The total flow of direct investments from the UAE to Kazakhstan totalled $2.9 billion while Kazakh direct investments in the UAE amounted to over $1 billion…reports Asian Lite News
Madiyar Menilbekov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UAE, stressed that the ambitious objectives, similar aspirations and mutual respect of the UAE and Kazakhstan have strengthened their bilateral relations.
At a press conference held at the embassy’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi for the launch of a book on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Menilbekov said that the value of trade between the two countries until October 2022 amounted to US$592 million while exports from Kazakhstan to the UAE totalled $544.6 million, and imports were $47.4 million, according to data from the National Bank of Kazakhstan for the period between 2005 and 2021.
The total flow of direct investments from the UAE to Kazakhstan totalled $2.9 billion while Kazakh direct investments in the UAE amounted to over $1 billion, and in the first half of 2022, the total direct investment inflow from the UAE was $128.7 million, he added.
Menilbekov explained that his country’s foreign policy is diverse and will help solve several international crises and promote international cooperation.
He noted that 2023 would be a significant year for Kazakhstan, and parliamentary elections in the country will take place in the first half of the year, which will ensure political competition and pluralism.
“The world is facing a number of challenges due to current geopolitical and economic issues,” he said, stressing that the close cooperation between the two countries is important, and Kazakhstan is committed to strengthening its relations with all countries and partners.
Speaking about the launch of the book, Menilbekov said that it was written as a collaboration between the UAE National Archives and the Kazakh Embassy in Abu Dhabi. The advancing ties between the two friendly countries were established by the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and are based on mutual respect and cooperation.
Kazakhstan Army soldiers comprising of troops from the Regional Command, South and Indian Army soldiers from the 11 Gorkha Rifles will be participating in the exercise….reports Asian Lite News
The sixth edition of the joint training exercise “KAZIND-22” between India and Kazakhstan began on Thursday. The military exercise is taking place in Umroi, Meghalaya, from December 15 to 28, 2022.
A joint annual training exercise with the Kazakhstan Army was instituted in 2016 as Exercise Prabal Dostyk, which was later upgraded to a company level exercise and renamed as Ex Kazind in 2018, the Ministry of Defence said.
Kazakhstan Army soldiers comprising of troops from the Regional Command, South and Indian Army soldiers from the 11 Gorkha Rifles will be participating in the exercise.
“Aim of the exercise is to build positive military relations, imbibe each other’s best practices and promote the ability to operate together while undertaking counter terrorist operations in semi urban / jungle scenario, under a UN peace enforcement mandate,” the defence ministry explained.
With the help of this joint exercise, the two forces will be able to train, plan, and execute a series of combined tactical drills for neutralising of likely threats that may be encountered in UN peace keeping operations.
The scope of the exercise includes both a Command Post Exercise (CPX) at the battalion level and a Field Training Exercise (FTX) at the company level on sub-conventional operations.
The participants in the exercise engage in a variety of missions, ranging from joint planning, joint tactical drills, basics of special arms skills, HADR and raiding a hostile target.
According to the Ministry of Defence, ‘Exercise KAZIND’ will enhance the level of defence cooperation between Indian Army and Kazakhstan Army which will further foster the bilateral relations between the two nations. (India News Network)
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. (Xinhua file photo/IANS)
After taking an oath , Toqayev said the Central Asian country will enter a new era of development…reports Asian Lite News
Qasym-Jomart Toqayev was sworn in as the Kazakh leader.
After taking an oath at an inauguration ceremony held in the capital city of Astana, Toqayev on Saturday said the Central Asian country will enter a new era of development.
Kazakhstan held a snap presidential race last Sunday, with six candidates running for the top job. Toqayev garnered 81.31 per cent of about 8.3 million ballots, which were cast by more than 11.95 million registered voters, Xinhua news agency reported.
Kazakhstan’s predicament is understandable. In January this year it tasted the stuff that is the nightmare of the region’s regimes – mass popular and spontaneous uprising across the country, which then it reported was infiltrated by terrorists and radicals, writes Aditi Bhaduri
As Russia’s conflict with Ukraine drags on, its allies and partners in Central Asia are caught in a bind. So far Kazakhstan, the largest Republic in the region in terms of territory, has refused to follow the Russian example of recognising the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as sovereign states. Together they form the Donbass region which was part of eastern Ukraine at the time when war with Russia broke out in February.
In March, Kazakhstan refused to send troops for Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. It then announced that it would not recognise the breakaway regions.
On February 21, Russia had recognized the breakaway regions, governed by Moscow-backed militias, as sovereign republics. President Vladimir Putin had announced recognition and signed a decree to that effect.
More recently, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokaev reiterated his country’s stand vis-à-vis these breakaway republics at a discussion at St. Petersburg where he was attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. According to the president, two key principles in the UN charter — the territorial integrity of countries and the right of nations to self-determination — were at odds with each other in this case. However, if nations’ right to self-determination is exercised all over the globe, instead of the 193 current UN states, 500-600 states would be formed, creating chaos.
Yet Tokayev’s very presence at the conference was reflective of Kazakhstan’s ties with the Russian Federation. This year with most European countries boycotting the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the presence of countries carried special symbolism. And Kazakhstan turned out to be a major presence. Tokayev even went on to say that he supported greater Eurasian integration – the Greater Eurasian Partnership, Putin’s pet project, which he announced in 2017. “Kazakhstan, being an active participant in the integration processes, is invariably in favor of mutually beneficial cooperation with other international organizations. …….. the topic of the formation of the Greater Eurasian Partnership is being discussed with interest at the St. Petersburg Forum……… It is expected that this concept will be oriented, including the creation of a common space of equal cooperation between regional organizations. Therefore, Kazakhstan maintains a positive attitude to the process of creating the Greater Eurasian Partnership,” the president said.
Kazakhstan’s predicament is understandable. In January this year it tasted the stuff that is the nightmare of the region’s regimes – mass popular and spontaneous uprising across the country, which then it reported was infiltrated by terrorists and radicals. In panic it called on Russian led troops from the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). However, it also had to assuage genuine grievances and so had the CSTO troops removed as quickly and suddenly as they had been called. While relations with Moscow are crucial in terms of trade, economy, and energy sales – Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Forum, Russia is its largest trading partner and, and, in spite of the western sanctions of Russia, bilateral trade has actually increased since the commencement of Russia’s Ukraine invasion to 12 billion USD, an increase of almost 30 per cent from 2021; it uses Russian territory for access to the Arctic Sea and the Northern Sea Passage, which is important for this landlocked country, and Russian pipelines to transport its oil.
Yet, Kazakhstan, like other Central Asian countries, boasts of a “multi-vector” foreign policy, trying to do a balancing act between Russia, China, the European Union – a major trade partner -, and the USA. Beyond this, however, Kazakhstan shares a long border with the Russian Federation, almost 7,644 km. It also has a sizable ethnic Russian population.
Even though the community’s share has dwindled over the years since the disintegration of the USSR and emergence of Kazakhstan as a sovereign republic, it still forms around 17 per cent of the overall demographics of the country. They are concentrated around the Northeast of the country, contiguous to the Russian Federation. Though it is improbable that Russia would launch any similar operation on Kazakh territory, and neither have Kazakhstan’s Russian population been subjected to any serious existential threat, as it has done in Ukraine or earlier in Georgia, it is still an unsettling idea for the Kazakhs.
Tokayev’s tightrope walk is thus on expected lines. On one hand ties with Moscow are important, hence Kazakhstan abstained from a UN General Assembly vote condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and voted against the resolution which removed Russia from the Human Rights Council. And which explains Tokayev’s presence at the SPIEF, after cancelling the much-vaunted Victory Day parade at home in May this year – a hallowed Soviet legacy, and his support for the Greater Eurasian Partnership. On the other hand, the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic raises the spectre of a similar operation on Kazakh territory any time in the future. Young westernized Kazakhs, like elsewhere in the region, also held small protests in support of Ukraine, but for political stability Tokayev will always have to turn to Moscow as the events of January demonstrated.
Turkey, Kazakhstan aim to reach 10 bln USD in bilateral trade. Turkey was the first country to recognize Kazakhstan’s independence, Tokayev said, stressing that the Kazakh people will never forget this.
Turkey and Kazakhstan aim to reach the target of 10 billion U.S. dollars in bilateral trade, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.
“We evaluated the possibilities of further development and deepening of our cooperation,” Erdogan said at a joint press conference held with visiting Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in the capital Ankara.
“The trade volume between Turkey and Kazakhstan exceeded 5.3 billion dollars last year. Thus, we have surpassed our target of 5 billion U.S. dollars in a short time. We will reach our target of 10 billion with speedy steps,” Erdogan said.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries, Erdogan said, adding that the two countries have raised their cooperation to the level of an enhanced strategic partnership.
The two leaders discussed the regional impacts of the Ukrainian crisis and expressed their views for the peaceful resolution. “We are on the same page on the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the Turkish leader added.
For his part, Tokayev called Turkey “a very important strategic partner for Kazakhstan.”
Turkey was the first country to recognize Kazakhstan’s independence, Tokayev said, stressing that the Kazakh people will never forget this. This is the first state visit to Turkey made by Tokayev after he took office.
The two governments signed 15 agreements in the fields of transportation, defense industry, military intelligence, information technologies, culture, agriculture, transportation, trade, customs, education, youth, communication and archives.
Refugee Crisis
Turkey currently hosts 4,082,693 refugees, 3,762,686 of whom are Syrians, Turkish deputy Interior Minister Ismail Catakli was quoted by daily Hurriyet as saying on Sunday.
As many as 323,859 irregular migrants have been deported during the last 5 years, he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
In 2022, a total of 21,087 people from 113 different nationalities were deported, topped by Afghanistan with 9,654 people, and Pakistan ranks second with 4,206, he added.
The number of Syrians that voluntarily returned to the “secure” areas in northern Syria is 497,926, Catakli said.
“Turkey is the only country that can manage its immigration policy in line with the law and humanitarian values,” he noted.
The Turkish government has made an effort to stop migration at its source, and the number of Syrians in Turkey has not increased over the last 5 years, he said.
President Erdogan recently announced that the government plans the voluntary return of 1 million Syrians to their homeland as the public hostility to their presence in the country is escalating. The government is building homes and public facilities in northern parts of Syria held by Turkish-backed forces.
Turkey hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees in the world, in addition to several hundred other nationalities, mainly from neighbouring countries. They have been increasingly blamed for many of Turkey’s social and economic ills.
This horrific incident has an important message for other countries of Central Asia as well as India. They need to significantly expand their vigilance against such radical and fundamentalist terrorist elements, writes Ashok Sajjanhar
The last few days witnessed unprecedented violence, bloodshed and frenzy on the streets of many cities of Kazakhstan including the capital Nur-Sultan and the largest city and former capital Almaty. According to reports from the Kazakh Health Ministry, 164 people were killed out of which more than 100 were killed in Almaty. As per initial accounts, the peaceful protests against increase in price of car fuel were quickly hijacked by “criminals and murderers… armed and trained bandits, both local and foreign” resulting in chaos and total breakdown of law and order in all parts of the country.
The involvement and presence of such large numbers of “terrorists, sleeper cells and militants” (almost 20,000 attacked Almaty) is bad news for all countries in the region, particularly India, which has been at the receiving end of terrorist attacks from across the border from Pakistan. The forcible seizure of power by the Taliban in Afghanistan in August, 2021 and the departure of US and NATO forces soon thereafter, has imbued a sense of triumphalism in Pakistan and anxiety in the neighbouring countries, particularly Central Asia and India that terrorist forces will feel emboldened to launch strikes in these countries. It is imperative for all countries in the region to cooperate by sharing real-time intelligence on terrorist activities and movements so that action can be taken against them before they are able to perpetrate such heinous carnage.
The initial trigger appears to have been the uncapping on New Year’s Day of the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) which is used as car fuel by the common people because it is cheap. This resulted in overnight doubling of the LPG price.
The protests started in Zhanaozen, a small town in the oil rich western province of Mangystau from where they quickly spread to Almaty and other regions of the country on January 4. Many cities in the South like Almaty, Taraz and Shymkent descended into such anarchy, chaos and turmoil as the country has never witnessed before.
Screengrab of Xinhua footage shows a car is set on fire in Kazakhstan. (Xinhua_IANS)
The iconic building of the Akimat (Mayor’s Office) and the President’s residence (which used to be the President’s Secretariat till the capital was shifted to Almaty in 1997) were stormed, set on fire and badly damaged. The airport in Almaty was taken over by the rebellious forces.
Kazakhstan is a rich and prosperous country. Notwithstanding its huge ethnic and religious diversity with 135 different nationalities, peace and stability prevails. Since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan has emerged as a role model of cohesion, tranquillity and peaceful development.
Initially it appeared that the agenda of the protest had expanded from just the issue of LPG price increase to include other fundamental grievances and demands like the endemic corruption, lack of economic opportunities, poverty, unemployment, stranglehold of the elites, pervasive inequity and inequality, denial of political freedoms among others. Soon, however, it became clear that these were not the usual protests as the dissidents went about systematically destroying public property and killing security personnel.
As per an earlier report on January 7, 26 “armed criminals” were killed and 16 security officers died, with two of them having their heads severed from their bodies. Such brutality was unthinkable and gave rise to growing suspicion that large squads of violent terrorist gangs had seized control of what had initially started as peaceful protests.
According to reports, Russia’s security establishment, which has been closely monitoring developments in Kazakhstan appears to have come to the initial conclusion that Pakistan’s Tablighi Jamaat in connivance with Afghanistan-trained radicals have carried out these terror attacks in Kazakhstan. Pakistan’s Tablighi Jamaat, which has been trying to make inroads in Central Asia is alleged to have played a role in creating a terror-type atmosphere in Kazakhstan.
(Photo India Narrative)
It was thought that if the protesters were demonstrating for reversal of the decision on LPG and for addressing political demands, they would have been mollified by President Tokayev’s decision to restore the cap on LPG prices for the next 6 months and by dismissing Prime Minister Askar Mamin on 5th January. However, rather than these actions having any salutary effect on the protesters, the violence, bloodshed and destruction continued to grow rapidly.
It was at this juncture that President Tokayev decided to wrest the Chairmanship of the National Security Council (NSC) from his predecessor and first President Nursultan Nazarbayev to personally direct the efforts to bring the situation under control. Although Nazarbayev had voluntarily relinquished his office in March 2019, after having occupied that position for around 30 years, and handed over the reins of Presidency to Tokayev, he kept significant control with himself by continuing as the President of the ruling Nur Otan Party and retaining the Chairmanship of the powerful NSC.
The government took immediate action by cutting off internet services in the whole country and declaring an emergency for two weeks. Internet has since been slowly restored in some parts of the country including Almaty but the services remain patchy and intermittent. Tokayev gave orders to his security personnel to “shoot without warning” to quell disturbances in the country. He also summarily rejected the suggestion to negotiate with the protesters as he said that it is not possible to discuss with criminals and murderers. He claimed that Kazakhstan was dealing with armed and trained bandits, both local and foreign and that they must be eliminated.
(Image source IANS)
It appears from the slogan shouting on the streets of Almaty and other cities that much of the wrath of the rioters was directed against the first President Nazarbayev and not so much against Tokayev who has served as President for less than three years. There were chants of “Shal ket!” (Old Man, Go!) in the streets and a huge statue of Nazarbayev in Taldy Korgan, the capital of Almaty province was unceremoniously pulled down. There were reports that Nazarbayev and his family had fled to Moscow but later reports surfaced that Nazarbayev was in Nur-Sultan, coordinating efforts with Tokayev to restore peace in the country.
In addition to taking over as Chairman of the NSC and dismissing the government, Tokayev ordered the removal of Karim Masimov, the Secretary of the National Security Committee on January 5 and had him arrested for treason. Masimov is an ethnic Uyghur Kazakh politician considered to be close to Nazarbayev and has served twice as Prime Minister.
The first deputy of NSC Samat Abish, who is Nazarbayev’s nephew has also been fired. No details of the treason charges against Masimov have been announced but it is clear that Tokayev thinks that there has been a massive failure of intelligence and possibly also involvement of officials at the top of the intelligence structure in attempting a coup against the President.
Security forces stand guard in front of the city hall in Almaty, Kazakhstan on early morning of Jan. 5, 2022. (Xinhua_IANS)
Tokayev spoke to Russian President, Vladimir Putin for dispatching forces from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as “peace-keepers” for a limited period of time to secure the main strategic installations and important government buildings so that Kazakh security could deal with the “terrorist elements”. This request was immediately acceded to.
Some doubts have been raised whether such deployment is covered by the mandate of the CSTO. Thus far it has been asserted that CSTO forces will be deputed only when there is threat from foreign forces. In the present case, however, it has been mentioned that fighting Islamic terrorism is also covered by the provisions of the CSTO. About 2,500 troops from Russia and other CSTO members viz Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia landed in Kazakhstan on January 6 and took up their positions.
This is the first time that CSTO forces have been deployed in any country. In the past, requests by Kyrgyzstan in 2010 and more recently by Armenia in 2020 during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan for troops were turned down. The troops are being deployed not to counter the protesters but to protect the state and strategic facilities in Kazakhstan like water works, power plants, government buildings, and maintain law and order so that people feel safe.
The quick decision appears to be an assertion by President Putin that Russia is the prime security-provider in the former Soviet space and will not hesitate in taking tough decisions to protect its interests and security in its periphery. Kazakhstan is an important, strategic partner of Russia. It will also make Kazakhstan beholden to Russia for a long time and ensure that China, notwithstanding its expanding economic and security foot print in the region in general, and in Kazakhstan in particular, will not be able to wean it away from Russia’s influence.
It will be necessary to wait for full details of the hoary episode to become available to make some conclusive assessments. It has been mentioned that the terrorists were well armed, well prepared and spoke in a foreign language, possibly Arabic. It is obvious that a lot of ground work was done to launch this coordinated and concerted attack. While the intelligence structure was either incompetent or complicit, President Tokayev has emerged as a bold and decisive leader who is strong, steady and unflinching and can take tough decisions to protecting the lives and welfare of his people.
After this shocking episode, Kazakhstan will not be the same. It could move towards even greater authoritarianism and control, or introduce some political liberalization. Much will depend on the results of investigation into the origin and antecedents of the �’bandits and terrorists” who perpetrated such unimaginable and gruesome carnage in the country.
This horrific incident has an important message for other countries of Central Asia as well as India. They need to significantly expand their vigilance against such radical and fundamentalist terrorist elements. They need to carefully monitor all platforms on social media to ensure that they are not used to disseminate terrorist material, literature or ideology. They also need to actively collaborate with each other for sharing intelligence on a real time basis. Only then will it be possible to bring peace, stability and prosperity in the region. India can play an important role in this endeavour.
(Amb. Ashok Sajjanhar, is a former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia. He is an Executive Council Member at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and President, Institute of Global Studies)
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
During this week’s violent upheaval in Kazakhstan, at least 164 people were killed and more than 5,000 were detained, as turmoil swept the country and the death toll climbed even higher…reports Asian Lite News
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has slammed Kazakhstan’s shoot-to-kill order against protesters accused of fomenting unrest, calling for the policy to be withdrawn.
“That is something that I absolutely reject. The shoot-to-kill order, to the extent it exists, is wrong and should be rescinded,” the top US diplomat told ABC Sunday talk show “This Week”, media reported.
He said the US has “real concerns about the state of emergency that was declared in Kazakhstan”, adding that he spoke with Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi last week.
“We’ve been clear that we expect the Kazakh government to deal with protesters in ways that respects their rights, that pulls back from violence at the same time,” he added.
During this week’s violent upheaval in Kazakhstan, at least 164 people were killed and more than 5,000 were detained, as turmoil swept the country and the death toll climbed even higher.
The death toll, which was 44 on Friday has increased significantly, published by state-run TV station Khabar 24 on Sunday, citing the Kazakhstan Ministry of Health, reported CNN.
Meanwhile, according to state media, police have opened 125 criminal cases relating to incidents of violence, including allegations of assault, murder, and robbery.
According to Kazakh official media, at least 5,135 individuals have been detained so far for suspected participation in protests in Kazakhstan, according to the country’s Internal Affairs Ministry, reported the news portal.
The massive jump in the fuel price infuriated Kazakhs as the country is an exporter of oil and natural gases and Protests in the Central Asian country have resulted in the resignation of the government and the proclamation of a state of emergency, with soldiers from a Russia-led military alliance dispatched to quell the disturbance. (with inputs from ANI)
Over 1,000 people were injured across Kazakhstan with almost 400 of them hospitalised as a result of the violent protests over the past days….reports Asian Lite News
Dozens of attackers have been “eliminated” after they attempted to storm administrative buildings and the police department of the Kazakh city of Almaty amid the ongoing unrest across the country, a media report said.
In its report on Thursday, Russia’s TASS news agency also said that total of 12 law enforcement officers have been killed and 353 others injured in the clashes with the rioters in Almaty.
The “anti-terrorist” special operation continues in the city and police urged residents and visitors to refrain from leaving home for their own safety, Xinhua news agency quoted the TASS report citing Kazakhstan’s Khabar-24 TV channel as saying.
Over 1,000 people were injured across Kazakhstan with almost 400 of them hospitalised as a result of the violent protests over the past days, said the report.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has claimed that 2,298 protesters have also been detained.
The protests sparked by dissatisfaction over surging fuel prices escalated on Wednesday, with protesters storming the main government building in Almaty, setting police vehicles on fire, and attacking the regional branch of the ruling Nur Otan party.
The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to the country.
The CSTO comprises Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Armenia.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has blamed foreign-trained “terrorists” for the unrest, without giving evidence.
He has also fired his cabinet aimed at curbing the demonstrations, including his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had held a national security role since stepping down as President.
