Kazakhstan is so far behind in most advanced branches of science – President

ASTANA. KAZINFORM – Alongside other post-Soviet countries, Kazakhstan stuck in the paradigm of mobilization model of science development, with an extremely centralized system of planning and management, critical dependence on state funds, businesses’ low interest in research and development, outflow and shortage of personnel, especially young people, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said, Kazinform reports.

Speaking at the first meeting of the National Council for Science and Technologies under the President, Tokayev said that spending on science has rose by 60%, while the share of science in the GDP dropped to 0.13% over the past five years. Much of the spending, that is, 70% is budgetary funds. At the same time, there is a huge imbalance in financing different areas of science, with fundamental and applied research accounting for 82% of the budgetary funds, and development works a mere 18%.

Stressing that the country lacks modern knowledge-intensive productions, the Kazakh Head of State said that 65% of the country’s enterprises are of third technological generation (primary sector or metallurgy), 34%are of fourth technological generation (mechanical engineering and petrochemical industry), and a mere 1% are of fifth technological generation (microelectronics, robotization). There are no enterprises of sixth technological generation focusing on nano- and biotechnologies in the country, the President said, adding that the country is so far behind in the most advanced branches of science.