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the Government has adopted the Concept for the
Transition of Kazakhstan Towards a ‘Green’ Economy
and corresponding national legislation.
Lastly, Kazakhstan has ambitions to assume a greater
regional and international leadership role. It has already
undertaken several important initiatives, including
G-GLOBAL dialogue, to help adjust to the emerging
multi-polar world order and to prevent future global
crises. Since 1992, it has convened the Conference
on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in
Asia (CICA) as an effective multinational forum for
enhancing co-operation and promoting peace and
security; plans are under way to transform CICA into
an Organization for Security and Development in Asia,
further strengthening regional security architecture.
Kazakhstan’s priority focus on national, regional and
global security has been further bolstered by its co-
sponsorship of the United Nations Security Council
Resolution on Foreign Terrorist Fighters. For the first
time, the country is a candidate for a non-permanent
seat on the Security Council, for 2017-2018.
Forward-looking promotion on issues of nuclear
disarmament, non-proliferation and nuclear safety
is a particular foreign policy priority for Kazakhstan.
The country has been a key driver behind the Treaty
on a Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia
(Semipalatinsk Treaty) and has launched the ATOM
(Abolish Testing Our Mission) Project: a global
education campaign on the perils of nuclear testing.
Intra-regional trade has been another engine of
enhanced regional co-operation and economic ties
are growing rapidly with some of the country’s larger
neighbours, especially China and the Russian Federation,
and with international stakeholders (the European
Union and the United States). Since 2010, Kazakhstan
has been party to a Customs Union agreement with the
Russian Federation and Belarus; it is pursuing further
integration with these countries, and with Armenia,
which joined the Union in 2015, through the Common
Economic Space (CES). The CES seeks to achieve the
free movement of people, goods, services and capital.
The country is also in the final stage of negotiations to
join the World Trade Organization (WTO).
As part of its commitment to helping produce a new
global road map for landlocked developing countries,
Kazakhstan has made significant progress in improving
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other member states. For almost as long, the UNCT
has been working in the country in close partnership
with national counterparts (and civil society non-profit
and for-profit organisations), matching UN goals with
national priorities. Improved UNCT inter-agency co-
operation has already led to better formulation of joint
objectives, as well as to coordinated and synchronized
actions in key thematic areas, such human rights and
rule of law, health, migration, gender and youth.
The PFD comes at a time of opportunity, allowing the
UNCT to make a strategic contribution to achieving
national development priorities, drawing on the
collective strengths of all United Nations agencies
working in Kazakhstan. A good example of this
collaboration, between the UNCT and the Government,
is embodied in joint UN programmes launched in
Eastern Kazakhstan and extended to the Kyzylorda
and Mangystau regions (see also Section 1.1).
These programmes show how ‘Kazakhstan 2050’
can be translated into local agendas – to which joint
UN programmes are well-suited. At the same time,
the ‘Kazakhstan 2050’ strategy is ushering in new
guarantees for social and health policies, with emphasis
on personal responsibility. It offers the potential to
strengthen Government successes in such areas as
further reducing infant, child and maternal mortality.
Furthermore, the UNCT is committed to attuning joint
programmes and agency-specific portfolios towards
the Nurly Zhol economic policy, offering innovative
upstream policies, while demonstrating breakthroughs
in employment, job creation and social protection.
Overall, Kazakhstan’s emergence as a new kind of
partner, donor and regional power for the entire United
Nations system in the country continues to make the
relationship between the Government and the UNCT
unique. As noted in Section 1.1, considerable potential
exists for joint work, and wider partnership, providing
a new model for powerful regional countries and new
types of donors to the international community.
Not only does the PFD provide a framework for
future collaboration, it is built upon a consultative,
comprehensive and dynamic strategic priority-setting
process, founded in the UNCT’s current and recent work,
and based upon ongoing dialogue with the Government.
The PFD process began with national consultations on
the post-2015 global sustainable development agenda,
held from October 2012 to March 2013. A Country
Situation Analysis in mid-2014 by the UNCT helped
further identify key development concerns and issues,
for which the United Nations system can offer unique
comparative advantages in a middle-income country
context, alongside coherent programme support and
co-operation, to produce the greatest results. Crucially,
infrastructure and expanding transit options, for
example, through construction of its national section
of the Western Europe-Western China international
transit corridor and construction of new rail routes to
Iran and the Persian Gulf.
The Government plans to establish its own agency for
international development co-operation, to be known
as KAZAID. Kazakhstan has additionally proposed a
United Nations regional multilateral diplomacy hub in
Almaty, with the aim of channelling and coordinating
humanitarian and development planning and action
within Central Asia. With UN support, it is launching
a project to install biogas systems in nine Small Island
Developing States (SIDS) of the Pacific, and to develop
a training programme in the sectors of oil and gas,
agriculture and medicine for countries in Africa and
Oceania.
Kazakhstan is taking a strong place in international
health architecture by hosting a WHO Regional Office
for Europe’s Centre of Excellence for Primary Health
Care, also to be located in Almaty. This will ensure the
availability of necessary expertise for health reform
and upgrading across the European region. Already in
place in Kazakhstan are both a UN Regional Disaster
Risk Reduction and Response Centre and the Central
Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre
for Combating Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs
(CARICC).
The Government further chairs the regional consultative
Almaty Process on refugee protection and international
migration. Almaty Process member states are co-
operating closely in addressing migration challenges
derived from socio-economic disparities, environmental
factors, conflict, and porous borders between
neighbouring states, in order to ensure the region’s
stability, prosperity and security.
Lastly, Kazakhstan has been working towards building
a culture of tolerance and respect, further underscored
by its hosting of the triennial Congress of Leaders
of World and Traditional Religions in 2015, and its
initiation of 2013-2022 as the International Decade for
the Rapprochement of Cultures.
1.3. COLLABORATIVE
FORMULATION OF THE PFD
For nearly 23 years, Kazakhstan has been an active and
constructive member of the United Nations and has
distinguished itself by continuously seeking a balance
between its national interests and co-operation with
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