The interview with the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, conducted by The Jordan Times reporter Hani Hazaimeh:

Q. What domains do Kazakhstan and Jordan cooperate in? Which key issues do you expect to discuss with Jordanian officials, and how can they contribute to strengthening bilateral relations?

A. In recent years, Kazakhstan and Jordan established close mutual contacts at the highest level; they are friendly and trusting relations. This is natural, because our peoples have much in common, and common spiritual roots.

King Abdullah II has brought a huge contribution to the successful development of cooperation between our countries. I highly value his dynamism. Thanks to his exceptional attitude towards Kazakhstan, our relations have received a new impetus.

Today, the basis of the legal framework in bilateral relations has been formed. Moreover, the Kazakh-Jordanian intergovernmental commissions, a bilateral business council, as well as our embassies in Astana and Amman operate successfully.

I believe the development of interaction within the Muslim community, the strengthening of liberal tendencies in the Islamic world, and the elimination of political and religious extremism, illiteracy and poverty can become the basis for political cooperation between our countries.

It is important to exchange views on crucial regional issues, including cooperation on international security, combating terrorism, nuclear non-proliferation and conflict management, in light of increased global attention to the Middle East.

It will be also useful to coordinate efforts of our two countries in the framework of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), and of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and the Dialogue of Civilisations.

Given the spiritual and cultural proximity of the Kazakh and Jordanian peoples, it is also important to expand cultural and humanitarian ties between our countries. Proof of this is the holding of the Days of Culture of Kazakhstan in Jordan during my visit.

I am confident my visit will be a good opportunity to strengthen the existing, special, friendly relations between our countries.

Q. Do you think Kazakhstan and Jordan have the potential to promote bilateral investment? Which sectors do you see as presenting special interest to both countries?

A. Since 1993, Kazakhstan attracted about $97.6 billion in foreign direct investment, including from Jordan. Furthermore, an agreement between the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments was signed in Amman on November 29, 2006. As a result, there are more than 56 joint ventures in various sectors of our economy with Jordanian capital.

Today, the Jordanian side expresses interest in cooperating in the field of pharmaceuticals and the exchange of medical personnel, as well as culture and education. There are also huge prospects for tourism development and participation of the Jordanian business community in the implementation of investment projects in Kazakhstan. Negotiations are under way between the Jordanian company Hikma and the Kazakh SK Pharmacy Company on constructing a Jordanian pharmaceutical factory in Kazakhstan.

We are interested in a significant increase in such mutually beneficial cooperation. This in no small measure contributes to the development of contacts between business structures of our countries, including the holding of annual meetings of the Kazakh-Jordanian Business Council. An agreement on cooperation between the chambers of commerce of our countries is being implemented.

In addition, a significant project that can increase the volume of bilateral trade could be the establishment of regular large shipments of Kazakh grain to the Kingdom, also with the possibility of joint ventures to invest in the cultivation of agricultural produce in Kazakhstan and then export to Jordan.

Q. Do you think CICA has succeeded in promoting its “brand” on the international political arena? What have been the main achievements of the organisation so far?

A. I am very pleased Kazakhstan’s initiative to convene the CICA, which was declared during the 47th session of the UN General Assembly in 1992, has now become a real factor in international relations and serves as an effective instrument for maintaining security and cooperation in Asia.

We are very pleased that Jordan is actively involved in this process and became a full member of the CICA process in August 2008.

In 2002 and 2006 in Kazakhstan, the summit of heads of state and government of the CICA member states proclaimed the creation of a new mechanism of collective diplomacy in the Asian sub-region. In 2004, unprecedented in the political history of Asia, a major document, the “Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures”, was adopted. It provides for multilateral cooperation among Asian countries on a wide range of issues, including stability and security aspects. Moreover, the process of institutionalisation of the forum has been finished. The International Secretariat, an ad hoc working group, as well as the Committee of Senior Officials operate successfully. The implementation of the “Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures” was successfully started. Recent forums within the CICA framework were held in Thailand, Iran, South Korea, Israel, Russia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Since December 2007, the CICA has obtained observer status at the UN General Assembly. In 2010, Turkey will host the third summit for its leadership.

CICA has enormous political, cultural and humanitarian potential. Its members are 20 Asian countries, the total area is approximately 400 million square kilometres, approximately 90 per cent of the entire area of Asia. There are more than 2.8 billion people, or 45 per cent of the total population of the planet. Another six states and three international organisations are observers. Last year, the United Arab Emirates, together with Jordan, became full-fledged members of the CICA, and Qatar gained observer status. The government of Vietnam also expressed its intention to join CICA.

I am confident of the future success of the CICA because of its goals and objectives that meet the genuine aspirations and hopes of the peoples of the continent to live in a safe world, and because of objective needs on this pan-Asia platform for open and constructive dialogue.

Q. Next year, Kazakhstan will become the first Muslim state to chair the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). How and why was Kazakhstan called upon to lead this organisation?

A. The forthcoming chairmanship of the OSCE has a very historic and symbolic significance. Kazakhstan will be the first country from the post-Soviet space to chair the organisation. This will happen on the 35th anniversary of the OSCE, which united many countries from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

Prominent European politicians consider Kazakhstan an anchor and a generator of stability in the region. Kazakhstan is a stable state in the region that has avoided ethnic and religious conflicts.

The Republic of Kazakhstan is a predictable and credible partner with huge resources for interaction with all its neighbours. It participates in all regional structures of the Eurasian and the Caspian communities, while pursuing its own foreign policy, based on national interests.

Kazakhstan’s leadership of the OSCE is of great significance for most of the organisation, stressing the validity of the principle of equality of all states.

Kazakhstan believes in the need to adapt the OSCE activities to the interests of all its members and considers the forthcoming chairmanship a good opportunity to give a “new breath” to the organisation.

On the one hand, Kazakhstan is gaining a unique experience in enhancing regional security and stability, socio-economic development, the promotion of tolerance and multiculturalism; on the other, the OSCE will significantly enrich our experience and vision of the diversity of the modern world and the various ways of building an open democratic society. We will try to bring new impetus to the desire of the OSCE to more rapidly and adequately respond to new threats and challenges.

Furthermore, we have developed a special programme, “Path to Europe”, which reflects Kazakhstan’s interest in broader cooperation with European countries in the fields of energy, transport transit, transfer of high technology, education and humanitarian cooperation.

Q. In 2011, Kazakhstan will chair the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). How will your country, with different social systems and harmonised coexistence despite the diversity of ethnic groups forming its population, use this opportunity to promote dialogue between East and West?

A. Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010 and of the OIC in 2011 provides it a unique opportunity to make a practical contribution to the dialogue between the Muslim East and West.

The most important and topical issue, in our opinion, is fostering intercultural, inter-religious and inter-civilisational dialogue. We see the success of harmonisation of relations through mutual spiritual and cultural values.

In this regard, Kazakhstan is not just a supporter, but also an initiator of processes aimed at promoting dialogue in the political and spiritual spheres. A successful example is the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. In July 2009, the Third Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions took place. Religious leaders from around the world appealed to the international community to recognise the necessity to continue the interfaith dialogue based on mutual respect, cooperation and tolerance.

Having a positive experience in preserving ethnic harmony and unity, we would like to contribute and present our own vision for the development of dialogue in the political sphere.

The basic idea behind it was the harmonisation of relations between the Muslim and Western civilisations in the political aspect. We hope that we will be able to continue such successful experience during our leadership of OSCE in 2010, and the OIC in 2011.

I would like to stress that we appreciate the efforts of King Abdullah II as part of the dialogue of civilisations, and we welcome the outcome of the international conference “Prospects of Muslim-Christian dialogue in the light of the modern world”, and the Islamic Conference “Amman Message”.

Almost complete coincidence of our positions on these pressing issues means that we are equally interested in strengthening progressive trends in the Muslim world, addressing such negative phenomena as political and religious extremism, illiteracy and poverty in the Islamic world.

Q. Kazakhstan is the first country to have closed its nuclear test site in 1989, and invited the UN to declare August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests. Today, many countries are pondering such a step. Did the positive effects of this step taken by your country encourage other countries to follow suit?

A. Today, 18 years after my decree closing the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site and the subsequent decision to abandon the world’s fourth nuclear arsenal (104 SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles, each carrying 10 nuclear warheads, and 40 strategic bombers with nuclear cruise missiles on board), I can absolutely state: Our choice was the only correct one.

Kazakhstan had shown goodwill and at the same time, responsibility for the fate of Central Asia and the whole world by closing the test site. Our main objective was to create a new economic and political model in Kazakhstan.

I would like to call it “creative leadership”, providing a pragmatic and constructive interaction with the numerous and very complicated forces in our region and around the world. This particular philosophy had led us to nuclear disarmament and the active development of relations not only with the United States, but also with Russia, China, Iran and, actually, with all the countries of the world. Multilateral economic cooperation and foreign investment inflows have allowed the economy of Kazakhstan not only to withstand the hard 1990s, but also to create a foundation for current economic success.

Q. Kazakhstan is one of the developed countries in the CIS. Nevertheless, the negative impact of the global economic crisis has shaken the entire world. How does Kazakhstan cope with this crisis? What measures were taken? And what impact did the global recession have on the country as a whole?

A. Kazakhstan was the first among the CIS countries to face the negative impact of the global crisis because our economy is widely integrated into the global economy. Amid falling demand for our exports, the global recession has had an impact on macroeconomic indicators in Kazakhstan.

In order to mitigate the negative effects of the global crisis on the socio-economic situation in the country and maintain the stability of economy and the financial system, Kazakhstan adopted a package of stabilisation measures. The government has been implementing a plan of action for 2009-2010 to stabilise the economy and financial system. In general, more than $18 billion, which is 14 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, was sent into Kazakhstan’s economy for anti-recessionary purposes. Anti-recessionary measures certainly had a positive effect on the economy, keeping public confidence in the economic system of Kazakhstan. About 400,000 new jobs were created and the rate of unemployment decreased.

According to many experts, including foreign ones, Kazakhstan’s anti-crisis programme is the most effective among the CIS countries. As some of them note, Kazakhstan’s experience in combating the negative effects of the crisis became kind of an “instruction on survival in extreme conditions” for other CIS countries.

As a result of the measures taken, Kazakhstan’s global ratings in competitiveness and business environment improved. Today, our economy is gradually beginning to recover from the crisis and has been showing positive trends, although it is still too early to draw the line. But we are not going to stop at what has already been achieved. We are setting new strategic goals and objectives in order to build a new model of economy. So, currently, the government is developing a programme of accelerated industrial and innovative development, as a result of which annual added value comparable with almost 50 per cent of our national output will be provided in addition.

Summing up, I want to say that Kazakhstan successfully withstands a crisis, immediately solving all problems and issues. It should come out from it being rejuvenated and stronger.