Kazakhstan: Astana Promotes Plan for Expanded Ties with Europe

Kazakhstani government officials are touting a "Road to Europe" development blueprint, which aims to strengthen trade ties between Kazakhstan and the European Union, as well as guide Astana's democratization efforts.

Officials briefed foreign diplomats on the development plan during an October 22 event in Astana. The blueprint is an outgrowth of an executive order issued by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in late August. In that order, Nazarbayev gave specialists one month to work out the details of the program.

Nazarbayev has drawn a clear connection between the unveiling of the blueprint and Kazakhstan's upcoming 2010 chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

"Ahead its chairmanship in the OSCE, Kazakhstan passed a special program 'Road to Europe' that details concrete goals of wide cooperation with European states in the economic, political and cultural spheres," Nazarbayev said in a written statement posted on the official presidential web site. "Our goal is to develop public institutions based on the experience of democratic development of our OSCE partners, as well as on the fundamental requirements of this organization."

In the economic sphere, the plan focuses mainly on three sectors -- technology, transportation, and energy. "We will create favorable conditions for the increase of commodity turnover with Europe, and will improve our national legislation to coincide with European standards," said Deputy Foreign Minister Kayrat Sarybay. Astana plans to enact these changes via 86 new programs that will be financed from the national budget, according to a report distributed by the Kazinform news agency.

Astana's interest in boosting trade ties with Europe is also connected with Nazarbayev's stated goal of turning Kazakhstan into one of the 50 most competitive economies in the world by 2015. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Brussels, meanwhile, is on record as wanting to diversify its sources of energy supplies, so as to weaken the EU's current dependence on Russia.