Kazakshtan: through ‘Common space’ to ‘Common Market’?
Tuesday 03 January 2012By EU Reporter correspondent
From the first of January Kazakhstan started to function within the Common economic space with Russia and Belarus.
Between Russia and China geographically and the EU and the US virtually, Central Asia's richest country with about 60 billion euros in international reserves is a subject of intense courtship by the world’s leading actors.
Does this move towards Russia mean that other interested countries are losers?
“We are and will be multi-vectoral in our policies” - Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the EU Yerik Utembayev told EU Reporter‘ – “It is a modern attitude in international relations, that is harmonious and fertile. Opening one common economic space with Russians and Belorussians encourages competition among enterprises that is so central to the EU construction as well. On the contrary to what one might think this move makes us closer to the EU and it’s values in many ways. Competition is at heart of innovation. That is exactly what our society needs".
“This common economic space comes at the same time as Russia joining the WTO, it is one more argument to support my point that Kazakhstan aspires openness and competition, free movement of goods, investment and labour,” - continued the Ambassador.
“Common access to infrastructure, creation of the centre of high technologies and anti-crisis fund are on the way. Advancing in relationship with our great northern neighbour we are looking for upgrading our relation with the EU: it would be a logical step to harmonize the relationships with our partners and encourage an interaction not only among big business, what happened till now, but also small and medium companies. Moreover, special attention should be given to people to people contacts: in this context the visa facilitation is very much desired”.
There are a considerable number of programs between the EU and Kazakhstan but they are rather scattered in an attempt to embrace as much potential of the cooperation as possible.
“We consider that the moment came to consider a more mature stage of involvement: the advanced partnership agreement is a framework that could bring our relation to a new level”.