President of Kazakhstan: Convention is a kind of Constitution of the Caspian Sea
It is known that last weekend Aktau witnessed a historic event for the countries of the Caspian Five – holding of the Fifth Caspian Summit and signing of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. In addition, within the working visit to the region Nursultan Nazarbayev inspected city facilities and took part in a meeting on Mangistau region’s socio-economic development. Also the President of Kazakhstan was presented Kuryk multi-modal port and held a number of bilateral meetings at the highest level. More information read in the review of the “Strategy2050.kz” Information Agency.
Upon arrival in Mangistau region Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev held a meeting on socio-economic development of the region.
Opening the meeting, the Head of State emphasized significant historical, cultural, spiritual, ideological and geopolitical importance of the Caspian region.
In the context of the oil and gas industry development, the country’s infrastructure and transport and logistics potential, Nursultan Nazarbayev noted the special contribution of Mangistau region to the national economy.
“Thanks to “Nurly Zhol” Program, the region becomes a major transport and logistics centre, which unites air, road, rail, ferry and sea transport networks, including the international airport, Zhezkazgan-Beineu, Uzen-State Border of Turkmenistan railway roads, Atyrau-Aktau highway, Aktau modern seaport and Kuryk ferry complex. These projects will have a big impact on the region’s economy”, the President of Kazakhstan said.
Governor of Mangistau region Yeraly Tugzhanov reported on the results of the six month’s social and economic development of the region and based on the results of the report, noting the stable indicators, the President of Kazakhstan pointed to a number of issues that require further comprehensive study.
“It is necessary to achieve stable economic growth. For that it is necessary to diversify the economy and ensure the development of service and manufacturing sectors. For example, here there is Aktau Sea Port special economic zone on an area of 2 thousand hectares. The state allocated funds for the development of its infrastructure. Now we need to intensify its activities, creating alternative jobs”, Nursultan Nazarbayev instructed.
Emphasizing the great tourist potential of Mangistau region, the Head of State mentioned the region’s geographical advantages and cultural peculiarities, including access to the sea, presence of a large number of historical monuments, both national and international.
In addition, Nursultan Nazarbayev got acquainted with the activities of the Friendship House of the city of Aktau, which has started its work this year.
The House of Friendship will include the state institution “Kogamdyk Kelisim”, 20 ethno-cultural associations of the region, regional council of mothers, research expert group at the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan in Mangistau region, and the regional council of veterans.
Then the Kazakh President visited the new embankment, “Tree of Life” recreation facility, Kuryk ferry complex.
The Head of State noted the symbolism of the launch of the multimodal hub on the eve of the Fifth Caspian Summit and stressed the great importance of this project not only for Kazakhstan, but also for the entire Eurasian continent.
Nursultan Nazarbayev paid attention to the importance of developing the country's transit and transportation potential and indicated that the connection to the intercontinental Eurasian transport system is a strategic task for our state.
“Over the past years we have built more than 2,5 thousand kilometers of iron and reconstructed 12 thousand kilometers of highways. The logistics infrastructure develops. The rolling stock is updated. The automobile transit corridor “Western Europe - Western China” was launched. Aktau port has been modernized, the Dry Port of Khorgos has been created on the border with China”, the President of Kazakhstan said.
The Head of State noted that over the last decade investments in the development of the transport and logistics system of Kazakhstan amounted to 30 billion dollars, and the multimodal complex Kuryk is an important link in this large-scale work.
In conclusion, Nursultan Nazarbayev instructed the Government, together with the Governor’s Office, to develop a Comprehensive Plan for the development of additional production facilities and a service sector based on multimodal hubs - Aktau and Kuryk ports.
In the teleconference mode, Nursultan Nazarbayev launched a road and rail service along the multimodal routes “Kuryk port - Tazhen Frontier Customs Post”, “Kuryk port - Dry Port in the special economic zone “Khorgos - Eastern Gate”.
The participation in the Fifth Caspian Summit and the signing of Aktau Convention became the most important events in the working schedule of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The President of Azerbaijan - Ilham Aliyev, Iran - Hasan Rukhani, Russia - Vladimir Putin and Turkmenistan - Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow arrived for the Summit at the invitation of the Kazakh President.
During the summit, they discussed the issues of the legal status of the Caspian Sea, cooperation in the Caspian Sea in the sphere of economy, transport, ecology and security.
Speaking with the key report during the plenary session, the President of Kazakhstan emphasized the role of the previous Caspian summits, which gave the necessary political impetus to the negotiation process and stimulated the achievement of consensus on the differences in positions.
The Head of State pointed out that the Caspian region has a unique history and diverse culture. Significant human resources and the richest natural resources are concentrated here. The sea also has an important geopolitical significance due to its favourable location.
“To date, the Caspian countries have great potential and are developing dynamically. The total population of our states is about 240 million people. All that has made it necessary to jointly resolve the entire range of issues related to the Caspian Sea”, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
The President of Kazakhstan noted that the Convention is the principal comprehensive document regulating the rights and obligations of the parties with respect to the Caspian Sea, including its waters, the bottom, subsoil, natural resources and airspace. In this context, Nursultan Nazarbayev emphasized that special attention was paid to issues of ensuring security, preventing and preventing the consequences of emergencies and military activities of the Caspian states.
The Head of State has separately dwelled on the fundamental principles of the activities of the Convention’s member countries. Among them is transformation of the Caspian Sea into a zone of peace, good-neighbourliness and friendship; its use for peaceful purposes; respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity; lack of presence of armed forces on the Caspian Sea that do not belong to the parties.
The President of Kazakhstan stressed that the Convention opens up broad prospects for strengthening peaceful cooperation in the Caspian, and announced a number of additional measures in this direction.
“The proximity of the Caspian Sea to areas of political instability requires the Caspian states to establish mutually beneficial and effective cooperation in the field of security. I propose to conclude a five-sided agreement on confidence-building measures in the field of military activities”, the President of Kazakhstan said.
In the context of further developing investment cooperation and implementing projects in the energy and exploration sector, Nursultan Nazarbayev stated that it is necessary to make full use of the possibilities of the Convention and the documents to be inked.
In the context of increasing transport and transit capacities, the President of Kazakhstan proposed to optimize the tariff policy and improve transportation conditions in the Convention’s member countries.
“In order to preserve the unique ecological system of the Caspian Sea, it is necessary to adopt a separate document to combat the illegal fishing of biological resources”, the Head of State said.
Following the Fifth Caspian Summit, the following documents have been also inked:
1. Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea.
2. Protocol on Cooperation in the field of combating terrorism in the Caspian Sea.
3. Protocol on Cooperation in the field of combating organized crime in the Caspian Sea.
4. Agreement between the governments of the Caspian states on trade and economic cooperation.
5. Agreement between the governments of the Caspian states on cooperation in the field of transport.
6. Agreement on prevention of incidents in the Caspian Sea.
7. Protocol on Cooperation and interaction of border agencies.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, noting the success of the talks, stressed that in the process of preparing the Convention, all countries proceeded from the interests of ensuring political stability, development of the Caspian region, preservation and enhancement of its natural resources.
“The culmination of many years of painstaking work is signing the Convention today on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. The Convention is a kind of Constitution of the Caspian Sea. It is called upon to resolve the entire complex of issues related to the rights and obligations of coastal states, and also to become a guarantor of security, stability and prosperity in the region”, the President of Kazakhstan stated.
In conclusion, the Head of State stressed that Aktau Summit once again demonstrated the ability of the Caspian countries to jointly solve large-scale tasks and expressed confidence that the adopted international treaties and agreements reached would contribute to the fullest disclosure of the potential of the Caspian Five.
At the end of the summit, the Presidents of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani, Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow have made statements.
Saltanat Suraganova
Photo by the press service of Akorda and by Bauyrzhan Zhuasbayev
