First year of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s presidency discussed in Brussels

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BRUSSELS. KAZINFORM – Alberto Turkstra, Senior Associate at the European Institute for Asian Studies, talked about how political reforms, expansion of the dialogue between the government and the public, economic diversification, and investment into human capital have defined the first year of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s presidency, Kazinform correspondent reports.

«The President has already taken some firm steps into creating a more enabling environment for civil society to flourish, encouraging a culture of peaceful protests and manifestations,» said Alberto Turkstra at the video conference themed The first year of Tokayev’s presidency: reforms and public trust organized by the Kazakh Embassy in Belgium.

«For the first time in Kazakhstan, concepts such as parliamentary opposition are being openly and actively discussed. A new virtual reception office of President Tokayev was inaugurated last year to which people can submit their complaints. All this points to a gradual modernisation of Kazakhstan’s political culture,» Turkstra stressed.

«We have already seen some success stories for civil society activists such as the cancellation by President Tokayev of the construction of a controversial ski resort in the Alatau National Park near Almaty, for which they had been lobbying for quite a long time due to concerns about its potential environmental and ecological impact,» he added.

«But for outside observers like me, if there is one initiative associated with President Tokayev is certainly the creation of the 44-member National Council on Public Trust,» he pointed out.

According to Turkstra, Kazakhstan is entering a new stage in the development of state-society relations. Kazakhstan is gradually moving from a doctrine of «economics first, politics later», to a mindset that «socio-economic reforms are impossible without socio-political modernization».

«In this context, people no longer judge the government solely on the basis of the material benefits and economic well-being it provides to its citizens, but increasingly demand more space to express their opinions and exercise their liberties,» he explains his point of view.

«Further positive developments we have observed in the socio-political sphere include the new law on political parties reducing the threshold for their formation from 40,000 to 20,000 as well as the 30 percent quota for women and young people in the voting lists of political parties,» he adds.

«This is particularly important if you take into account the demographic profile of Kazakhstan where half of the population is under 30. The next legislative elections will be an important first test for the effectiveness of these measures,» Turkstra noted.

«On the economic front, President Tokayev has repeatedly emphasised the need for economic diversification. He has urged Kazakhstan to abandon the «raw material-based mentality». And I think the current COVID-19 pandemic has shown precisely why this is needed, and pointing to the need to gradually move away from an economic model heavily reliant on the export of hydrocarbons, minerals and metals,» he said.

«What is clear is that during Tokayev’s presidency, the drivers of growth of the Kazakh economy will diversify, and new industries developed in the field of tourism, high-tech, finance and transportation, in order for Kazakhstan to achieve the ambitious goal it has set for itself of becoming one of the 30 most developed countries by 2050,» Turkstra emphasized.

To this end, according to the speaker, also a greater role will need to be given to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to flourish, because these will be the drivers of innovation, growth and job creation, and pay greater attention to the renewables sector.

«President Tokayev has been actively taking measures to strengthen the welfare state and social safety net for the most vulnerable sectors of population including large families, families with children disabilities, or families with no income providers,» the expert underlined.

«Another recurring theme of President Tokayev has been the need to invest in human capital. The last meeting of the National Council of Public Trust in May was devoted to the education. The 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) report pointed that the gap in educational achievement between urban and rural areas remains high in Kazakhstan, and that average spending per student remains below world average».

«In order to retain the country’s best and brightest and prevent a brain drain, and considering the positive correlation observed between funding and quality of education, the Tokayev government has pledged that by 2025 spending on science and education will increase to 7 percent of GDP, with a particular emphasis on devoting more financial and human resources to rural areas», he added.

«Lastly, in the foreign policy front, despite an increasingly disruptive global geopolitical environment, we observe in the new Concept for Foreign Policy for Kazakhstan 2020-2030 elements of continuity in the conduct of its external relations, including the guiding principles of a multi-vector, proactive and balanced foreign policy, keeping good and equidistant relations with all major world powers,» Turkstra noted.

He believes that Kazakhstan will build on the achievements of its two-year non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council 2017-2018 and continue actively contributing to UN Peacekeeping operations, continue acting as a venue for the resolution of conflicts, keep the momentum going for the process of regional cooperation in Central Asia including very importantly the integration of Afghanistan in the region, and consolidate its status as a donor country.

«After a long ratification process by EU Member States, the entry into force of the EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) will take relations with the EU to a qualitative and quantitative new level, also in the context of the EU’s new Central Asia Strategy,» he said in conclusion.

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