Speech by H.E. Mr. Kassymzhomart Tokaev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the EAPC Ministerial Meeting (Brussels, December 8, 2005)

Mr. Secretary-General,
Dear Colleagues,

I appreciate the opportunity to attend this meeting, which seems to be extremely important in terms of identifying areas of common interests.

In this regard, I would like to make some points on how we, in Kazakhstan, view common values that could play a crucial role in bringing our countries and peoples together.

First. Either the North-Atlantic Alliance or Central Asian countries, both should share common concern about continuous spreading out of the so called new threats and challenges. International terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal migration, conventional weapons sales, danger of nuclear proliferation – this striking agenda, from our view, has to be a matter of common concern and become a pillar of our cooperation. All of us have to carry out adequate analysis of the current situation in our part of the world in order to jointly undertake drastic and efficient measures to safeguard our peoples from the impacts of the activities of those who are engaged in illegal business.

Afghanistan also should remain a matter of common concern. Kazakhstan appreciates the ISAF operation in this country and believes that it has to be continued to make Afghanistan an active participant of the regional cooperation.

I am sending my sincere felicitations to Minister Hikmet Cetin who was very instrumental in supporting my country in the very beginning of our independence.

Second. We have to bear in mind that poverty and unemployment result from the lack of good governance and economic reforms. Poverty and unemployment are the source of terrorism and conflicts. It could be our common value that the market economy should prevail in newly independent countries. We still have to learn how to promote regional integration and cooperation, how to attract more investment for the benefit of our countries. For instance, Central Asia itself, a region with the population of almost 55 million people, could become a big and attractive market. Kazakhstan is convinced that there will be excellent opportunities in our part of the world provided that the countries of our region show sincere interest in a wide range regional cooperation. My country has become a success story not because of energy resources but thanks to our determination to promote liberal values in the economy, to safeguard the sanctity of all the business contracts.

We also must pay attention to corruption which undermines stability and poses a real challenge to the security and well-being of the peoples.

Third. It is in our common interest to provide to all the countries concerned an equal access to the energy resources. That is the reason why Kazakhstan wants a multiple network of pipelines to be operative in the vast region of Eurasia. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Trans-Caspian Strategic Pipeline as well as a Pipeline to China and beyond, from our perspective, play a vital role in bringing about prosperity to the peoples of the region.

Fourth. We have to be seriously concerned about bringing together our political cultures. Despite the fact we share such a common value like democracy, we must admit that still there is a huge gap in understanding and assessments of many things that occur in the contemporary world. Sometimes it seems to be natural, sometimes it creates mutual suspicion and hinders cooperation between us. There should be no room for deliberations about clashes of civilizations, cultures and traditions. There should be an equal dialogue, exchange of views, mutual understanding and tolerance. Free choice of the peoples who vote for the policy of reforms, against upheavals and poverty, must be respected.

And finally, we all have to think about early launching political reforms to build up civil societies. The democracy-building process is very complicated given the fact we had no such traditions, either political or cultural. Democracies can not be built overnight, particularly in our region. However, we have to act, to go ahead with reforms, otherwise our countries will be lagging behind the aspirations of our peoples.

That’s why we need more support, more cooperation, including those with NATO which is an important element of our international policy.

Thank you for your attention.