#Kazakhstan capability as a true bridge builder

2019 is a historic year for Kazakh politics. Following President Nursultan Nazarbayev's announcement of his resignation, Kazakhstan will hold early presidential elections on 9 June - an important milestone for Kazakhstan as for the first time in almost thirty years - the people of Kazakhstan will elect a new president, writes Aigul Kuspan, the Head of the Mission of Kazakhstan to the European Union.

Aigul Kuspan, the head of the Mission of Kazakhstan to the European Union

Following Kazakhstan's independence, the upcoming election will go down in history, thanks to the active development of democratic institutions that ensure the fairness and openness of elections. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has guaranteed that the election will be transparent and will be of the highest expected standards.

A lively election campaign is the distinctive feature of this election. With a total of seven candidates from various political parties and associations running for president, all candidates are now openly campaigning in the hope of securing the people’s votes. I would like to note that Amirzhan Kossanov, one of the candidates running for the post of head of state, is an active representative of the opposition.

In addition, for the first time, there is a female candidate running for the post of leader of Kazakhstan - Dania Yespaeva, representing the liberal AkZhol ('Bright Path') party. When it comes to politics, it would be a fair assessment to say that our wider region is heavily male-dominated. However, over many years, Kazakhstan has taken concrete steps to improve gender equality and to enhance women’s role in both business and politics.

The current situation of women in Kazakhstan speaks for itself, with women occupying a number of key political posts: the President of the Senate, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Education and Science and a number of ambassadors of Kazakhstan are female. Today, approximately a quarter of the members of Parliament in Kazakhstan are women. Apart from the fact that the Constitution of Kazakhstan prohibits gender-based discrimination, over the past 14 years, a number of specific strategies and laws in this area have been adopted: from the “Strategy for Gender Equality of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2006-2016” to the Law “On State Guarantees of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women” in 2009. Moreover, in 2016, Kazakhstan adopted a specific “Concept of Family and Gender Policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030”.

Kazakhstan has always welcomed observers and their constructive feedback during previous elections. During this election 1,000 international observers from ten international organizations, as well as foreign countries, are expected to be on the ground in Kazakhstan. Our government has officially invited the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Commonwealth of Independent States and numerous other organizations. Their missions are now being deployed across the country.

I would like to underline that the upcoming vote is not just important to Kazakhstan, but also to our neighbours and partners all over the world. Kazakhstan has established itself as an active player in the international arena and is contributing to global security, including in fields such as the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the fight against terrorism and extremism. The international community is highly appreciative of Kazakhstan's important initiatives aimed at resolving the Syrian crisis, addressing common challenges in Afghanistan, as well as at implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) linked to the Iranian nuclear program.

Furthermore, in light of Kazakhstan's capability as a true bridge builder, our country has created unique platforms that aim at fostering dialogue and restoring an atmosphere of trust in modern international relations. The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia and the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions are but two examples of such platforms.

From an economic perspective, our government has also been vigorously improving Kazakhstan’s investment climate, making us the number one investment destination in the region.

This is particularly relevant for the European Union, which welcomes the efforts made to improve the investment climate, and also encourages further sustainable implementation of the planned reforms, especially the OECD recommendations for strengthening private sector development and investment protection.

It is worth mentioning that the EU retains its position as Kazakhstan's greatest trade and investment partner, with a share of about 50% of the total volume of our trade. Kazakhstan's foreign trade with EU Member States amounted to a $37.7 billion turnover in 2018, and the gross inflow of FDI from the European Union reached $11.6bn out of a total $24.3bn that was attracted to Kazakhstan.

Last year, the EU Member States that invested the most in the Kazakh economy were the Netherlands (with $7.3bn), Belgium (with $1bn), France (with $916 million), the United Kingdom (with $ 593m), Germany (with $400m) and Luxembourg (with $470m).

In 2018, we celebrated an important anniversary – the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and the European Union. Today, our relations are characterized by an active and regular political dialogue, mutual visits at various levels, and favorable dynamics in trade, economic and investment cooperation.

The key priority for our common bilateral agenda is the effective implementation of the Kazakhstan-EU Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), signed on December 21, 2015. The document covers 29 areas of interaction, including international and regional security, trade, investment and infrastructure development, as well as innovation, culture, sports and tourism.

The official results of the elections will be announced by 16 June. The new president of Kazakhstan will have big shoes to fill – he or she will have to maintain the outstanding relations with our partners abroad, built by First President Nursultan Nazarbayev. In this context, I am confident that the European Union will remain a reliable and important economic partner of our country.

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