GOVERNMENT: Kazakhstan bans exploitation of Fokker-100 aircrafts, increases security at airports
The next day after the incident the Civil Aviation Committee of the Kazakh Ministry for Investment and Development issued a ban prohibiting exploitation of Fokker-100 aircrafts without a proper technical inspection act. Reps of Fokker, the Dutch aircraft manufacturer, are expected to investigate the emergency landing of their aircraft in Kazakhstan, according to the ministry.
Moving to more official news - on Monday President Nursultan Nazarbayev received Chairman of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan Daniyar Akishev. At the meeting in the Akorda presidential residence, Mr. Akishev briefed the President on the current activities of the National Bank and the situation in the Kazakhstani financial market. President Nazarbayev stressed that depositing money in national currency - tenge is more profitable for Kazakhstanis. Mr. Akishev, in turn, noted that the situation in the Kazakhstani exchange market has become more stable in February and ‘this tendency continues in March'. "Such fundamental external factors as oil price and currency rates in the countries which are our trade partners have stabilized. In these conditions tenge is getting stronger," said Mr. Akishev, adding that the number of bank deposits in national currency has dramatically increased over the past couple of months.
On Wednesday the National Modernization Commission held a press conference in Astana to report on the practical implementation of the National Plan "100 specific steps" at the Central Communications Servie.
At the press conference Vice Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Dariga Nazarbayeva reminded that the National Commission on modernization was established almost a year ago by the presidential decree. "Since January 1, 2016 Kazakhstan exists in the conditions of new legal and institutional environment that has been built up by adopting 59 laws and over 400 bylaws. In particular, Kazakhstan has made a shift to a three-stage system of selection of candidates for civil service, introduced the civil service career model and the evaluation method of civil servants in which remuneration of labor is based on results of work," Ms Nazarbayev noted.
The Vice Prime Minister added that the state-owned corporation "Government for Citizens" was established and that 350 government services are available for investors based on the so-called ‘one-desk-service' principle.
When talking about the introduction of mandatory medical insurance in Kazakhstan, Ms Nazarbayeva didn't rule out the possibility of Kazakhstan enlisting the help of international experts. "Presently, the Healthcare and Social Development Ministry together with the Government are working on the creation of the national mandatory medical insurance fund. The first attempt to launch the system of mandatory health insurance in Kazakhstan was unsuccessful. In order to avoid the same mistakes, we may invite foreign consultants to help us develop and manage the fund," said Nazarbayeva.
Yerbolat Dossayev, Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan, who also attended the press conference, said that the Astana International Financial Center will cooperate with its foreign analogues. In his words, the AIFC has already partnered with the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), Great Britain's the CityUK and the Qatar Financial Center.
On Wednesday First Vice Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev held a meeting of the Government dedicated to the development of domestic airports. According to him, presently there are 20 airports in Kazakhstan, including 12 state airports, 6 - privately owned and 2 - in the concession. Mr. Sagintayev added that Kazakhstan spent 97 billion tenge on reconstruction of 13 airports. In conclusion, he instructed to focus on the level of security at the airports, increase the economic efficiency of airport operations and increase the level of management.
Vice Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Dariga Nazarbayeva stressed on Friday the importance of knowing English language while visiting educational institutions in Astana city. In her words, good knowledge of English opens doors to a better future for Kazakhstani students. "In 2018-2019 we expect our school leavers to speak English fluently. Teachers should also start learning the English language. There are so many ways to master English," she said, adding that a lot of English language related materials are available online.