WEEKLY REVIEW: Kazakhstan to create long-term economic growth poles
On Monday, September 10, the bilateral intergovernmental documents were signed in follow up of the meeting between President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and Vietnamese leader Truong Tan Sang on Monday morning in Astana.
The documents serve as a basis for cooperation in various fields, namely plants protection, twinning of Astana and Hanoi, collaboration between the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the State Bank of Vietnam.
During the talks it was noted that Kazakhstan and Vietnam shared stance on a wide range of issues of multilateral cooperation and interaction in the international organizations.
The same day, Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan Adilbek Dzhaksybekov had a meeting with Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Nikolai Bordyuzha.
The sides discussed the issues regarding improvement of the efficiency of the CSTO Joint Staff activities which should adequately respond to modern realities in future for closer cooperation with the national armed forces. "The CSTO member states pay special attention to the upcoming December session of the CSTO Collective Security Council which is expected to be focused on the military aspects of the Organization," Nikolai Bordyuzha emphasized.
The main efforts in development of the military components of the CSTO are currently focused on development of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces, Collective Peacekeeping Forces. Current situation shows the necessity to focus the CSTO effort on efficient use of the existing internal potential for timely responding to unusual situations.
Adilbek Dzhaksybekov emphasized that in accordance with the Military Doctrine, Kazakhstan paid special attention to equipping the Armed Forces with modern military armament and vehicles. The Defense Ministry works jointly with many countries on modernization of the existing and procurement of new samples of armament and military machines.
On Tuesday, September 11, speaking at the Kazakh-Vietnamese business forum in Astana, Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov suggested Vietnamese businessmen expanding their presence in Kazakhstan. He noted that the trade and economic relations between our countries have great potential, the implementation of which will go to a higher level of mutual cooperation.
In addition, the Ministry of Emergency Situations plans to conduct a fundamental reconstruction of the state emergency notification system during the period from 2013 to 2015, Minister of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan Vladimir Bozhko said at the Government session. "The project embraces 14 regional centers, Astana and Almaty, 37 cities of the national importance and 168 district centers of the country," the Minister noted.
One of the main issues requiring solution is informing the population of rural areas. "The existing system of centralized emergency notification is designed for informing big cities and industrial facilities in peaceful and military time. It doesn't embrace the majority of rural areas. Such situation should be changed taking into consideration modern realms," the Minister said.
Innovative solutions are currently introduced in the sphere of notification.
On Tuesday, September 11, Minister of Education and Science of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Zhumagulov informed of the process of the implementation of the National Action Plan on Development of Functional Literacy of School Students for 2012.
"The National Action Plan sets a specific task - application of knowledge in practice and it is also one of the bases for fundamental change of the paradigm of secondary education. This is a transfer from the traditional model of school to a rational and later a modern one - phenomenal model based on the role of a child's personality," the Minister emphasized.
Besides, Kazakh Minister of Finance Bolat Zhamishev submitted a draft law "On Republican Budget for 2013-2015 years". According to Finance Minister, the draft law is directed to implementation of the Kazakh President's tasks outlined in the annual Addresses.
"As before, the draft budget is socially oriented with social spending reaching 39% of total expenditure in 2013, 40.1% in 2014, and 39.7% in 2015."
On Wednesday, September 12, an anniversary session and the 4th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the CICA was held today in Astana.
"It is the CICA that embodies one of the most important principles of our policy - dialogue and interaction for peaceful resolution of conflicts and effective countering of challenges and threats in the Asian continent. These issues are still relevant," Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Y. Kazykhanov noted.
The participants of the event discussed the state and prospects of the CICA today. They exchanged opinions on such relevant issues as the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, Afghanistan, nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, fighting against transnational crime and priorities of the economic cooperation within the CICA.
On Thursday, 13 September, speaking at the opening of the 3rd Meeting of National Commissions and Committees of UNESCO member states TURKSOY, Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Yerzhan Kazykhanov noted that today more and more attention is given to the prospects of political, economic and cultural cooperation, based on the common language space, history and culture of the Turkic-speaking nations.
On Friday, September 14, the Ministry of Health reported it would begin preparations for the upcoming season on epidemic SARS and flu. On October 1 will begin mass immunization campaign against seasonal influenza, which this year shifted to vaccination, primarily pregnant women and children groups. For immunization the Ministry purchased 800,000 doses of vaccine.