On June 9, Tokayev was elected the country's second president after Nazarbayev's 30-year rule in Kazakhstan. These developments have brought Kazakhstan into the spotlight.
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Kazakhstan emerged as an independent nation after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Even before that, in 1989, Nursultan Nazarbayev had led the country. After independence, he was elected president, and kept coming back. Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the path of this country so far has been associated with the name Nazarbayev. After 30 years in power, he abruptly resigned in March this year, handing over power to Senate President Kasim-Jomart Tokayev. In the general election held on June 9, 2019, Tokayev was elected as the second President of the country. Due to all these developments, Kazakhstan is currently in the news in the international news.
Kazakhstan is an important country on the Eurasian border. Kazakhstan is one of the largest, strategically located, resource-rich, economically advanced and prosperous, peaceful and diverse, and internationally active.
For two years, 2017-18, Kazakhstan became a temporary member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). It became the first country in Central Asia to receive this honor. UNSC membership can be seen as the result of Kazakhstan's "balanced" foreign policy, its disarmament policy, with a special emphasis on "nuclear non-proliferation", and disciplined efforts to resolve disputes peacefully.
During this period, Kazakhstan chaired three important committees at the UNSC; It dealt with terrorism perpetrated by Islamic State and al-Qaeda, the Taliban threat in Afghanistan, and the precarious situation in Somalia-Eritrea. Also in January 2018, a Security Council delegation under his chairmanship visited Afghanistan after a period of about 9 years. In the meantime, a discussion was held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, bringing together various elements of the Syrian civil war. Against this backdrop, Kazakhstan has emerged as an important and decisive 'player' on the world stage. In addition, there are many geographical, geopolitical, historical, economic and cultural factors that have made the country a talisman in Central Asia.
With an area of about 2.7 million square kilometers, Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world. It is also the largest of the five Central Asian countries in terms of area, and the second largest post-Soviet country (after Russia). It is the largest landlocked country in the world. Kazakhstan is a 'trans-continental' territory, with 10% of its territory in Europe and the remaining 90% in Asia. Kazakhstan is bordered by Russia to the north, China to the east, and Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan to the south.
The border between Kazakhstan and Russia is about 7,000 km long. It is the longest international border in the world, following the border between the United States and Canada. As it is the only Central Asian country connecting with Russia, other countries come into contact with Russia mainly through Kazakhstan. On the other hand, along with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Kazakhstan also borders China. In fact, the country, which lies between both Russia and China, is of great importance in geo-communication, which has been discussed further.
Although Kazakhstan is a landlocked country, it has two strategically important landlocked borders. To its west is the Caspian Sea. It is a vast body of saltwater, surrounded by five countries: Russia to the north, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to the east, Iran to the south, and Azerbaijan to the west. Although the legal division of the reservoir between the five countries around the Caspian Sea is not clear, its northeastern part is considered to belong to Kazakhstan. Huge hydrocarbon reserves are found in this ocean and its surrounding terrain.
On the southern border of Kazakhstan is the Aral Sea, which is divided into Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The Aral Sea was supplied by two major rivers in Central Asia, the Amudarya and the Sirdarya. However, in Soviet times, river dams, extensive canal systems, and unlimited irrigation dredging prevented river water from reaching the sea. As a result, the Aral Sea was submerged, causing serious problems such as ecological degradation, depletion of biodiversity, problems in the agricultural cycle, water scarcity, disease, genetic degradation in the human body. Today, both countries around the Aral Sea, and other regional countries affected by it, are making strenuous efforts to find a solution to these problems.
Kazakhstan is rich in natural resources. Oil, natural gas, and uranium in particular are the most important substances in terms of energy security. The country is currently ranked 11th in the world in terms of refined oil reserves. However, due to limited domestic consumption, about 85% of the country's oil is exported. Russia, the European Union and China are the main importers of Kazakh oil. Also, Kazakhstan has the second largest uranium reserves in the world (after Australia). However, since 2009, the country has been the world's largest producer of uranium. In 2017, Kazakhstan accounted for 39% of world uranium production. In addition, there are many minerals such as iron ore, coal, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, tungsten, and brightite; It ranks first in the world in modified deposits of zinc, tungsten and brightite.
As discussed earlier, Kazakhstan has a very strategic position. Located in the middle of the Europe-Asia continent, bordering both Russia and China, regional superpowers, proximity to Central Asian countries, and the location of the Caspian Sea, all these factors make the country important in international, inter-regional, and inter-continental connectivity. Today Kazakhstan has become an important link in their complex network of all transport corridors and energy pipelines in the Eurasian region.
In fact, the region has been a link between Asia and Europe since time immemorial. In ancient times, one of the many branches of the Silk Road passed through the vast grasslands. Throughout history, the region has been invaded by many rulers, yet the nomadic lifestyle and the economy based on animal husbandry remain intact. Tsar invaded the region in the early 19th century and annexed it to the Russian Empire. In the 1860s, Tsar turned his attention to the rest of Central Asia; But even before that, the territory of present-day Kazakhstan had merged and merged into the Russian Empire.
After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the whole of Central Asia became part of the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan, originally part of the Kyrgyz Republic, became an independent republic in 1936. Agriculture, industry, and mining flourished during the Russian and Soviet periods; Transportation, transportation and infrastructure were also developed. But at the same time, the influence of the Russian language and culture continued to grow. The ethnic-linguistic equations of Kazakhstan changed as a large number of people of Russian and Slavic descent migrated here.
After independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan embraced a democratic constitution and a free market economy. But Kazakhstan still has a long way to go in the direction of democracy. After independence, the country held sporadic general elections. But in each election, President Nazarbayev was elected by a landslide. His term as president was also extended. The Constitution was amended in 2007 despite the provision in the Constitution that no person can hold the office of President more than twice. The two-term provision does not apply to the first president, Nazarbayev. He was then elected by a majority in the 2011 and 2015 elections, respectively.
Although Nazarbayev has resigned after 30 years in power, he is still the head of the National Security Council. In fact, the post has been awarded to him. The kind of institutions and structures that need to be developed to strengthen democracy have not yet taken place in Kazakhstan. However, in 2017, some of the President's powers were transferred to Parliament, which dashed the hopes of pro-democracy activists. Now we have to see what happens to this process after the election of a new president.
The fact is that Nazarbayev brought the nation into the ranks of developing countries. Kazakhstan is the largest economy in Central Asia, developing and expanding steadily since independence. In the last 27 years, its per capita gross domestic product (GDP) has increased nearly 20-fold, and it is now one of the world's highest-earning countries according to the World Bank's classification. President Nazarbayev plans to make Kazakhstan one of the 30 most developed countries in the world by 2050. However the Kazakh economy is entirely dependent on natural resources, in which the country as a whole will not prosper without diversification. Falling oil prices have had an adverse effect on the economic growth rate in recent times.
Under Nazarbayev's leadership, the government emphasized the creation of a multicultural society based on linguistic and cultural diversity, peaceful dialogue between different ethnic groups, and legal equality. Kazakhstan, with a population of about 17 million, is home to a total of 130 linguistic / ethnic groups, with significant numbers of Kazakhs (65%) and Russians (23%). Both Kazakh and Russian have official language status. The Kazakh language, written in Cyrillic (Russian) script since Soviet times, is now being converted to Latin, a process that will be completed by 2025. Although about 70% of the country is Islamic and 26% Christian, the state is completely secular. What is special is that they have preserved the traditional nomadic lifestyle and animal husbandry. In fact, they are proud to say that their multi-cultural society is rooted in a nomadic lifestyle.
After independence, the Kazakh capital was moved from Almaty to Astana in 1997. In fact, Astana, the most innovative city, was built for the same reason. Nazarbayev had a very clever role behind it. The city of Almaty is at the southern tip of the country, and still has Russian / Soviet footprints. On the contrary, the newly created Astana has deliberately left a Kazakh cultural impression. Also, since Astana is in the north of the country, a large number of Kazakh-speaking people migrated to the province. As a result, both the Russian-dominated population and Russian cultural influence were cleverly suppressed. Today, Astana has emerged as a symbol of development and prosperity in the country. In June 2018, Nazarbayev organized a grand international expo here and gave it the status of an international city. Shortly after his resignation, President Tokayev renamed the city 'Nursultan'; This is an acknowledgment of Nazarbayev's contribution to the development of the city, Tokayev said.
Kazakhstan's "balanced" foreign policy has already been mentioned. The head of state has given a cute name to this policy as 'multi-vector'. The country has succeeded in maintaining friendly relations with all nations without falling into geopolitical competition. Russia, a big neighbor and old ally on the one hand, and the United States, a world power on the other; As well as emerging partners on the world stage such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, the European Union; In all of this, Kazakhstan has established significant cooperation. He is also active in global and regional multilateral organizations such as the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, European Security Cooperation Organization, Organization of Islamic Countries, Eurasian Economic Union. UNSC membership has been mentioned before, But at the same time, Kazakhstan's two international initiatives, the Asia Interaction and Confidence-Building Council (SICA) and the General Assembly of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, are praised. Kazakhstan's work in the areas of "peace-building" and "conflict resolution" is commendable; But what is special is that by disposing of the Soviet-era nuclear weapons that came to them in the post-independence period, they have presented a unique example of 'nuclear non-proliferation' to the world.
In the changing geopolitical situation, Kazakhstan's closeness to China is significant. Ironically, China's multi-purpose and multi-dimensional Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana in 2013, when Nazarbayev was also present. Kazakhstan is a partner in many projects under BRI. The railway from China to Europe passes through Kazakhstan. Oil and natural gas are also exported to China in large quantities through the pipeline; China has also invested heavily in their oil extraction and processing. The Nurli Zhol project, designed to expand Kazakhstan's internal transport system, has also been linked to the BRI, highlighting China's importance in the country.
India also has friendly relations with Kazakhstan. President Nazarbayev has visited New Delhi five times so far and was the chief guest at the 2009 Indian Republic Day Parade. During the visit, the two countries also signed an agreement on 'Strategic Partnership'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also visited Astana twice so far. In 2017, under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan, India became a full member of the SCO at the Astana Summit. The two countries have also established special cooperation in the field of defense. Certain units of the Kazakh army are trained in India. In recent times, joint military exercises have been organized in the two countries under the name 'Prabal-Dostuk'.
Last year, for the first time, the Kazakh Peacekeeping Company was deployed to the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon with a detachment of Indian troops; Earlier, the unit's peacekeeping-intensive military training was also completed in India. Kazakhstan is India's largest partner in Central Asia in terms of trade, investment and energy cooperation. We have been buying uranium from them since the two countries signed an agreement on peaceful uses of nuclear energy in 2009.
The growing importance of Kazakhstan on the global and especially Eurasian stage is indicative for India. You supported his UNSC temporary membership. He has also from time to time expressed support for India's permanent membership. It is clear from our political, economic, cultural and strategic partnerships that Kazakhstan is an important pillar of India's Central Asia relations. In the years to come, this relationship could be mutually beneficial to both countries.
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