Alikhan Smailov calls to intensify CIS countries' removal of barriers and restrictions on trade
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As part of a working trip to Sochi (Russia), Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov took part in a regular meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States, primeminister.kz reports.
In a narrow format, the parties exchanged views on topical issues of economic interaction in the CIS and discussed the Agreement on Free Trade in Services, Establishment, Activities and Investments. In the broad format the discussion was focused on the development of industrial cooperation between the CIS countries.
In his speech, Alikhan Smailov noted that the CIS continues to act as an important platform for deepening integration ties and maintaining multifaceted cooperation.
Kazakhstan is interested in further deepening interaction on this platform, strengthening the potential and opening up opportunities of the Commonwealth," he said.
The Prime Minister stressed that one of the main directions is to increase mutual trade. So, the volume of goods turnover between Kazakhstan and the CIS countries last year increased by 9% and amounted to more than $36 billion, and for the first 3 months of this year there was also a 9% increase.
The increase in this indicator is largely provided by the implementation of the CIS Free Trade Zone Treaty. However, under current conditions, we need to significantly step up work in the CIS to remove existing barriers, restrictions and exemptions in mutual trade," Alikhan Smailov said.
In this context, he noted the importance of the activities of the relevant working group and the need to conclude an agreement on technical barriers to mutual trade.
In this case, according to the head of the government, the signing of an agreement on free trade in services will be a landmark event in the CIS.
We are confident that the Agreement will open additional opportunities in the CIS and create favorable conditions for further growth of our economies," Alikhan Smailov said.
The Prime Minister also added that under present conditions the role of electronic commerce is significantly increasing. Unlocking the potential of the CIS in this direction requires coordinated action and joint work. In this regard, Kazakhstan supports the development of the appropriate concept of cooperation.
In addition, as Alikhan Smailov noted, industrial cooperation remains an important task.
The key driver of all economic development is industry, and we are already taking steps to strengthen this cooperation. We expect that the Concept of industrial cooperation of CIS states and the Complex of measures for the development of industrial cooperation of CIS states until 2030 will give a serious impetus in this direction," he said.
At the same time, one of the important conditions for sustainable development is the transition to a "green" economy. Thus, Kazakhstan carries out systematic work to improve the efficiency of the use of resources and leveling the negative factors affecting the environment.
Given that all the CIS countries have similar objectives, I urge the governments of the Commonwealth countries to unite their efforts in this direction. The International Center of Green Technologies and Investment Projects in Astana can become a platform for joint activities," Prime Minister concluded.
At the end of the meeting a number of agreements and other documents were signed.
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Olzhas Bektenov participates in Euroasian Intergovernmental Council meeting in Yerevan
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Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov took part in a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in the city of Yerevan, as well as discussed the digital agenda of the Union with the heads of government of the EAEU member states on the margins of the Third Eurasian Economic Forum "Digitalisation in modern realities - an imperative to ensure the four freedoms", primeminister.kz reports.
The plenary session of the Eurasian Economic Forum, where the prospects of digitalisation of economic processes were discussed, was attended by the Heads of Government of Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, as well as the First Vice President of Iran.
During his speech the Prime Minister noted that Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev pays special attention to the development of digitalisation within the EAEU. At the forum, the Kazakh side noted the need for full implementation of the integrated information system of the Union, which will ensure interstate exchange of data and electronic documents between member countries.
At the meeting of the EMPS in the narrow and enlarged compositions considered joint measures to further strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade, transport and logistics, agro-industrial complex.
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German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrives to Astana on official visit
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At the invitation of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Federal Chancellor of Germany arrived on an official visit to Kazakhstan. At the airport of Astana city Olaf Scholz was met by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, primeminister.kz reports.
Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz will take part in the second Summit "Central Asia + Germany", which will discuss strategic cooperation and partnership in a wide range of areas, including trade and economic cooperation and implementation of joint investment projects.
Germany is an important trade and investment partner of Kazakhstan. The volume of mutual trade for 7 months of the current year increased by 13% compared to the same period of 2023 and totalled $2.3 billion. Following the results of last year, the volume of direct investments from Germany to Kazakhstan increased by 64% and totalled $770 million. Most of the funds are directed to the development of the non-resource sector of the economy, which is a priority.
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Kazakh President receives Asia Infrastructure Solutions Singapore Chairman
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Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received Wong Heang Fine, the Chairman of Asia Infrastructure Solutions Singapore, Kazinform News Agency reports citing the Akorda press service.
The sides debated prospects for the development of the Alatau City project, and shared views on the efficient development of the city attracting foreign investments, technologies and competencies.
The Head of State said the Alatau city master plan co-developed with the Singapore’s Surbana Jurong was adopted this May.
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Olzhas Bektenov holds Interdepartmental Commission on Prevention of Offences meeting
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Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov held a meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission on prevention of offences under the Government of Kazakhstan with the participation of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Akims of regions and cities of Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, as well as chairmen of agencies for financial monitoring, regulation and development of the financial market, primeminister.kz reports.
The meeting considered measures to combat Internet fraud and prevent the emergence of financial pyramids, ensuring public order and prevention of offences among minors.
Minister of Internal Affairs Yerzhan Sadenov reported that in the framework of countering fraud special groups "Cyberpol" solved more than 2.5 thousand crimes, as a result, 962 million tenge of damage was recovered. 914 criminals were detained. 58 million calls from substitute numbers were blocked. 19 SIM-boxes and more than 6 thousand unregistered SIM-cards were seized in 5 cities of the country. As part of the work of the "anti-fraud centre", 400 million tenge was blocked at the stage of withdrawal abroad. To strengthen the measures, a number of legislative amendments on voluntary cancellation of loans, as well as write-off of loans issued without the participation of the victim are being studied.
According to the data voiced by the Chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on financial monitoring Dmitry Malakhov, this year in the Internet identified 43 financial pyramids, closed 266 chat rooms in messengers. This prevented further financial losses of almost 2 million citizens. The Cybernadzor system has blocked more than 8,000 fraudulent websites. A Telegram bot has been launched, allowing citizens to independently check companies and their Internet resources for signs of financial pyramid schemes. To date, over 9,000 such applications have been reviewed.
Since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Culture and Information has restricted access to 12,000 materials and links with unlawful content in the course of monitoring the information field for Internet fraud, online casinos and pyramid schemes advertisements. As a result of measures to develop a culture of cyber security, the level of public awareness of threats increased to 80.4%.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov noted that fraudulent schemes are improving, modern hacker programmes are used, allowing to obtain all the necessary data. In this regard, it has been instructed to strengthen work in a number of areas. Thus, to solve the problem of the protracted process of registration of criminal cases of this category, it was instructed to develop and approve a clear mechanism for determining the signs of financial pyramids.
The Head of State has instructed to strengthen measures to counter Internet crimes with a focus on their early detection and suppression. The majority of Internet frauds related to online loans and theft of bank savings are committed from abroad. The stolen money is cashed out with the help of so-called "droppers", these are mostly unemployed citizens who want to earn ‘easy’ money quickly. The legislation does not provide any liability for the "droppers". Moreover, people who "leak" databases to the network or to fraudsters are not punished in any way. Therefore, it is necessary to work out the issue of introducing liability for deliberate transfer of other people's bank accounts, accounts, cards, ID card data, phone number databases to unauthorised persons," Olzhas Bektenov stressed.
In addition, in order to prevent the issuance of loans to fraudsters, it is necessary to take measures to strengthen the information security system when applying for online loans. Here it is instructed to revise the procedures for personal identification when applying for an online loan. Also, the they will consider the issue of insurance of online loans from fraudulent encroachments.
The Interdepartmental Commission considered the issues of ensuring public order, including countering vandalism and hooliganism. Since the beginning of the year, there has been a 4% decrease in the number of criminal offences committed in public places, a 2% decrease in robberies, a 14% decrease in robberies and an 18.5% decrease in thefts of other people's property. About 13,700 such offences have been solved by outdoor units. According to the principle of "zero tolerance" about 9.4 million offences were detected, which is 45% higher than last year's figures. Within the framework of the action "TAZA KAZAKSTAN" 856 unauthorised dumps were revealed. With the help of video cameras 6.5 thousand crimes and 435 thousand administrative offences were revealed. In general, as a result of measures taken for the last 3 years the number of criminal offences has been reduced almost 2 times.
However, there is an increase in crimes committed on the streets. Head of the Government has listened to akims of a number of regions and instructed to strengthen measures to ensure security.
Experience shows that there are few offences where there are video surveillance cameras. Their presence disciplines. Application of new technologies in the sphere of road safety shows good results. Now this work should be developed in the sphere of public order. It is necessary not only to expand the network of video surveillance cameras, but also to make the transition to digital intelligent systems with good resolution and the possibility of personal identification. In this regard, regional akimats should organise work to increase the number of CCTV cameras in public places, in courtyards of residential buildings and in places of mass stay of citizens," Olzhas Bektenov said.
Head of the Government focused the attention of the participants of the Government session on the case that occurred on the bypass road of Astana near the village Kyzylsuat. Earlier it was reported that drivers of heavy trucks in pursuit of profit tried to deliberately disrupt the automated system of weighing vehicles. This measure, in turn, is aimed at ensuring the safety of roads and preventing their destruction. Taking into account the facts of refusal to pass transport control and hiding from the place of detention, the Ministry of Transport together with the Ministries of Interior, Culture and Information was instructed to strengthen the relevant explanatory work and ensure effective control over the passage of heavy vehicles. The Ministry of Transport, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Culture and Information, has also been instructed to strengthen its work in preventing damage to public amenities and the creation of illegal dumps, etc.
In some regions, insufficient attention is paid to the creation of infrastructure and conditions for waste removal and storage. This year we have registered facts of creation by private enterprises of illegal landfills for storage of solid domestic waste near the forest belt of Koyandy settlement in Akmola region. Often we see how in cities due to untimely removal of rubbish is stored along motorways. Especially such a picture is observed in the private sector. This is unacceptable," Prime Minister stressed and gave a number of instructions to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources on waste management and strengthening of mechanisms of control over the activities of waste disposal organisations.
After considering the issue Prime Minister stressed that to ensure safety it is necessary to react even to the smallest offences. General order in the streets, public places plays a decisive role and affects the overall level of crime and offences. According to the theory of "broken windows", condoning even minor offences leads to an increase in the number of crimes, including serious ones. Prime Minister noted that the central role in countering hooliganism is given to local executive bodies and instructed to strengthen the work in the regions.
The issue of prevention of offences among minors was considered on the agenda .
In order to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of minors, the legislation has toughened responsibility for violence. In particular, reconciliation has been ruled out, and only life imprisonment (previously 20 years' imprisonment) is provided for the rape of minors. Criminal liability has been introduced for sexual molestation and advocacy of suicide. Measures to prevent bullying and violence among children have been strengthened as part of efforts to combat juvenile delinquency. A methodology has been adopted for early identification and assistance to minors who are victims of violence, bullying and cyberbullying.
This academic year, pilot anti-bullying Kiva programmes have been launched in 110 schools in cooperation with Intellectual Schools, and the DosballLike programme has been launched in 50 schools. Based on the results, a decision will be made on rolling out the programmes to other schools. This year, 70 criminal cases have been brought for neglecting child-rearing duties. More than 84,000 parents have been prosecuted for keeping their children out of their homes at night. Pedagogical support centres for parents have been opened in 6,500 schools. In view of the importance of the role of class teachers, the possibility of increasing the amount of additional pay for class teachers is being studied. In addition, 1,700 informal leaders with a negative influence on their peers have been identified and monitored. In general, over the past 5 years, juvenile delinquency has been reduced by 30%, and this year by 5% compared to last year.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov instructed to develop a set of additional measures to further reduce juvenile crime. It is instructed to expand the functionality of the Digital Family Map to strengthen measures to identify families in need of necessary support. It is also necessary to strengthen the work of the psychological services of educational institutions to develop new approaches to detect child abuse and suicidal behaviour. The Ministry of Finance has been instructed to step up efforts to prevent the sale of alcohol and tobacco products to minors. In addition, the issue of developing an application to restrict access to illegal content that harms the psychological and physical development of children will be worked out.
Summarising the results of the meeting Olzhas Bektenov stressed that the Head of State in his Address the strategic priority was to ensure the safety of citizens. The Government will take all measures to strengthen the work to ensure a comfortable and safe life for the people of Kazakhstan. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has been instructed to implement new approaches to consolidate efforts and create a new and effective system of prevention of offences.
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Olzhas Bektenov discusses cooperation prospects in digital industry with TSC Global/GK Hyperscale executives
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Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov met with the heads of TSC Global/GK Hyperscale Michael Dickerson and Daniel Dickerson, primeminister.kz reports.
As part of the implementation of the tasks set by the Head of State in his Address to the people of Kazakhstan, the Government aims to increase investment, transfer of advanced technologies, localisation of production and the creation of clusters of high processing with the participation of foreign investors.
During the meeting the issues of investment co-operation in the field of development of digital infrastructure and transfer of advanced technologies were discussed.
The company's approaches to ensuring the growth of computing capacity and increasing exports of IT services were reviewed.
Michael Dickerson, Chief Executive Officer of TSC Global/GK Hyperscale, expressed interest in the implementation of the project, which will create more than 300 highly skilled jobs.
At the end of the meeting the parties noted their readiness for productive co-operation.
For reference: TSC Global/GK Hyperscale is an international company specialising in building secure digital infrastructure for countries. GK builds and operates state-of-the-art data centres and infrastructure projects in Australia and a number of other countries.
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Olzhas Bektenov discusses cross border and interregional cooperation with Governor of Novgorod region in Russia
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Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov met with the Governor of Novgorod region of the Russian Federation Andrey Nikitin, primeminister.kz reports.
Discussed issues of interregional cooperation and interaction in trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian spheres. The issues of implementation of joint investment projects in industrial and agricultural spheres were considered.
The delegation of the Novgorod region within the framework of the working trip visited the Ulytau region, where the guests got acquainted with the industrial potential of the region. The historical and cultural complex "Zhoshy Khan", built on behalf of the President of Kazakhstan, was visited. This year it is 800 years since the formation of Ulus Zhoshy.
For reference: Trade turnover of Kazakhstan regions with Novgorod region of the Russian Federation for 6 months of 2024 amounted to $19.2 million.
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Olzhas Bektenov participates in Asia-Pacific Conference on Inclusion and Transformation
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The Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Inclusion and Transformation is taking place in Astana. The plenary session was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Salcia Alisjahbana, as well as government leaders and technology experts, primeminister.kz reports.
On the margins of the ESCAP conference, they discussed topical issues on the digital agenda. Olzhas Bektenov and Armida Salcia Alisjahbana exchanged views on the potential for active application of digital solutions in such areas as infrastructure, governance, mobility, industry and trade. The Asia-Pacific Digital Transformation Report 2024 was presented.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, in his welcome address to the conference, noted the important role of the Organization in promoting economic prosperity, social well-being and environmental sustainability in Asia and the Pacific. For some 80 years, ESCAP has had a significant impact on the lives of more than 4 billion people.
Kazakhstan had been a full member of ESCAP for more than 30 years, continuing the progressive development of relations in the spirit of partnership and good-neighbourliness. Over the years, cooperation has covered the most important areas, including environmental protection, natural resource management, investment cooperation, trade, energy and transport.
Olzhas Bektenov focused the attention of the conference participants on digital technologies that open new horizons for business, social sphere and ensure economic growth and expansion of opportunities for millions of people. The importance of ensuring equal access to digital resources for the entire region was emphasised.
Yesterday, the Head of State in his Address noted that Kazakhstan should become a country where artificial intelligence is widely used and digital technologies are developing. It is they that open new horizons for business, education and healthcare, ensure economic growth and expand opportunities for millions of people. We are actively developing these areas. Today our country is among the 30 most digitised countries in the world and ranks 8th in terms of online services provided," Olzhas Bektenov said.
Today more than 90% of all public services are available to the population of Kazakhstan from mobile devices. By the end of 2029, the country plans to build a full-fledged ecosystem that will provide equal access to digital resources for the population and businesses. Artificial intelligence products are being developed in the country to create their own electronic resources. The National Centre for Artificial Intelligence will become a key platform for selecting effective solutions. Its creation was announced by the Head of State in his Address to the people of Kazakhstan the previous day.
As part of the development of the Digital Silk Road, a project is being implemented jointly with neighbouring countries to lay fibre-optic communication lines under the Caspian Sea with access to the Persian Gulf countries. Integration will make it possible to form a modern infrastructure of data collection, storage and processing for the development of new technologies, attracting large Big Tech companies, as well as to ensure the launch of Kazakhstan's IT solutions on the world market. A key role in this process is played by the international technology park Astana Hub, which has created a favourable investment climate for 1,400 residents, including 400 foreign companies.
Head of the Government stressed that Kazakhstan is open to expanding cooperation in the field of digitalisation and is ready to share experience in this direction.
To achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the region, it is important to emphasise the principle “no one should be left behind”. Digital inclusion is an essential element without which the goals cannot be achieved. Only through co-operation, knowledge sharing and best practices can we ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for all. We are ready to share our experience and knowledge. In this regard, I call on you to support the opening of the Centre for Digital Solutions for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific in Kazakhstan. Its establishment will become an important catalyst for the development of effective regional cooperation and will reduce the digital divide between countries," the Prime Minister stressed.
In turn, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Salcia Alishahbana noted the high achievements and potential of Kazakhstan in the field of digitalisation.
Digitalisation has become the norm. It is transforming our economies, opening up new opportunities for value creation and changing social structures, helping to address key sustainable development challenges. However, digital transformation is also associated with economic, environmental and social risks of unprecedented complexity and uncertainty," Armida Salcia Alisjahbana said.
The conference includes an exhibition showcasing Kazakhstan's developments in the digitalisation of public services and successfully used IT solutions. 1200 public services in Kazakhstan are provided online, covering more than 80 per cent of the economically active population. Among those presented to the conference guests is the Social Wallet project aimed at providing targeted and proactive state support to the population. The platform is integrated with the information systems of government agencies, including the Government's electronic portal e-Gov and the e-Otinish application system.
The conference participants were also introduced to the projects of NIT JSC, Alaqan technologies, DAMU Information Technologies Centre LLP, Freedom Holding Corp., Kaspi.kz, Smartestprep Ltd on personalised career guidance for young people, digital products in the field of financial, transport, social services, trade, education, healthcare and other areas.
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