BY STEPHEN BLANK
Since gaining independence in 1991, Kazakhstan's foreign and defense policies have consistenly followed a so-called multi-vector policy. Although Russia and China are clearly prirority relationships for Kazakshtan, Astana has sought to balance its ties to those states in both foreign and defense policies by cultivating mutually beneficial relations with other key global actors. This pattern seems set to continue in 2010, when Kazakhstan serves as the chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Human Rights Commissioner of Kazakhstan has sent a letter to the Ombudsman of the Kingdom of Thailand in which he asks to provide assistance in ensuring all-round and objective consideration of the incident connected by arrest of four Kazakh pilots.
Customs Union to attract investments to non-primary sector of economy: U.Shukeyev"The establishment of the Customs Union will attract investments to non-primary sectors of the economy", First Vice Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Umirzak Shukeyev said Friday during his interview.
There is twelve month in a year. By analogue with this we collected twelve events and trends, which were clearly come up in Kazakhstan in expiring 2009. They are put together not as a rating, because importance of each event for a specific person depends on how strongly it concerns him personally.
Alina Sagimuldina is attending Custer County High School this year as part of the student foreign exchange program. She is 16 years old and from Rudny, Kazakhstan in the northern part of the country. She will celebrate this Christmas season with her host family, Steve, Wendy and Meredith Barnes. Alina is sure to get a strong dose of the holiday spirit when she accompanies the Barnes's to Missouri where they will gather together with 30 or so family members at Steve's folks' house.
It is like Doctor Faustus' pact with Mephistopholes: immediate benefit to be paid for in treacherous longer-term loss. But should the pact, preliminarily agreed upon between the current state-controlled board of BTA Bank, materialise, those who created the current mess will still be in charge of the process getting out of it. A mere glance at BTA's figures still looks very much like an anti-Hamlet scenario - with the Danish royalty surviving, Duncan holding the strings from abroad and no Fortinbras available to make a fresh re-start. Will the rest be silence...?
