ASTANA – The Astana Times has picked a selection of articles on Kazakhstan published in international media across the world. This week’s foreign media digest includes articles on the upcoming Astana International Forum in June, a cartography exhibition at the European Parliament, a nuclear cooperation agreement between Kazakhstan and IAEA, and Kazakh-Mexican relations.
Astana. Photo credit: Shutterstock.
Astana International Forum
The Interpreter magazine, published by Australian Lowy Institute for International Policy, released an article on April 17 about the upcoming Astana International Forum, which will take place on June 8-9, focusing on Kazakhstan’s place in an international hierarchy amid the current geopolitical situation.
“The Astana International Forum may signal the desire to play a middle power role or to act in the middle, but one thing is for certain – Kazakhstan is emerging as an important case study to understand modern middle power diplomatic practice,” it reads.
Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Europe to tackle climate change
Emerging Europe, a media outlet based in London, published on April 18 an opinion article by Zulfiya Suleimenova, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan. It argues that Central Asia and Europe must pool their resources together to tackle the consequences of climate change.
The article outlines Kazakhstan’s initiatives to reach carbon neutrality and suggests why it is necessary for Europe and Kazakhstan to work together to ensure a sustainable supply of rare earth materials. “Specifically, in 2021, Kazakhstan announced its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (of the 1990 level) by 15 per cent by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060,” the article notes.
Kazakhstan’s growing financial role
A financial expert proposes in Eurasia Review that the financial role of emerging markets like Kazakhstan will grow at a time of significant stress in the global financial system, particularly in developed markets.
The article, published on April 18, concludes that as international investors and businesses continue to come to terms with the current challenges in the global financial system, the role of Kazakhstan will become more prominent. “Kazakhstan’s financial reforms make it one of the most promising markets to enter in the region. In 2018, the country established the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), the regional hub for investment and stock market development, which has become a hotbed for successful fintech firms,” the expert points out.
Cartography exhibition dedicated to the Kazakh history opens at the European Parliament
Brussels-based Travel Tomorrow, focused on the travel and tourism industry, published an article on April 13 on the cartography exhibition at the European Parliament, which showcases the continuity of Kazakh statehood from the 16th century onwards.
The exhibition includes historical maps created by Dutch, French, English and German cartographers from the 16th to the 19th century. They were collected and encompassed in an atlas by Professor Mukhit-Ardager Sydyknazarov, a Kazakh scholar and Director of the Institute of Modern Political Studies at the Lev Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana.
“The maps contain over 40 early names of the Kazakh state in European languages, including Cassackia, Cassaki Orda, Cassaky, Kassakhi, Kassaki, Independent (direct translation of “Kazakh” from Turkic) Tatars, some with visual details of the nation and its neighbors at the time,” reads the article.
IAEA and Kazakhstan sign five-year nuclear cooperation agreement
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana on Tuesday and signed a cooperation project for the next five years, reported Cuba-based La Prensa Latina on April 18.
Tokayev and Grossi discussed strengthening technical cooperation and the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan.
Additionally, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy entered into a National Framework Program with the IAEA, outlining cooperative efforts for the next five years.
The agreement, which serves as a foundation for technical cooperation between Astana and the IAEA, was signed by Grossi and Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev.
Mexico and Kazakhstan: constantly expanding relationship
Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard announced the opening of his country’s embassies in Bangladesh, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Senegal during the 34th Meeting of Consuls and Ambassadors in January, reported Mexico-based Grupo de Estudios Sobre Eurasia (GESE) Eurasian Studies Group on April 12.
Mexico’s Embassy in Kazakhstan will be the first in the Central Asian region, where Kazakhstan has emerged as a leading nation by having “an excellent investment climate, political stability, highly-skilled labor, and access to large, fast-growing markets.”
Diplomatic relations between Mexico and Kazakhstan began on Jan. 14, 1992, just 29 days after the Central Asian nation declared its independence, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Since then, Mexico and Kazakhstan have fostered a relationship based on friendship and mutual respect, values that have promoted cooperation between both nations in politics and economics.
“An example of this is their collaboration on nuclear disarmament and the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones through the treaties of Tlatelolco (Mexico) and Semipalatinsk (Kazakhstan). Likewise, both countries are on the same page when it comes to the importance of preventing climate change and developing renewable and clean energy sources,” the article notes.
