The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, gave an interview to the newspaper "Mother Tongue", reports Egemen.kz .
- Dear Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly, last year in your interview with "Egemen Qazaqstan" newspaper , you summed up the year and outlined the priority areas of work to be carried out in the future. Such interviews become a good tradition . This allows our citizens to deeply understand the significance of measures related to the development of our country. I think we will have a meaningful and open conversation today. The first question: What was special for Kazakhstan last year?
- Many important events took place last year, a lot of work was done. For example, work on modernizing the dilapidated engineering and utility infrastructure was carried out in all regions. 18 million square meters of real estate was commissioned. 7 thousand kilometers of roads were built and repaired. New passenger terminals were opened at Almaty, Kyzylorda and Shymkent airports. Large - scale projects were implemented in the fields of mining, petrochemical and metallurgy . The recycling sector began to develop rapidly. Its share in the industry is close to the level of the manufacturing sector . It is worth noting the success of our farmers, who have collected about 27 million tons of grain and achieved a record level in the last ten years.
In last year's interview, I said that 2024 will be a particularly important year for Kazakhstan. In fact, it turned out to be so.
Although complex for our country, we undertook systematic economic reforms and laid a solid foundation for our next five-year development. For that, many important projects and initiatives have been implemented. More extensive work will be done in the future.
Kazakhstan is a social state. Therefore, since last year, payments have been made within the framework of the "National Fund for Children" program. Pensions, allowances, scholarships and salaries of civil servants have increased. Hundreds of new schools, kindergartens and physical education centers have been built all over the country. Branches of more than ten prestigious foreign higher educational institutions have been opened. The volume of funding for science has increased, significant support is being provided to employees of the cultural sector. Emphasis was placed on the development of mass sports. All this can be called a useful investment to increase the creative potential of citizens.
Now the world is experiencing an unprecedentedly complicated geopolitical situation. Nevertheless, Kazakhstan strengthened its position in the international arena as a state that plays an effective role in establishing a dialogue for peace. This situation helps to ensure the security of our country and stable development of our economy.
In general, the last year was not easy, it was even a difficult year. Kazakhstan was affected by external factors, natural disasters also affected our plans. However, we not only managed to keep the situation under control, but also continued our comprehensive reforms. Thus, the creative strategy is being implemented further.
- You mentioned last year's natural disaster, that is, you mentioned the catastrophic flood that covered half of the regions. At that time, you gave a specific task to the authorized bodies to eliminate the consequences of the accident. Since then, people have witnessed that a large-scale work has been done. But many problems that were buried during the flood were revealed. What lessons did the state learn from this natural disaster?
- Last year's flood was a great test for our country. Such a catastrophic flood has never happened in Kazakhstan before. The state has taken urgent measures to avert the enormous threat. People were moved to a safe place in a timely manner, temporary shelters were developed for them, permission was given to use the material reserve. Employees of not only the Ministry of Emergency Situations, but also the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Defense, the National Guard and other structures, a total of about 63 thousand people, were mobilized for rescue operations. Thanks to that, we saved many citizens and kept them alive. This is the most important thing.
We are all convinced that we can overcome such calamities only if we are one country and one people and can pull together. We saw the potential of the volunteer movement during the floods. Volunteers from all over the country helped the rescuers, organized humanitarian aid and supported the victims.
The torrential water was really strong: houses, roads, bridges, social and commercial facilities were damaged, some livestock were killed. If enough attention had been paid to the construction of dams and hydraulic installations over decades, the consequences of the disaster would not have been so severe. It must be acknowledged. Now we have corrected the error and started filling the gap. The draft of the new Water Code is being considered in the Parliament. The concept of water resources management and its comprehensive plan were approved. It provides for the construction of more than 40 reservoirs and the repair of 37 reservoirs by 2030. It is also planned to modernize irrigation canals with a total length of more than 14 thousand kilometers.
Large-scale work on the modernization of the system of emergency forecasting and prevention has begun. The Kazakh National University of Water Management and Irrigation was established to solve the problem of shortage of water specialists and to revive research activities.
At the beginning of December last year, the One Water Summit was held in Saudi Arabia. I participated in this collegiate meeting chaired by Kazakhstan and France and gave a speech. There, I specifically focused on the need to increase resilience to water-related disasters. In fact, the international community must act together to ensure water security and combat climate change. Kazakhstan prioritizes this issue.
Life itself shows that in difficult moments, the hidden evils in society are exposed. But every difficulty has a good side. Therefore, it is better to be serious during a crisis. We need to be able to make the right decisions about the actual problems and find the source of the matter.
Usually, stories are often told of unwarranted criticism of civil servants. However, everything is relative. It is differentiated especially by comparison with other countries. We have successfully passed through all the crisis situations since the coronavirus outbreak.
Measures taken to eliminate the consequences of spring floods have shown that the state can work effectively. Not a single affected family was left without assistance. A house was built, an apartment was given, infrastructure facilities were restored, all residents and businessmen affected by flood water were compensated. All this was done in a very short period of time. Representatives of large businesses also made a significant contribution to the elimination of the consequences of the flood.
In today's turbulent world, man-made disasters and natural disasters are increasing. Many countries, including developed countries, are not ready to overcome all of them. We clearly saw this in 2024. Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done. However, in terms of emergency response, Kazakhstan is in a decent position compared to other countries.
In the last days of December, the plane of the Azerbaijan Airlines crashed in the city of Aktau. 38 people died, including 6 citizens of our country. There are also many seriously injured. Every second is precious at this moment. Rescuers, doctors and law enforcement officers acted quickly and harmoniously, showed a high level of professionalism and civil responsibility. The workers of the nearby Mangystau regional electricity network company immediately came to help. Residents of the neighborhood also participated in rescuing the injured. Thanks to the self-sacrifice of our citizens, we saved as many lives as possible. I express my sincere gratitude to everyone who participated in the rescue efforts. The sympathy and desire of the Kazakh people for the victims of the disaster was clearly seen in the rush of our citizens to donate blood.
I would like to note that a government commission was established to determine the cause of the plane crash. At the same time, 17 international experts were invited. It includes experts from the International Civil Aviation Organization and the Interstate Aviation Committee. The government commission decided to send a special device with all the information to Brazil, the country that made the plane. I am sure that this step is the only correct decision necessary for the objective and impartial conduct of the investigation.
Interlocutor - Yerlan JUNIS
The full content of the interview of the Head of State is available here:
