India- Kazakh partnership will spur stability, growth in Asia


Kazakhstan holds about 4 billion tons of proven recoverable oil reserves. By 2015 it would be among top10 oil producing nations in the world. According to estimates, Kazakhstan has the second largest uranium, chromium, lead, and zinc reserves, the third largest manganese reserves, the fifth largest copper reserves and ranks in the top ten for coal, iron, and gold. It is also an exporter of diamonds. In 2000, Kazakhstan became the first former Soviet republic to repay all of its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 7 years ahead of schedule. THE BLUE MOON Editor, Amit Mittal got an opportunity to speak to the Ambassador of this fastest growing central Asian nation, Mr. Doulat Kuanyshev. Some excerpts :

India established diplomatic ties with Kazakhstan in February 1992, how would you compare the relations between the two countries after the end of the Soviet era, are they stronger now or were they stronger earlier?

"The relations are long standing strong in many ways. We have the record not only from the times of USSR, but even earlier from ancient and medieval times. From times of our ancestors, religious and cultural exchanges took place. Some came here for conquest, others for spiritual enrichment.

And during the Soviet era, we had good relations. In 1955 Indian Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru accompanied by H.E. Mrs. Indira Gandhi visited Almaty. Since 1991 we were very active in improving our relations. Successive Indian Prime Ministers H.E. Mr. Narasimha Rao, H.E. Mr.Atal Bihari Vajpayee and H.E. Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Kazakhstan. In January 2009 our President Nursultan Nazarbayev was the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations. This was a very high honour given to Kazakhstan by India but also it was an acknowledgment Kazakhstan’s important role in Central Asia and beyond.

Kazakhstan is very actively engaged in promoting international security. The idea of starting Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) was initiated by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. This is something similar to Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). CICA can play an important role in region as OSCE does for Europe.

It has both bilateral and multilateral dimension. There are so many organisations in Asia like ASEAN, SAARC, SCO etc. but the whole of the Asian continent is not covered by any of them. We are grateful for Indian continuous support of the CICA process."

What about having India as a member State of SCO?

"We are now celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana. It was in 1995 (1996) in Shanghai when the former Soviet Republics and China signed border security agreements providing for demarcated borders, creating an environment of cooperation and progress in this region. SCO cooperates in many fields, new threats like terrorism, extremism – ethnic or religious.

SCO has successfully passed the path from institutionalisation to the formation of efficient mechanisms of cooperation in various spheres. Peaceful and stable region is good for our countries. Kazakhstan appreciates India’s role in SCO and supports India to be full membership. Currently India is an observer. The basis for membership of SCO is primarily consensus of all member States. The aims are countering terrorism, humanitarian cooperation and better economic cooperation among members. As a result of the first day of the Summit the Heads of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states signed the Astana Declaration of the SCO 10thanniversary.

As far as the issues of global macroeconomic agenda and global trade are concerned, SCO is not G-8 or G-20 or WTO. We deal mainly with the mutual trade economic and investment relations within the Organisation. Probably, coordination of approaches on global economic agenda may also be another issue for SCO."

Where does bilateral trade stand with India? What is the quantum of trade with China and other neighbours?

"Kazakhstan has the biggest trade with EU countries which in 2010 was 30 billion Dollars, then goes Russia with trade amounting to 15.8 billion Dollars and China with 10 billion Dollars. With India the trade stands at 366 million Dollars as per our statistics, the Indian side has figures putting it at 310 million Dollars probably due to the difference in financial year calendar. India calculates the financial year from April to March while we do it from January to December."

What is hindering fast growth of trade between the two countries?

"The visit of our President Nursultan Nazarbayev to India in January 2009 and Indian Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Manmohan Singh to Kazakhstan in April 2011 gave great impetus to bilateral ties. A great economic interest is palpable on both sides. There is demand for Kazakh goods in India and vice versa. The only hindrance in growing trade between the two countries is transportation. Kazakhstan has no clear sea route to connect to India. Therefore, a north-south rail corridor could have filled this gap. Our bilateral trade would grow several fold quite fast. However, interest seems to have faded away from the corridor due to several political factors. Transportation time for Kazakh goods to India is an important factor. We can export most sensitive products through the proven channels of Indo-Soviet trade. Other options may include China. An example for trade connectivity is TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) pipeline project. But such connection needs heavy investment and overcoming political risks involved.

An agreement on offshore oil exploration was also signed between India and Kazakhstan. According to the media reports, India’s GAIL and ONGC are considering acquiring Exxon’s shares in the Kashagan project. This project developed by the consortium currently including seven multi-national companies - Italian Eni, American Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, British-Netherland Royal Dutch Shell, French Total, Japanese Inpex Holdings Inc and Kazakh KazMunayGas. Huge investment is required for such projects.

Our countries are very dynamic economies with very similar priorities and it is not only economic sphere. Public opinion and government of both countries are aimed at fighting corruption to become more competitive economies in international market and adhering only international standards of infrastructure and services. In Kazakhstan we are aimed to EU standards.

The monthly average wage of a Kazakh national is USD 550 which is good by many standards. From India we are very different in terms of size."

What does Kazakhstan think of UNSC permanent membership for India?

"On broad global political agenda, India and Kazakhstan share common views. Kazakhstan supports permanent membership of India in the UN Security Council while India supports non-permanent membership for Kazakhstan. The proximity of the two nations can be best adjudged from the fact that the President of Kazakhstan and the Prime Minister of India have met three times during the last year. Now India’s External Affairs Minister is in Astana. We have several joint working groups.

We share efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan. We make concrete steps in providing economic and humanitarian assistance to this country and we highly appreciate Indian efforts in this terms which participate in constructing pipeline. Our proximity with India also reflects in what India calls us as “a country in extended neighbourhood.”

What is the quantum of investments by the two countries?

"The biggest Kazakhstani company in India is KazStroyService (KSS) which is laying a pipeline from Gujarat to Bhatinda in Punjab. India’s Punjab National Bank has acquired majority stake in Dana Bank of Kazakhstan. Some other projects with Indian private sector participation in Kazakhstani economy are in the pipeline. Bilateral trade between India and Kazakhstan is much below potential and has an immense scope for expansion. Kazakhstan is keen to have more investment from Indian businesses."

Is there any growth of tourism between the two countries?

"Kazakh tourists mostly travel to Goa in India. About 5000 to 10,000 Kazakh tourists visit India annually. From the Indian side we have roughly 3000 to 4000 tourists traveling to Kazakhstan. Our carrier Air Astana operates three flights a week between India and Kazakhstan. We continue to explore fresh avenues of cooperation with India and make it more sustainable, meaningful and viable."
 
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