Kazakhstan and the UAE are linked by strong diplomatic relations that began in the early 90s of the last century, after the disappearance from the world maps of the Soviet Union and Kazakhstan becoming an independent state in 1991. Recently, a new consul general of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kairat Kaiyrbekuly Lama Sharif, was appointed in the UAE, who kindly agreed to give an interview to our magazine.
Kairat Kaiyrbekuly, please tell us how your diplomatic career took shape before being appointed Consul General in the UAE?
My career as a diplomat began in 1993 when, after Kazakhstan gained independence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the republic was formed. Then a lot of educated people were invited to work in this ministry, including university professors who speak different foreign languages and who were abroad. I was among those invited, starting my career as the third secretary of the consular service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Then, in the same 1993, the Republic of Kazakhstan opened its first embassy in the Middle East - in Egypt. I worked there from 1993 to 1996, first as the third secretary, and later as the second. Upon returning to Kazakhstan, I continued my activities in the Department of Asia and the Middle East of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In general, for 13 years now, as a professional orientalist who is fluent in Arabic, I have been serving my country.
I must say that back in Soviet times (1984-85) I studied in Jordan and graduated from the Arabic courses at Amman University. A little later, in 1986-89. He worked as a translator of Soviet-Yemeni contracts in South Yemen, and since 1991 he taught Arabic language and literature at Kazakh State University. In those years, I repeatedly went abroad as part of the delegations of Kazakhstan and participated in many international conferences on the lines of the Islamic Development Bank, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which were held in Libya, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.
From my last trip to Egypt, I returned in 2001 and was appointed head of the Department of the Middle East and Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. In 2004, a new unit was opened in the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, called the "Foreign Policy Center", where I was lucky to work as the chief inspector. In addition, since 2001, I was one of the official translators of the President of Kazakhstan and accompanied the head of state on many trips to countries in the Arab region. So in 2004, accompanying Nursultan Nazarbayev, I first came to the UAE. Then there was a memorable meeting between the Presidents of Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates, at which I was lucky to work as an interpreter for the first President of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan. And two years before that, in 2002, I had a meeting between the President of Kazakhstan and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (now President of the UAE) Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who was visiting our republic.
It turns out that long before your official appointment as the Consul General of Kazakhstan in the UAE, could you have a clear idea of the main directions of bilateral relations? After all, everything that was discussed during the negotiations of the heads of state concerned precisely the issues of cooperation in various fields.
Of course, from what the presidents said, my own interest in the Emirates began to take shape. This was particularly influenced by the visit of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to Kazakhstan in 2002. Of course, I was in the UAE as a tourist, but after a two-year period of work in the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, I looked at this country with completely different eyes. Now, already as the Consul General, and after several working visits of our president and official government delegations of Kazakhstan here, I can absolutely say that it is a priority in relations between our countries.
You mentioned the visit of Nursultan Nazarbayev to Abu Dhabi in February this year, after which the heads of several Kazakh ministries and departments came to the Emirates. Could you tell us more about the goals and results of these trips?
You correctly noted that in recent years there have been very intensive business contacts between our two countries. So, in the first quarter of 2006, on behalf of the head of state, the government delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, headed by Deputy Prime Minister K. Masimov, held negotiations with the leadership of the UAE. Following the meetings, an important bilateral document was signed, which is called the "Action Plan of the Republic of Kazakhstan - United Arab Emirates." It fixes the main directions of our cooperation.
As you probably know, in March this year, the President of Kazakhstan addressed the citizens of the country with his annual message, where the main priority was Kazakhstan's entry into the 50 most competitive countries in the world. To achieve this goal, Kazakhstan needs to do a lot, including establishing strong bilateral cooperation with Muslim countries. The emirates in terms of pace of development, mentality, standard of living is a very indicative state for us. We try to adopt the best practices in areas such as attracting investment and working effectively with investors. Therefore, the "Action Plan" we signed will allow Kazakhstan to attract Arab, including Emirate, investments in many national projects. We already have a good experience of cooperation. When we were building the road from Almaty to Astana, part of the project was funded by the Abu Dhabi Development Fund. Negotiations are underway on the construction of a business and hotel high-rise complex "Abu Dhabi Towers" in the center of the new capital, the city of Astana. Another ambitious project recorded in the "Action Plan" is the construction of the National Center for Cardiac Surgery with 180 beds in Astana. We also want, by analogy with the Dubai Knowledge Village, to build a scientific and educational town in Kazakhstan, therefore, the mayor of Astana and a representative of the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan were among the members of the official delegation. We are very interested in the experience of functioning of free economic zones, especially near the capital and in port cities, as well as issues of designing urban infrastructure, including highways, road junctions and bridges.
Strong business and cultural contacts have already been established between Dubai and Almaty, as Dubai is the second largest city in the UAE, where financial institutions, trade and tourism are booming, and Kazakhstan’s leadership plans make Almaty the “financial and trade capital” of the country. In recent years, there has been an increase in tourist flow from Kazakhstan to the UAE, as well as an increased interest of the local business community in Kazakhstan. It is no accident that one of the three main emirate carriers, Al-Arabia Airlines, has been successfully operating regular flights to Astana and Almaty from Sharjah Airport since last October. During a recent trip of the delegation of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Abu Dhabi, the parties also considered the possibility of opening flights of the emirate airline Al-Ittihad to Kazakhstan. According to our estimates, the flow of tourists from Kazakhstan to the UAE last year amounted to more than 15 thousand people; The Consulate General issued over two thousand visas to foreigners wishing to visit our country. More than 600 businessmen from Kazakhstan successfully manage their companies open in the UAE, including in the SEZ. All this suggests that the mutual interest of the two countries is constantly growing, and at all levels.
Judging by your words, Kazakhstan and the UAE have far-reaching strategic plans for bilateral cooperation. A lot of contacts take place in Abu Dhabi. Does the leadership of Kazakhstan plan to open an embassy of the republic in the capital of the UAE?
This is one of the main tasks that will be implemented this year. The decision to open an embassy of Kazakhstan in the UAE has already been made at the highest level. Moreover, in October 2005, the UAE embassy was opened in Astana. It remains to complete all the necessary formalities and, I think, very soon you will be able to take part in the official opening ceremony of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Abu Dhabi.
With your permission, I will ask the last, traditional question. What would you like to wish the readers of our magazine, among which there are many citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan?
I want to wish all your readers peace and prosperity. Kazakhstan is a secular multiconfessional state with more than 100 different nationalities. Emirates also live peacefully and work people from different parts of the world. This country is unique in its own way. The pace of its development is simply amazing. Where everything is riddled with mutual respect and understanding for each other, countries follow the path of creation and success. So, Kazakhstan and the UAE - along the way. We have something to learn from each other. We are waiting for many more great things to come.
