“The Western Europe-Western China transport corridor plans to add a branch to the countries of the Persian Gulf. The branch will start from the territory of Kazakhstan. The main part on Kazakhstan’s land will be put into operation in 2017,” Deputy Chairman of the Road Committee of the Ministry of Investments and Development Amangeldy Bekov said recently, commenting on the preliminary results of construction, infrastructure creation and other details of the huge transport project. “We have already built 1,728 kilometres. By the end of 2014, we plan to open the road from Shymkent to Russia. Work is being carried out in four regions: Kyzylorda, South Kazakhstan, Zhambyl and Almaty. The construction of almost all road sections is financed through international financial institutions. It is planned to complete the construction of our section of the corridor in 2017,” he said. According to him, one of the difficulties is land acquisition, and in the South Kazakhstan region, judicial processes are still ongoing. Land acquisition is now being transferred to local executive bodies and money allocated to the regions through the national budget. “There is also a shortage of qualified professionals. Now, by the decision of the government, the work on this corridor will attract foreign labour. As [the project] is a promising project with specific deadlines, the government decided to increase quotas to attract foreign high-skilled workers.” The project is hoping to attract experienced machinists and engineers, he said.
Permanent Representative to the UN from Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov and his counterpart Kodjo Menan from Togo signed a joint communiqué establishing diplomatic relations between the two states on Oct. 9 in New York.During the signing ceremony, the sides exchanged views on current bilateral cooperation and its prospects and discussed solutions for the problems of landlocked countries. The two sides underlined the importance of sharing experience in economic development and expanding contacts between their nations, especially in trade, mining, energy, access to regional markets and education. Kazakhstan also officially invited the government of Togo to participate in the international exhibition EXPO 2017 in Astana. Menan also expressed interest in Kazakhstan’s assistance in developing cooperation between the African state and Central Asia. A few days later, through a similar ceremony, Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations with Mauritius.
Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Malaysia Daniyar Sarekenov met with Attorney General of Malaysia Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail in Malaysia’s administrative centre on Oct. 10 to discuss expanding cooperation in law enforcement as stipulated by the joint statement issued during the official visit of Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak to Kazakhstan in May. During their meeting, the ambassador and the attorney general also discussed their countries’ major threats and challenges and domestic and international efforts being made to address them. The parties acknowledged the need to expand the legal framework for bilateral cooperation in law enforcement. A delegation from the General Prosecutor’s Office of Kazakhstan will visit Malaysia on Oct. 27 and 28 to study the best Malaysian practices in combating religious extremism and terrorism.
EXPO 2017 Commissioner and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Rapil Zhoshybayev visited Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan to distribute invitations to EXPO 2017 and to discuss bilateral cooperation. In Armenia, Zhoshybayev met with the foreign minister and minister of economy; in Georgia, with President Giorgi Margvelashvili and the ministers of economy and sustainable development and foreign affairs; in Azerbaijan, with deputy head of the Presidential Administration Novruz Mamedov and the ministers of energy and culture and tourism, and in Turkmenistan, with Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Palvan Taganov and Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Dovran Orazmuradov. The countries discussed attracting corporate partnerships to EXPO 2017 and increasing interparliamentary cooperation.