{"id":15018,"date":"2022-04-11T18:41:59","date_gmt":"2022-04-11T18:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/?p=15018"},"modified":"2022-04-11T18:41:59","modified_gmt":"2022-04-11T18:41:59","slug":"turbulence-across-eurasia-will-not-slow-kazakhstans-progress-president-kassym-jomart-tokayev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/turbulence-across-eurasia-will-not-slow-kazakhstans-progress-president-kassym-jomart-tokayev\/","title":{"rendered":"Turbulence Across Eurasia Will Not Slow Kazakhstan\u2019s Progress – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev \/ President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.<\/h4>\n

The\u00a0unfolding events in\u00a0the post-Soviet space\u00a0are challenging, but they will not derail our country\u2019s march forward. The\u00a0Russian-Ukraine\u00a0conflict\u00a0is a\u00a0tragedy\u00a0the scale of which\u00a0the\u00a0European continent\u00a0has not experienced since\u00a0long ago. Just two months prior\u00a0to\u00a0the outbreak of this war,\u00a0Kazakhstan experienced\u00a0its own tragedy:\u00a0nationwide demonstrations that\u00a0escalated to\u00a0violence\u00a0unprecedented in\u00a0this country\u2019s\u00a0thirty years\u00a0of\u00a0independence.\u00a0We are still\u00a0recovering\u00a0from those wounds, but we\u00a0are\u00a0fully committed to learn lessons and to boldly address challenges and move forward.<\/h4>\n

Eurasia has always been a dynamic region, but concerted efforts must be made to keep it peaceful, open,\u00a0and prosperous. As the President of Kazakhstan, the largest ex-Soviet state after the Russian Federation, I must fight for these\u00a0goals.<\/h4>\n
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As states that share the longest border in the world Kazakhstan and Russia enjoy special relations of mutual cooperation. Meanwhile we also have deep traditions of friendly relations with Ukraine. We respect its territorial integrity\u2014as the overwhelming majority of the world does.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

We hope for a swift and just resolution of the conflict in accordance with UN Charter.\u00a0I\u00a0have been in direct communications with Presidents\u00a0Vladimir Putin\u00a0and Volodymyr Zelensky urging\u00a0for dialogue and peaceful settlement of\u00a0hostilities. Kazakhstan is both willing and able to continue its role as international mediator.<\/h4>\n

Sadly, the\u00a0situation\u00a0in Ukraine is not the only shock that has befallen this corner of Eurasia. Our country is still healing from the tragic events of this January\u00a0when peaceful protests turned violent.\u00a0We need to ensure that violence will not reoccur.\u00a0The first step is acknowledging that the legitimate concerns of our people can be voiced without fear of violence or persecution.\u00a0The next step is\u00a0taking action.<\/h4>\n
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On March 16,\u00a0I introduced\u00a0landmark reforms\u00a0which\u00a0will build upon and\u00a0accelerate Kazakhstan\u2019s\u00a0modernization. They\u00a0are designed to\u00a0address\u00a0the socio-economic and\u00a0civic\u00a0grievances voiced by Kazakhstan\u2019s citizens.\u00a0We heard their voices loud and clear.<\/h4>\n

The country is\u00a0embarking on an unprecedented decentralization of state power, enhancing checks and balances. Corruption and nepotism will not be tolerated.\u00a0Concentration of political power\u00a0and\u00a0accumulation\u00a0of wealth\u00a0in the hands of a few\u00a0must be\u00a0reversed\u00a0if\u00a0this country\u00a0is to prosper.<\/h4>\n

We\u00a0are entering a\u00a0new\u00a0era in Kazakhstan\u2019s democratic transformation.\u00a0Key governmental bodies, such as the\u00a0Office\u00a0of the President,\u00a0Parliament, local administrations, as well as the judiciary,\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0law enforcement system, will be thoroughly reformed.\u00a0There will be zero tolerance for torture.<\/h4>\n

Indeed, political powers will be rebalanced shifting this country from a\u00a0\u201csuper-presidential\u201d\u00a0to a\u00a0\u201cnormative\u00a0presidential\u201d\u00a0model of government. Through new constitutional amendments, Parliament\u2019s authorities will be strengthened,\u00a0a\u00a0mixed voting system will be introduced\u00a0that would include political party lists and single-seat districts, and barriers\u00a0to\u00a0the formation of new political parties will be\u00a0eased, providing for political diversity.<\/h4>\n

A new\u00a0Constitutional\u00a0Court will be created, increasing the strength and the transparency of the judiciary;\u00a0the Chief Justice\u00a0will require Senate confirmation.<\/h4>\n

I have\u00a0voluntarily\u00a0curtailed the power of my office by reducing the number of presidentially appointed senators from fifteen to ten.\u00a0 Of the ten appointees, half will now be recommended by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, a consultative body that\u00a0unites\u00a0the various ethnic groups\u00a0in\u00a0our nation.<\/h4>\n

Perhaps most importantly,\u00a0constitutional changes\u00a0will place more power in the hands of\u00a0akims\u00a0(governors) of the districts, cities, and rural districts. From now on,\u00a0they\u00a0will be totally accountable to the people.<\/h4>\n

Our government has listened\u00a0carefully\u00a0to civil society and public opinion in the\u00a0design\u00a0of\u00a0these reforms.\u00a0Economically, our system must work for all people, not just for the very few, as has often been the case in the past.<\/h4>\n

Growth that is not inclusive is not sustainable. Furthermore, the tremendous wealth accumulated by the oligarchs\u00a0and\u00a0their monopolies will be redirected towards the working\u00a0and middle\u00a0classes\u00a0of\u00a0this country.<\/h4>\n

The government understands the need to address inequality urgently. As the economy grows, so should livelihoods. The government has been tasked to develop a program to increase wages and reduce poverty.\u00a0To that end, I\u00a0have mandated\u00a0a 40 percent increase in the minimum wage, as well as wage increases for public sector workers.\u00a0Small businesses will see their tax burdens\u00a0shrink\u00a0while\u00a0Kazakhstan\u2019s\u00a0extractive companies will\u00a0shoulder a larger and more just share of the economic burden.<\/h4>\n

These reforms represent an inflection point for\u00a0our people.\u00a0We choose to accelerate rather than\u00a0to\u00a0stagnate.\u00a0And we are determined.\u00a0We still have far to go.\u00a0Both\u00a0domestically or internationally, partnership\u00a0is\u00a0still the only way to build a better common future of peace and prosperity.\u00a0We\u00a0want to strengthen our three-decade strong\u00a0friendship and cooperation with Europe and the United States.<\/h4>\n

Only together can we steer Eurasia towards this\u00a0goal.<\/h4>\n

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev \/ President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The\u00a0unfolding events in\u00a0the post-Soviet space\u00a0are challenging, but they will not derail our country\u2019s march forward. The\u00a0Russian-Ukraine\u00a0conflict\u00a0is a\u00a0tragedy\u00a0the scale of which\u00a0the\u00a0European continent\u00a0has not experienced since\u00a0long ago. Just two months prior\u00a0to\u00a0the outbreak of this war,\u00a0Kazakhstan experienced\u00a0its own tragedy:\u00a0nationwide demonstrations that\u00a0escalated to\u00a0violence\u00a0unprecedented in\u00a0this country\u2019s\u00a0thirty years\u00a0of\u00a0independence.\u00a0We are still\u00a0recovering\u00a0from those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[1591,1590,47,375,2373,270],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15018"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15018"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15020,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15018\/revisions\/15020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}