’s regional security and development, denuclearisation and confidence building initiatives during the May 6 meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Council of Foreign Ministers in Belarus. Given that Afghanistan plans to hold parliamentary and presidential elections this year and in 2019, Abdrakhmanov said, Kazakhstan supports the results of the Tashkent Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan and the government of Tajikistan’s initiative to coordinate with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism a conference on combating terrorism and extremism in May in Dushanbe. Meeting participants also concurred on intensifying their discussions, signing an agreement to organise a dozen multi-level foreign ministerial meetings on cooperation within multinational organisations, including the United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and others. They also inked draft agreements on security, including on combating the illegal use of information technologies and on an interstate programme of cooperative anti-crime measures for 2019 to 2023. Other agreements signed include the youth police directive “100 Ideas for the CIS” and agreements on education programmes, including professional training for staff handling tax and financial investigations. Abdrakhmanov thanked his colleagues for their support of Kazakhstan’s presidency at the United Nations Security Council in 2018 and of Astana’s efforts to support Afghan security and further the Syrian peace process.

On the sidelines of the CIS ministerial meeting, participants were received by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. Abdrakhmanov also met bilaterally with head of Azerbaijan’s delegation Khalaf Khalafov and head of Turkmenistan’s delegation Serdar Berdymukhammedov to discuss trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation. The sides also talked about preparations for the fifth Caspian Summit.

Participants then discussed social and humanitarian cooperation, in particular Turkmenistan’s proposal that 2021 be declared a year of architecture and urban development. Meeting attendees supported Kyrgyzstan’s initiative to mark in 2018 the 90th anniversary of a Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov.

He praised the council as a platform supporting the discussions of a variety of issues in an equitable format and said that their gatherings would continue to help the CIS respond quickly and successfully to geopolitical and economic changes. Abdrakhmanov praised President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev for emphasising the need for countries to be adaptable in a changing global environment. Participants then discussed social and humanitarian cooperation, in particular Turkmenistan’s proposal that 2021 be declared a year of architecture and urban development. Meeting attendees supported Kyrgyzstan’s initiative to mark in 2018 the 90th anniversary of a Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov. Russia, as council president in 2017, had proposed measures to improve the body’s efficiency. They are now being reviewed by the council of ministers and the economic council. Turkmenistan has taken over the presidency for 2018 and the next council meeting will take place in Dushanbe this fall.

Astana Calling


Back to Contents

In Focus: Foreign Policy Priorities Strengthening UN & Int’l Security

prices. He made the same point in addresses to the nation regarding the National Third Modernisation and Fourth Industrial Revolution. He also said the company should consider building a new refinery and hopes the government and Tengizchevroil will cooperate on that effort.

Kazakhstan to deploy peacekeepers in Lebanon Kazakhstan is preparing to send 120 servicemembers to join other United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon by this fall, Kazakh Deputy Minister of Defense Talgat Mukhtarov announced recently. Previously, Kazakh officers participated only as staff and observer officers. Fifteen of them have returned from that mission and have received positive feedback from the UN, said Mukhtarov.

The head of state also discussed cooperation on ongoing projects with new Chevron Chairman and CEO Michael K. Wirth. Chevron is Tengizchevroil’s largest shareholder at 50 percent, and Tengiz, one of the world’s deepest and largest light oil deposits, is Chevron’s largest asset. www.akorda.kz

Culture & Identity Modernisation

Kazakh Defense Ministry representatives have visited Lebanon to assess the unit and location of future deployment. Kazakhstan’s contribution to international peacekeeping efforts began in 2014 when the country sent military observers to the United Nations mission for the referendum in Western Sahara and Cote d’Ivoire. According to the defense ministry, Kazakh servicemembers on UN missions monitor compliance with cease-fire agreements and perform other tasks. They are considered UN personnel and not under direct subordination to the Kazakh Defense Ministry. Kazakhstan also makes efforts to comply with the UN requirement that 15 percent of personnel be women. Female officers often work as health specialists and signalers. www.vlast.kz, www.informburo.kz

Astana Opera soloist becomes Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy Astana Opera soloist and Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Medet Chotabayev was recently awarded a knighthood of the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy for contributing to Kazakh-Italian cultural ties and promoting the Italian language, reports the Astana Opera press service. Chotabayev said he was happy to receive the award and honoured to help strengthen bilateral ties. Chotabayev has studied at the Accademia Internasionale di Canto Renata Tebaldi. Mario Del Monaco in Pesaro, where, in 2008, he received the Beniamino Gigli International Singing competition diploma in Porto Recanati.

Welcoming Investments

Tengizchevroil celebrates 25th anniversary Chevron, ExxonMobil, LukArco and KazMunayGas recently marked the 25th anniversary of a joint venture established in 1993 following a 40-year contract with the Kazakh government to produce and refine oil from some of the world’s largest light oil fields, including the Tengiz and Korolevskoye fields in the Caspian Sea. “Exactly a quarter of a century has passed since the signing of the agreement on the Tengizchevroil project,” President Nursultan Nazarbayev said at the event marking the anniversary. “Over these years, the company has become a leading force in the oil and gas market while oil production has increased 30-fold and reached a historic milestone of three billion barrels.” The venture continues to accrue more than one third of Kazakhstan’s oil production. Nazarbayev noted that Tengizchevroil has strengthened and diversified Kazakhstan’s economy by doing business with Kazakhstan’s mechanical engineering, oil and gas service, transport and construction industries.

His professional debut was at the Abay Opera House in Almaty. In the 2013-2014 season, he became a principle soloist of the Astana Opera, where he now performs Duca in “Rigoletto,” Nemorino in “L’elisir d’amore,” Rodolfo in “La Bohème,” Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly,” Cavaradossi in “Tosca,” Lensky in “Eugene Onegin,” Rodolfo in “Luisa Miller” and Alfredo in “La Traviata.” Medet has also held leading roles in the world’s foremost venues, including in Brazil, Finland, France and Romania. In one of the latest concerts at the Slovak National Theatre of Bratislava, he sang the part of Alfredo Germont in Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata.” Chotabayev received the Grand Prix at the 2009 Art of the 21st Century International Competition in Finland, first prize and Best Tenor of the Competition prize at the 2009 Glinka International Singing Competition in Moscow, third prize at the 2010 International Opera Competition in Paris and first prize at the 2013 Arena di Verona Concorso Internasionale di Canto. www.astanatimes.com

More than 30,000 Kazakh citizens work for the company and 32 percent of the goods and services purchased by Tengizchevroil are made in Kazakhstan, according to statements made at the event. Nazarbayev also stressed the need to implement new technologies to enhance refinery productivity given the volatility of global crude

Astana Calling


Back to Contents

Also In The News... •

The President Nazarbayev receives ambassadors’ credentials Ambassadors Alexei Borodavkin (Russia), Pasquale d’Avino (Italy), Toyly Komekov (Turkmenistan) and Saidikram Niyazkhodzhaev (Uzbekistan) presented their credentials during an April 11 ceremony at the Akorda. President Nursultan Nazarbayev highlighted relations with each country. He said Kazakh-Russian relations are an example of a strategic partnership and alliance and that close cooperation between the two states has helped integrate the Eurasian Economic Union. The head of state stressed Kazakhstan will expand its ties with Russia. He also said cultural and historic ties between Uzbeks and Kazakhs reached a new level with the new Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyev. “We started a new page of cooperation between Astana and Tashkent and made significant progress in the overall enhancement of regional partnership in Central Asia,” he said. Mutual visits and political dialogue in the last two years helped increase trade 30 percent, and designating 2018 the year of Uzbekistan in Kazakhstan and vice-versa will enhance cooperation, he added.The Kazakh President emphasised Kazakhstan’s foreign policy will continue to be based on principles of trust, equality and mutual benefit. www.akorda.kz

•

Kazakh pavilion opens at Dubai annual investment meeting The Dubai World Trade Centre hosted April 9-11 the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) international conference, an interactive platform for the global investment community.Participants from 141 countries exhibited national investment policies and projects and met with the business communities of other nations. The Kazakh delegation composed of heads and representatives of 15 corporations, state authorities and national companies presented the Kazakh Invest pavilion. Members also met with representatives of Arab companies. www.primeminister.kz

•

Kazakhstan participates in Non-Aligned Movement ministerial conference A Kazakh delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Yerzhan Ashikbayev participated in the 18th conference of the ministries of foreign affairs of the Non-Aligned Movement in Baku, focusing on “promoting international peace and security for sustainable development”. The event was attended by more than 800 representatives from 91 nations and international organisations – movement members, observers, countries and organisations. Ashikbayev outlined the relevance of the movement’s agenda, as well as Kazakhstan’s commitment to many of its goals. He also spoke about President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s peacekeeping initiatives regarding the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and strengthening international security. He also stressed Kazakhstan’s commitment to developing interreligious and intercultural dialogue and achieving sustainable development goals and socio-economic development as guarantees of long-term stability. The movement seeks to promote peace, security and development in the world based on respect for international law. Kazakhstan cooperates with its members within the UN and other formats. www.mfa.kz

•

Deputy Foreign Minister visits ASEAN Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Akylbek Kamaldinov traveled to Indonesia on the first leg of his Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trip. He met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi to discuss political, economic and culturalhumanitarian cooperation, as well as interaction within the United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The sides noted cooperation has intensified following Indonesian Vice President Yusuf Kalla’s participation in the first OIC Science and Technology Summit in Astana, as well as after Kazakh Senate Chairperson Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev’s visit to Jakarta in March. Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world and Kamaldinov stressed the importance of the country’s participation in the VI Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions this October in Astana. While in Brunei, Kamaldinov reviewed the priorities of Kazakhstan’s domestic and foreign policy and international initiatives as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Citing the nation’s favourable investment climate, he noted promising areas particularly in the halal industry, Islamic finance and oil and gas and called for increased cooperation between businesses and financial institutions. The sides discussed continuing regular political dialogue, expanding legal frameworks, cooperating in trade, economy and investment and establishing contacts in education, science and culture. www.mfa.kz

•

Kazakh-French political consultations held in Paris Kazakh Foreign Deputy Minister Roman Vassilenko led his nation’s delegation in Paris for the seventh round of Kazakh-French political consultations. The parties assessed Central Asian-European Union (EU) relations in light of the draft EU strategy for Central Asia that is expected to include joint efforts to stabilise Afghanistan, negotiate within the Astana Process on Syria and implement regional economic and infrastructure projects, including the Belt and Road initiative and developing the Eurasian Economic Union. The sides wish to strengthen transport, energy, atomic and aerospace industry cooperation and their decentralised partnership.

Astana Calling

France is the fifth largest investor in the Kazakh economy; to date, more than 140 French enterprises have invested more than $13 billion in foreign direct investment. Vassilenko spoke about Astana’s upcoming 20th anniversary celebration and the Astana International Financial Centre’s inauguration. He also reviewed IT and digitisation projects. He met with Presidential Adviser Alice Rüfo to discuss ongoing political dialogue between Astana and Paris. The delegation also met with the Friends of Kazakhstan Club for an event attended by parliamentarians, businesspeople, experts among others. www.mfa.kz •

Central Asian trade mission arrives in Latvia The first Central Asian trade mission recently traveled to Latvia to expand cooperation with the Baltic States. It consists of 30 Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen and Uzbek companies, including the largest food producers and transport and logistics enterprises. The forum was organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to help Central Asian businesses find new markets in the region. “I believe that this is exactly what is needed for companies from Central Asia,” said USAID in Central Asia Trade Issues Chief Regional Adviser Ryder Rogers. “The organisers are confident that the residents of Latvia will appreciate the truly delicious food, fruits and vegetables from Central Asia [and] it can become a bridge to other European markets.”The three-day mission generated interest among more than 100 local companies. The visit is expected to create opportunities not only between regions, but also between nations, such as Kazakhstan and Latvia. Latvian Ambassador Jurijs Pogrebnyak noted Kazakh food products represent a small share of their trade turnover and hoped the mission would boost cooperation. Central Asian vegetables, fruits and food items are in high demand in the Baltic republics. The mission, which will continue in Lithuania, seeks to bypass intermediaries, as well as become acquainted with local business, transport and logistics opportunities. www.24.kz

•

Almaty jazz orchestra performs at New York festival Almaty Youth Jazz Band, led by Tagir Zaripov, recently performed in an international jazz festival at New York’s Apollo Theatre along with representatives of the best jazz schools in California, Connecticut, Florida and Pennsylvania. The band performed works by Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Gordon Goodwin and other American artists. The audience enjoyed the concert, critics praised the musicians’ improvisation, and all were surprised by the their ages (the youngest is 10), according to 24kz news. The band has been a member of the International Educational Jazz Association since 1996 and has won international jazz conferences in New York (1998), Anaheim, California (1999) and New Orleans (2000). The ensemble also participated in the 25th North Sea International Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. Almaty Youth Jazz Band released its first CDs, “Makin’ Whoopee” and “Medeo”, together with French jazz saxophonist Francois Jeannot. www.24.kz


ASTANA CALLING A WEEKLY ONLINE PUBLICATION / WWW.MFA.GOV.KZ Please send comments and questions to [email protected]

Back to Contents