Embassy of Kazakhstan

POLITICS

Kazakhstan to address corruption

United Press International

Kazakh security authorities Wednesday concluded a seminar to discuss implementing anti-corruption methods that meet international standards.

The two-day seminar, set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, brought together an estimated 100 security and customs officials in an effort to identify more effective methods to combat corruption and strengthen Kazakhstan's security, the OSCE reported.

Officials from the World Bank and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, among other experts, also attended the seminar to assist Kazakhstan in implementing new methods and practices that meet international standards and strengthen efforts to counter transnational criminal groups in the Central Asia region.

"The presence of corruption in customs seriously undermines the economic and political security of the country and reduces opportunities for economic, social and overall national development," Ambassador Alexandre Keltchewsky, the head of the OSCE Center in Astana, Kazakhstan, said in a statement.



ECONOMY

India, Kazakhstan may sign N-pact

Press Trust of India

India and Kazakhstan are expected to sign by next month a broad-based civil nuclear agreement under which the uranium-rich central Asian country will supply fuel and technology to New Delhi.

India has sent a draft of the Inter Governmental Agreement for Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy to Kazakhstan for its perusal before the two sides ink the pact. Kazakhstan will be the fourth country after the USA, Russia and France with whom India will have such a broad-based civil nuclear agreement, since the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted ban on New Delhi last September to have trade in this field.

“There is progress in preparation of the agreement on nuclear cooperation in peaceful uses. We are finishing up the agreement and will be sending it to Indian side,” Kazakhstan's Ambassador Mr Kairat Umarov told PTI here.

“Final touches are being given (to the text of the agreement) on our side. Soon we will pass it on to the Indian side for consideration,” he said. Asked by when the pact is expected to be signed, Mr Umarov said if all goes well, “probably by the end of first half of this year, surely.”

The framework agreement will encompass all aspects related to nuclear power. India and Kazakhstan had initiated talks on the agreement following the visit of President Nursultan Nazarbayev here in January. Kazakhstan, tipped to become the world's largest uranium producer, is keen to have civil nuclear cooperation with India whose industry is set to expand after the end to its 34-year isolation in the field. India and Kazakhstan are also working on forging cooperation in thermal power sector.


IMF in Kazakhstan to discuss economic crisis

Reuters

The International Monetary Fund sent a delegation to Kazakhstan this week to discuss the impact of the economic crisis on Central Asia's biggest economy, officials said on Thursday.

The World Bank has suggested Kazakhstan should consider a precautionary stand-by deal with the IMF to ensure additional money is available in an emergency but the oil-rich nation says it has enough state cash to fight the crisis.

Some analysts have speculated that the deepening crisis may force Kazakhstan to change its position.

The Kazakh Financial Supervision Agency said it did not discuss loans with the IMF during a meeting on May 5.

"We are not asking for IMF loans ... This question was not discussed during the meeting," an FSA spokesman said.

The FSA website said separately the two parties discussed the state of the financial industry and other issues.

The IMF delegation was also due to meet the central bank governor on Thursday, a central bank source said. The IMF office in Almaty declined to comment on this week's discussions.

The IMF holds regular talks with members and then publishes its assessment of each country's performance but its visits to crisis-hit emerging nations like Ukraine and Kazakhstan have come under close attention since the start of the credit crunch.

As the crisis tightened its grip on Kazakhstan, the country warned investors last month it could let its largest bank BTA and No.4 lender Alliance fail if creditors do not agree to restructure their debt.
BTA, nationalised earlier this year, has already defaulted on $550 million in bilateral loans and stopped repaying principal on its wholesale borrowings.

The government has earmarked $25 billion -- or a quarter of gross domestic product -- to fight the crisis and says it has plenty of resources to allocate more if needed. It has about $19 billion worth of gold and foreign currency reserves.



China to boost Kazakhstan uranium
  
TCE Today

China and its uranium-rich neighbor Kazakhstan formally announced last Wednesday the establishment of a joint uranium mining venture in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The day before that, the first uranium mine under the joint venture started to operate.

The Semizbai-U joint venture, which was built under a strategic partnership agreement signed in October 2008 between Kazakh national atomic company Kazatomprom and the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co (CGNPC), holds two uranium mines, namely Irkol and Semizbai, in Kazakhstan.
 
The Irkol in-situ leach project is expected to reach its production capacity of 750 t/y within 12 months, with plans for 500 t to be produced in 2009. The mine is forecast to operate for 25 years.

Under the former agreement, all natural uranium mined by the venture, which is 49% owned by CGNPC with the rest held by Kazatomprom, will be delivered to China in the form of nuclear fuel for powering its energy-thirsty economy. This act is seen to bypass China’s traditional fuel suppliers such as France’s Areva.

The establishment of the joint venture is also seen as a part of Kazakhstan’s plan to become the world’s largest uranium producer and expand its presence in markets such as China.

Kazakhstan holds almost 20% of the world's uranium reserves and aims to be the world's number one producer by 2010, overtaking Australia and Canada. Last year, the country extracted around 8500 t of uranium and in 2009 it plans to extract 11,900 t, according to Kazatomprom.


Toshiba Negotiating to Buy Nuclear Fuel Rods From Kazakhstan

Bloomberg

Toshiba Corp., Japan’s largest supplier of reactors, is in talks to buy nuclear-fuel rod assemblies from Kazakhstan after opening a new uranium mine in the central Asian nation.

Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida, speaking in Almaty, the country’s financial center, declined to say when an agreement may be signed or how much it may be worth.

Kazakhstan’s state-owned Kazatomprom, Canadian miner Uranium One Inc., Toshiba and a group of Japanese companies led by Tokyo Electric Power Co. yesterday opened a mine in southern Kazakhstan as the country seeks to supply about a third of Japanese uranium demand by 2014. The partners have invested $490 million in the TOO Kyzylkum joint venture, which aims to produce 3,000 metric tons of uranium from the mine in 2014.

“Japan will get at least 2,000 tons of uranium from Kazakhstan by 2014,” Kazuhiro Suzuki, executive officer of Tokyo Electric, told reporters today in Almaty. Kazakhstan will export 600 tons of uranium from the Kyzzylkum venture to Japan in 2014, Suzuki said.

Japan will import 1,400 tons of uranium from another project, Baiken-U, Suzuki said. Baiken-U, a venture between Kazatomprom, Toshiba Corp. and the Tokyo Electric-led companies, will start production next year, reaching a peak of 2,000 tons in 2014, Kazatomprom said on its Web site.



OTHER NEWS

Muriel Collison Honored for Her Work with Kazakhstan Orphans

DePauw University, Indiana

Muriel J. Collison, an attorney with Collison & O’Connor and 1999 graduate of DePauw University, is a recipient of a Congressional Award for her work supporting the orphans of Kazakhstan. U.S. Representative Mark Steven Kirk (Republican - Illinois) recommended her for the award through the Angels in Adoption Program, which is the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute's signature public awareness program.

Angels in Adoption provides an opportunity for all members of the U.S. Congress to honor the good work of their constituents who have enriched the lives of foster children and orphans. This program includes the Angels in Adoption, an annual event in Washington, D.C., that is geared toward highlighting ordinary people doing extraordinary things. These “unsung heroes” are selected by members of the U.S. Congress.

In his nomination of Collison, Congressman Kirk wrote:

"Muriel Collison truly deserves this recognition because of her diligent efforts to improve the lives of disadvantaged Kazakh orphans. Ms. Collison's generosity began when she delivered 100 bibs, 100 hats and 50 pairs of socks to the Nezabudka Orphanage in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, during a trip to adopt her daughter Sophia last year. The following holiday season Ms. Collison asked for donations to raise money for the orphans left behind in lieu of accepting presents. Ms. Collison's efforts enabled her to raise over $2,000, which she used to purchase winter clothing and much needed medical supplies for the orphans. Desiring to help more, Ms. Collison founded Kazapalooza, a charity event, where families come together to celebrate the joy of adoption and to raise funds for charities which aid orphanages in Kazakhstan.

"In conjunction with planning the next Kazapalooza, Ms. Collison is currently collecting underwear and undershirts as donations for "Operation Undergarment," which she plans to send to the Nezabudka orphanage in the upcoming months. Muriel's work on behalf of the orphans of Kazakhstan proves how the devotion and commitment of one person can make a huge difference in the world. She is an inspiration to all."


Kazakhstan holds Chinese proficiency competition

Xinhua

The final Kazakh round of the Eighth "Chinese Bridge" competition, a Chinese-language proficiency contest for foreign college students, concluded on Thursday in the capital city of Astana.

A senior student from the Kazakh Abai National Normal University won the first prize and got a chance to take part in the semi-final competition in China in the final with 10 contestants.

The contest was made up of three parts: a speech in Chinese, a question-and-answer quiz on Chinese culture and history, and a show of the competitors' artistic skills.

Cheng Guoping, Chinese ambassador to Kazakhstan, presented the awards to the winners and expressed the hope that more Kazakh students would know more about China by learning the Chinese language.

The Chinese language learning has become popular in the central Asian country in recent years. Currently, 10 Kazakh universities have offered Chinese courses.

The annual "Chinese Bridge" competition was initiated in 2002 with the aim of expanding exchanges and cooperation between China and the rest of the world.

The Chinese language proficiency competition has become an important platform for college students around the world to learn the Chinese language and know more about the Asian country.

Statistics show that more than 30 million people overseas are learning Chinese.