Roundtable meeting on 25th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s Independence held in Toronto
Last week, the University of Toronto held a roundtable meeting "25 Years of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan: Achievements, Challenges and Prospects", organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Canada, together with the Munk School of Global Affairs.
The speakers at the event, which was attended by faculty members, graduate students, students of the University of Toronto and the representatives of the Kazakh Diaspora, were the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Canada Mr. Konstantin Zhigalov, senior fellow of Centre for International Governance and Innovation, former Canadian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Ms. Margaret Skok and professor of Political Science and Central Asian Studies of the University of Toronto Mr. Edward Schatz.
During the event Ambassador Zhigalov presented a book called "Illustrated History of Kazakhstan", by famous scientist Jeremmy Treddenik, which was published last year in the English language in the framework of the celebration of the 550th anniversary of the founding of the Kazakh Khanate (State). Mr. Zhigalov noted that Kazakhstan was a young a country with an ancient history that holds a lot of historical events and facts, of which our compatriots are rightly proud of.
The Kazakh diplomat especially detailed the 25 years journey of Kazakhstan's independence from the Soviet Union. He explained the launch of Kazakhstan's way, which included a price liberalization, the introduction of the national currency and the establishment of the banking system, privatization of state property, the development of small and medium-sized businesses, that ensured the transition to a sustainable market economy.
Ambassador Zhigalov also noted the main achievements of Kazakhstan in political, social and economic spheres, informed the participants about the key priorities and important international initiatives of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Leader of the Nation, through which our country has become the locomotive of progressive reform, a generator of stability in Central Asia, a reliable and a respected member of the international community.
The forthcoming events of global significance to be held in Kazakhstan in 2017 such as the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO-2017 in Astana and XXVIII Winter Universiade in Almaty, in particular, generated a great deal of ineterst among participants, taking into account the fact that starting from January 1 next year Kazakhstan introduced a visa-free regime (up to 30 days)for Canadians.
Ms. Skok supported the statement of the Ambassador of Kazakhstan on the special contribution of Kazakhstan to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and, along with other achievements of independent Kazakhstan, highlighted the progress in the field of education (the "Bolashak" program) and health care. According to her, today, in an economically difficult time, Kazakhstan is reaping the fruits of earlier strategic decisions of its leadership.
While acknowledging the difficult path traversed by Kazakhstan on formation and development of the statehood, Mr. Schatz drew attention to the importance of further development of the civil society and the development of relations with Western countries, including Canada. Welcoming the multi-party Parliament of Kazakhstan as an indicator of democratic development, he also noted the importance of further strengthening of the political pluralism in the country.
The Q&A session, which was held after the statements by the speakers, generated a lively exchange of views on various issues of political and economic development of Kazakhstan.
To make the event more colorful and interesting a short video was played about modern Kazakhstan and participants could get some useful information materials and books about our country.