Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Durga Prasad Bhattarai and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations Kairat Abdrakhmanov signed a Joint Communiqué on June 30 establishing formal bilateral relations between Nepal and Kazakhstan. The ambassadors called the communiqué a milestone in the relationship between their two nations and said establishing diplomatic relations would help strengthen their cooperation within the UN and other multilateral organisations.
Kazakhstan’s Special Forces have won an international competition between special purpose intelligence forces, Tengrinews reports. The Altyn Uki-2015 competition took place over five days in the Karaganda oblast and involved elite special forces groups from Belarus, China, Russia, the United States and Kazakhstan. Participants were required to use a variety of skills, including shooting on the move and from different positions, demonstrating medical training, mining and demolition, overcoming obstacles and long marches and orienteering. China’s soldiers were awarded the second place Silver Cup, and also won for having the best pair of snipers.
Royal Dutch Shell organised an event about Kazakhstan, “Discover Kazakhstan,” at its headquarters in The Hague, BNews reports. During the event, Vice President of Shell Sean Rooney discussed Kazakhstan’s role in the company’s strategy and the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the Netherlands presented a report on Kazakhstan’s history and current international initiatives, including The ATOM Project and its candidacy for a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2017-2018. A quiz on Kazakhstan was also conducted, with Shell employees performing well, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, which helped organise the event, reported.
Kazakhstan’s Parliament ratified the treaty on Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in a session on June 9. The parliaments of Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus and Russia had all already ratified the treaty and additional protocols to the treaty. It is expected that the presidents of the EAEU member nations will sign the treaty on Kyrgyzstan’s accession by July 15.
A Kazcosmos delegation travelled to Minsk to take part in the second meeting of the Kazakh-Belarusian working group on aerospace cooperation, Kazinform reports. During meetings at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the sides discussed cooperation on remote sensing, space communications, geospatial mapping and monitoring, and the development and production of unmanned space vehicles and satellites. Following the meetings, the delegations signed a protocol outlining promising areas of cooperation in aerospace.
China and Kazakhstan will work together on a project called “Trust” to develop a list of companies conducting cross-border trade that are not expected to perpetrate customs law violations, so they can benefit from expedited customs and border procedures, the Central Communications Service reports. China has presented a list of 20 companies it has found to be responsible.
India supports Kazakhstan’s candidacy for a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2017 – 2018, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi told President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev during a meeting on July 8, the Central Communications Service reports. Nazarbayev reiterated his country’s support for India’s application to be a permanent member of the expanded UN Security Council. Both leaders affirmed their commitment to the negotiations on comprehensive reform of the council.
Ambassador of Kazakhstan to China Shakhrat Nuryshev met with Deputy Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Chairman of the National Energy Administration of China Nur Bekri to discuss Kazakhstan’s Nurly Zhol economic policy, the Central Communications Service reports. The two agreed that it would contribute to the overall New Silk Road Economic Belt envisioned by China. The sides also discussed cooperation in nuclear energy, oil, gas and coal production and the need for a new meeting of the Kazakh-Chinese Cooperation Committee and a visit by Bekri to Kazakhstan.
