Address by Mr.Kassymzhomart Tokaev, Minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the London Conference on Afghanistan, Reconstruction and Development Session (February 1, 2006)

Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished heads of delegations,
Dear colleagues,

The Afghanistan Compact provides us with broader prospects for advancing positive achievements that we all accomplished during last 4 years after the Bonn Conference. The Government of Kazakhstan intends to take the following concrete steps to support the implementation of the Afghan Compact.

First. Kazakhstan is ready to grant annually up to 15 scholarships for Afghani students. We are planning to sign an Agreement on cooperation in the field of education.

We will assist Afghanistan in training qualified specialists in various areas, including economy, industry, finance and education. In the nearest future we will launch a civil aviation training program for Afghani pilots.

Second. Kazakhstan is willing to provide its experience in exploring and developing oil fields in the Northern part of this country and launching new joint projects. Our companies look forward to participating in construction of electricity transmission lines, pipelines, roads, and dwellings. We are ready to extend technical assistance in drinking water supply and industry development by undertaking geological explorations.

Third. We welcome trilateral cooperation between donor-states, the Afghan Governmental agencies with regional states and companies to secure lower prices for goods imported to Afghanistan as stated in the Afghanistan Compact. The Government of Kazakhstan has already handed over the list of its proposals to the Afghani government and declared its strong desire to invest in Afghanistan. For example, we could supply construction materials, foodstuff and a high quality diesel fuel to Afghanistan.

Fourth. The Kazakh-Afghan Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation was established to stimulate economic interaction. Its first meeting will be held in Kabul this April. The Commission is expected to ensure the effectiveness of mutual cooperation in trade, transport, energy, construction, industry and agriculture. During the upcoming meeting we are going to arrange exhibitions and presentations of Kazakh commodities and products in Kabul and Mazari-Sharif.

This January the Afghani air company “Kam Air” has started weekly charter flights from Kabul to Almaty (Kabul-Shymkent-Almaty-Kabul) which gives an opportunity for businessmen of Afghanistan to promote ties with business communities of Kazakhstan and other countries.

Fifth. In the framework of agricultural infrastructure reconstruction programs Kazakhstan is ready to extend necessary assistance to Afghanistan’s farmers by providing them with grain, mineral fertilizers, agricultural equipments and mini-complexes for agricultural products reprocessing.

Sixth. From our point of view, the accession of Afghanistan to the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) in 2005 will greatly contribute to its further integration into the regional economy. This program initiated by President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1997, was supported by UN Secretary General and is pursued under the auspice of UN ESCAP.

Seventh. We believe that Afghanistan’s involvement into the TIFA Agreement signed by all Central Asian countries with US government on promoting regional trade will facilitate the implementation of the Afghan Compact.

Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Viewing Afghanistan as an integral and important part of Central Asia, Kazakhstan welcomes its involvement into the regional affairs to cement this country’s positive political, social and economic achievements. We are strongly committed to continueing our efforts on reconstruction of Afghanistan in partnership with the Afghan authorities and the international community.

Thank you for your attention.