Speaker of Kazakhstan’s Mazhilis (lower chamber of the Parliament) Kabibulla Dzhakupov held a number of bilateral meetings with his colleagues from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia on the sidelines of the April 17 meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Interparliamentary Assembly in St. Petersburg. Issues in Kazakh-Russian cooperation were addressed at a meeting with Chairman of the State Duma of Russia Sergey Naryshkin and Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia Valentina Matviyenko. The two parties noted the importance and necessity of further developing cooperation between the parliamentarians of Kazakhstan and Russia. At a meeting with Speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh of Kyrgyzstan Asilbek Jeenbekov, promising directions of interparliamentary cooperation between the two countries were discussed. The fourth session of the Interparliamentary Cooperation Commission of the Kazakh and Kyrgyz Parliaments, scheduled for June 2014 in Bishkek, and the upcoming session of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-Speaking Countries (TURKPA) in Baku were addressed. Dzhakupov and Chairman of the Majlisi Namyandagon (Supreme Assembly) of Tajikistan Shukurjon Zuhurov reached an agreement on strengthening cooperation at the meeting.
Speaker of Kazakhstan’s Mazhilis (lower chamber of the Parliament) Kabibulla Dzhakupov was elected Chairman of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) at the session in St. Petersburg on April 17. This is the EurAsEC’s second Kazakh chairman in a row. Issues regarding the harmonisation of national legislation of the EurAsEC member states governing social conduct, the environment and industrial safety and the regulation of foreigners’ visits to the territories of EurAsEC member states were addressed at the meeting. Special attention was paid to harmonising social laws. In particular, draft laws governing social assistance and state-sponsored insurance were discussed. Having emphasised the importance of the EurAsEC Interparliamentary Assembly, Dzhakupov noted that its activities were aimed at harmonising the laws of member states to help develop economic integration and improve the social welfare of the region’s people.
The Astana Economic Forum (AEF) was recently presented to heads of international financial and investment companies and world stock exchange experts on Wall Street, in New York. The presentation was attended by a wide range of top-level officials: Chairman and Founder of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange Drasko Veselinovic; Deputy Chairman, Managing Partner of CAPMEX and former director of the Vienna Stock Exchange Hannes Takacs; NASDAQ Chairman David Wilde; Secretary of NASDAQ and former Director General of the New Zealand Stock Exchange William Foster; former Vice Chairman of the Istanbul Stock Exchange Aryl Soren; General Director of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Rudiger von Rosen; former Executive Chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Nick Mohamed Dean; former Executive Chairman of the Egyptian Stock Exchange Mohamed Abdel Salam and others. Participants of the event were told about the initiatives and projects offered by Kazakhstan, and also discussed the programme of the upcoming seventh AEF. “From May 21-23, 2014, the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, will host the seventh annual economic forum,” said Dinara Karshalova, representative of the Eurasian Economic Club of Scientists, addressing guests of the presentation. “Currently, the forum attracts more than 10,000 participants from more than 150 countries to work and actively search for solutions to problems of the global financial system. They include current and former heads of states, economists, politicians, financial experts, Nobel Prize winners and business leaders of the highest level,” she said. At the meeting it was also said that the AEF provides a real chance to take part in the formation of the concept of the World Anti-Crisis Plan, as well an opportunity to establish new professional relationships and gain access to innovative developments.
Malaysian former national long-distance runner Suwaibah Mohd Nasir entered Almaty on April 15, on her way from Beijing to Venice. Suwaibah started her mission to run from China to Italy in March 2014. Her more than 3,000-kilometre route will follow the ancient Silk Road, reversing the route of famed explorer Marco Polo. In Almaty, she was welcomed by the Malaysian ambassador. Her journey will also take her to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Croatia.
