In the latest edition of Astana Calling, the Deputy Foreign Minister discussed the progress of Kazakhstan in the sphere of foreign policy in the Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy. Originally posted in the August 16th edition of Astana Calling:

Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kairat Sarybay, gave a briefing this week in which he outlined the foreign policy aspects of the country’s “Kazakhstan-2050” strategy. The strategic plan, which was put forward by President Nazarbayev in December 2012, not only describes the ways in which Kazakhstan should develop its internal political, economic and social policies, but also looks at Kazakhstan’s place in the world, notably as a bridge between east and west. The President clearly stated Kazakhstan’s foreign policy priorities, stressing that these would not change in the years ahead. There are five key areas: Russia; China; the USA; the European Union; and Asia. Geography and politics clearly dictate that these will remain Kazakhstan’s priorities. Relations between Kazakhstan and Russia continue to develop in a highly positive way, as the regular meetings between the presidents of the two countries show.

Only this year, President Nazarbayev paid a working visit to Russia in February and President Putin came to Astana in July. Moves to develop the Customs Union (with Belarus also) into the Eurasian Economic Union highlight the good, neighborly relations between Kazakhstan and Russia. With China, it is of primary importance that Kazakhstan deepens its strategic cooperation, maintaining political dialogue at the highest level; developing energy, investment and trade relations; cooperating fully over the use of water resources provided by cross-border rivers and strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties. Following President Nazarbayev’s official visit to China in April of this year, the new Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, plans to visit Kazakhstan in September. It is expected that an agreement will be signed on the creation of the Kazakhstan-China Business Council. Kazakhstan’s policy in Central Asia is a straightforward one: there are foreign policy questions in the region which can be tackled only by the neighbors working together. For example, economic cooperation is essential to solve the socio-economic problems of the region as is cooperation on issues of security and stability.

As for relations with the USA, a vital element is cooperation in the area of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Kazakhstan has already demonstrated its commitment to this cause by giving up the weapons it inherited from the USSR, something greatly valued in Washington. But there are other strong ties which help to cement Kazakhstan-US relations: energy matters, trade and investment, scientific cooperation and also questions of international and regional security. The European Union has become an important trade and investment partner for Kazakhstan, and the bilateral nature of the relationship can be seen by the number of high-level visits to Kazakhstan this year by European leaders. The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, came to Astana in June; the Presidents of Finland and Latvia have visited; as have the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Romania. The Spanish Prime Minister is due soon.

There are on-going talks about a multilateral agreement with EU countries on extended partnership and cooperation, as well as discussions of ways to ease visa regimes. More broadly on an international stage, relations with Iran, Israel, Japan and India have been characterized by high level ministerial visits this year. Further afield, the Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, Erlan Idrissov, is planning to visit a number of the leading countries of Latin America before the end of this year. Kazakhstan will also continue to play an important role in international organizations. This year has seen the country assume membership of the UN’s Human Rights Council (UNHRC) after having been elected to the Council in late 2012. Kazakhstan has already recently hosted two meetings of the Iran 5+1 talks that are dedicated to discussing the issues related to Iran’s nuclear program.

“Balancing our foreign policy means developing friendly and stable relations with all those states which play a significant role in world affairs and which have a practical interest for Kazakhstan.” President Nazarbayev in the policy document, “Kazakhstan-2050” strategy.