From Kazakhstan’s stance on Ukraine to arbitration with oil giants: review of foreign media about Kazakhstan
Deutsche Welle: Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan: We want to help stop the war
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko gave an interview with Deutsche Welle during his visit to Berlin. In the interview, Vassilenko addresses the energy dialogue between Kazakhstan and Germany, Kazakhstan’s position on the situation in Ukraine, and Kazakhstan’s multilateral foreign policy.
According to him, energy cooperation is very often discussed between Kazakhstan and Germany.
«The energy dialogue between Kazakhstan and Germany includes not only traditional but also new sources of energy resources. I am talking about the decades-long contract which the German-Swedish consortium Swewind signed with Kazakhstan to build solar and wind power plants with a capacity of 45 gigawatts to produce 3 million tons of green hydrogen per year, starting in 2030,» he told DW.
Bloomberg: Oil Majors Sued by Kazakh Government Over Billions in Revenue
An article provides insight into the developments after the government of Kazakhstan sued major oil companies for allegedly violating the terms of the tender and failing to deliver full works by contractors on the country’s major oil fields - Kashagan and Karachaganak.
«The government is claiming that partners in the projects should not deduct costs amounting to $13 billion for Kashagan and $3.5 billion for Karachaganak, the people said, asking not to be named because the information is private. If the state is successful, it could receive a greater share of revenue from the fields, under the terms of production-sharing agreements,» reads the article.
Al Jazeera: Kazakh official: Not the time to resolve differences through war
In an interview to Al Jazeera, Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko calls for diplomacy to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
«It is in our DNA to seek peaceful resolution of conflicts. We dismantled the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal, which we inherited when the Soviet Union collapsed. We understand that diplomacy is the best way to protect our national interests. We will continue to stay true to this principle and we will continue to present it strongly to Russia, to China, and to the West. Kazakhstan is not in favour of any great games again in the 21st century,» Vassilenko told Al Jazeera.
Business Media: Kazakhstan hits record in foreign direct investment
An article published on Business Media on April 3 gives a review of the latest data on foreign direct investments. It writes, last year Kazakhstan managed to attract $28 billion of foreign direct investments, which is a record high for the past decade and a 17.7 percent increase compared to the $23.8 billion invested in 2021.
«The Netherlands accounted for about a third of this money ($8.3 billion), followed by the U.S. ($5.1 billion) and Switzerland ($2.8 billion). Among other key investing countries are: Belgium ($1.6 billion), Russia ($1.5 billion), South Korea ($1.5 billion), China ($1.4 billion), France ($770 million), the U.K. ($661 million) and Germany ($469.5 million). The vast part of the FDI was allocated to the mining industry ($12.1 billion, a 25% increase over 2021), the processing industry ($5.6 billion) and retail and wholesale trade (+36% to $5.1 billion). The scientific and technical sectors and the transportation and warehouse industry reported $2.4 billion of FDI in total, a twofold increase over the previous period,» reads the article.
Interfax: World central banks buy 52 tons of gold in February
Interfax reported on April 4, citing the World Gold Council, that world central banks purchased 51.7 tons of gold in foreign exchange reserves in February 2023, according to preliminary data. The biggest seller was Kazakhstan (13.1 tons)
The largest buyers of gold in February were China (24.9 tons) and Türkiye (22.5 tons). Uzbekistan (8.1 tons), Singapore (6.8 tons) and India (2.8 tons) also increased their stocks.
Trend.az: Kazakhstan eager to make every effort to develop transit corridor through Azerbaijan - deputy minister (Exclusive)
Trend.az reported on April 6, Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Kairat Torebayev underlined the positive impact of the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, on the economies of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. He said Kazakhstan will make every effort to develop this route.
«We will see a fairly large increase in trade between our countries as we develop the corridor. Because Kazakhstan is a major transit country for China, for the EU member states, and the CIS countries,» Torebayev told Trend.az.
Jamestown Foundation, Eurasia Daily Monitor: Is Kazakhstan Inching Toward a Multiparty Democracy?
The article published on April 5 gives an overview of the recent parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan.
«Despite the shortcomings, the early parliamentary elections represent an important step in the political modernization of Kazakhstan. For the first time since independence, six political parties will be represented in the Mazhilis. In single-member districts, 435 candidates competed for 29 seats. That, by itself, is a sign of emerging political competition. Another hopeful sign is that, despite the Demoscope poll of over 60 percent stating that none of the political parties or single-district candidates represented their interests, which might have led to a significant «against all» vote, only 4.5 percent of the electorate voted that way,» reads the article.
Kaktus.Media: It became known how much Kazakhstan intends to invest in the construction of Kambar-Ata-1
The article published on April 6 focuses on Kazakhstan’s contribution to Kambar-Ata-1 hydroelectric power plant, citing Almaz Abildayev, an energy expert and a member of the public council at the Kazakh Ministry of Energy. Abildayev added that Kazakhstan intends to allocate $300 million for the construction of the project.
«If I'm not mistaken, the capacity of this hydroelectric power plant should be 1.9 gigawatts. It would solve many energy problems of Kyrgyzstan itself, because the country itself often buys electricity from Kazakhstan. And experts say its construction and ultimately its operation will create many jobs - such is the multiplier effect,«he said.
Daily Sabah: Kazakhstan displays mysterious manuscript with human skin cover
An article published in Daily Sabah on April 3 tells a story about an unusual manuscript made of human skin kept in the National Academic Library of Kazakhstan. The manuscript, written in old Latin in 1532 and covered in human skin, is on display at the Rare Publications Museum of the National Academic Library in the capital, Astana.