ALMATY, Oct 7
(THE GLOBE)
The US Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Richard H. Jones:
- This is my first KIOGE exhibition in Kazakhstan. My impression is that this year�s exhibition is quite successful. It was very attended. Today John Wolf, special advisor to the US President for Caspian Basin Energy, announced that USA would not support any Iranian oil project. That is correct, we would oppose any Iranian oil project. I think, Mr. Wolf has explained it very well. As far as I understood, the key goal was to assist the countries to develop their natural resources. The natural resources are to make independent states stable. I know that there are a lot of intentions in Kazakhstan to strengthen the sovereignty. Kazakhstan needs reliable outlets for the oil. We do not think that Iranian route is reliable, not only due to question of stability in the country, but Iran is also an energy-producer, and it is a competitor for the other countries. I do not think that it would be suitable for Kazakhstan to use the Iranian direction as an outlet for its crude. We believe that Baku-Ceyhan pipeline proposed, and Caspian Pipeline Consortium are more reliable for Kazakhstan as the outlet to the West.
Ronald V. Lightbown, M.B.E. Regional Executive � Middle East, Rolls-Royce International Limited, Great Britain:
- You know, the exhibition is so active, busy and even noisy. I thought it would be quiet and a little boring. So, I am surprised. We came for the first time to this exhibition. I believe if we are invited again, we will come.
We brought our products (pumps and pump stations for oil pipelines) to KIOGE. Besides, we produce different turbines for airliners. Our company works all over the world (in North America, Western Europe, Venezuela, Columbia, etc.). Actually, we are a Trans-national corporation. The total number of the company�s personnel is about 49 thousand persons.
We participated in Kazakhstan exhibitions 25 years ago, though it was during the soviet period. Today we co-operate with you as an independent state. We would like to widen the sphere of our activity in Kazakhstan. At the present time our company works in the northern part of the Caspian region, at Tengiz oilfield. We co-operate with many oil companies.
Oleg G. Leus, Chief Marketing Specialist, JV Mokveld Marketing, Holland-Ukraine:
- Frankly speaking, the exhibition is attended by people, who are hardly concerned in the oil industry. That means there are few visitors who are professionally interested in the exhibit and display. In general, their interest is idle. They ask questions, that�s all. But I should say that the quality of this exhibition is significantly higher, than of the previous one. We participated in the first KIOGE as well. That one did not impress us greatly. But this exhibition is significantly better.
We brought models of our products (oil and gas pipeline fittings) to KIOGE. Our company mainly produces slide-valves for pipelines.
We have not worked in the Kazakhstan market. Our products are almost unknown in your country. This is one of the main obstacles for the further operations. Of course, we would like to enter your market in the future. For the time being we have no contracts with Kazakhstan companies. So, we leave Kazakhstan with empty hands. The main problem is that your companies do not know our products. I hope, the situation will change positively.
Pyotr NOVIKOV
ALMATY, Oct 4 (THE GLOBE)
An extremely important issue is what will the policy regarding the western capital and investments to Kazakhstan be after the Parliamentary election? What strategy will the new composition of the Parliament choose in this regard? What is the attitude of political parties� leaders to western investments to our economy? Where are the future parliamentarians going to take money to realise the program on overcoming the crisis? The leaders of the main 18 parties both loyal to the President and opposition ones, were asked these and some other questions. Leaders of �Otan�, CPK, Communist Party, �Azamat�, �Orleu�, Working Movement, People�s Congress of Kazakhstan and the rest 11 parties were polled. The total number of questioned leaders were 18.
The question regarding the role of foreign investments to the economy and industry of our country, leaders of the parties referred to the 1st and the 2nd places. Thus, they emphasised an extreme importance of this issue. But as far as the efficacy of investments is concerned, it was evaluated as low. In leaders� opinion, the reason for such a low result depends on a non-purposeful utilisation of investments. That is why this situation makes the economic course dependent on investments (sale of strategic resources at a very low price, and an inappropriate high price of investments for taxpayers). According to the same leaders, rarely the effect of the investment is used within an enterprise.
To the question regarding the management of the strategic national objects by foreign companies, representatives of the parties also evaluated the foreign management as a poor one. They stated almost a zero efficacy and unjustness of the loss incurred by the national business. In their opinion, at companies managed by foreigners, tasks are being settled only for a short-term period.
To the question whether they have in their pre-election program the policy on investments, they answered that their programs included such a policy. Programs of the parties welcome foreign investments. Though these programs are not the main thing, but they are to accompany the production growth, internal investments and capitals. The future deputies are going to attract foreign investments further. According to the leaders, they are going to protect the growth of the internal capital.
Among the investment sources for the parties� programs to lead the country out of the crisis, representatives of the parties mentioned foreign investments, legalisation of shadow capitals and repatriation of the imported money. Communists are going to re-nationalise important objects.
The poll results prove, leaders of parties and movements are going to attract western investments and capital. they are not satisfied how these investments are being utilised. Leaders believe that capitals are being directed to any places, except where they are to be spent. Further they are going to readjust the investment inflows according to their direct purpose.
ALMATY, Oct 7
(THE GLOBE)
�USA will not support any oil projects, which may be directly profitable for Iran,� John Wolf, the US President special advisor on the Caspian basin resources announced on Thursday at �Oil and Gas� conference in Almaty.
According to Mr. Wolf, �Baku-Jeikhan� project is a competitive and promising route, which will meet the interests of oil oil-producing countries of the Caspian basin.
�We also support the idea that all countries of the region to have an equal access to the pipeline �Baku-Jeikhan�,�, the officer of the US President�s administration stated.
Mr. Wolf also hopes that the coming election in Kazakhstan will honest and just.
�We expect that after the negotiations with Vladimir Putin, in 2000 Russia will increase the transit quote of the Kazakhstan oil export up to 15 million tons per annum,� another spokesman, the deputy acting Minister of Energy, Industry and Trade announced on the second day of the conference.
The final negotiations on this issue, Mr. Dosaev said, would be held till late November, 1999. By that time the Chinese party is expected to submit the technical-economic feasibility on Western Kazakhstan-China project to the government.
Yanks Blazhevich, the representative of the Latvian company �Ventspils Nafta� told the audience about the possible transportation of the Kazakhstan oil via the Latvian transit corridor.
�Unlike other oil pipeline projects, this variant does not require great investments. Kazakhstan oil may be transported through Russian pipeline network to Latvian borders. Further the oil will be transported to Europe via the port of Ventspils,� he said.
However, according to Mr. Blazhevich, �to do this it is necessary to set up a small piece of a pipeline.�
�But it will take minimum money and time,� the representative of the Latvian port emphasised.
He considers an unfreezing and deep port, a free economic zone and a privileged transit tariff as advantages of this route.
ALMATY, Oct 7
(THE GLOBE)
Recently a significant attention is being paid in the republic to innovations of the telecommunication market both by companies-operators and potential users. It is not a secrete that many users in Kazakhstan are not satisfied with the quality of the present communication with Internet. Don�t you agree? Are you satisfied? Then recall your feelings when you could not get an accurate connection with Internet for a long time, due to irritating disconnection every five minutes or when you could not get an Internet-provider server.
Now we may with a definite degree of confidence state that the decision of all these problems irritating practically all users of the �world-wide web� has been found.
Recently, about a month ago the national data transmission network �Kazakhstan Online� was put into exploitation. This network has safely united 18 towns of the republic with the ground optical and micro-wave terrestrial channels. This company proposed the latest opportunity of the access to Internet on the basis of ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) technology.
At the present time the world telecommunication community pays intent attention to possibilities of the development and application to this technology. In this regard, Kazakhstan also was on the roadside of significant modem technology changes observed all over the world.
Now this up-to-date modem technology is being introduced in the local market.
What is the attractiveness of the ADSL technology and why may it be useful for us, common users?
According to western specialists, this new modem technology allows to access to the informational source such as Internet on the basis of a standard telephone line. The innovation allows to achieve a speed of up to 8 Mbytes/sec in a subscriber�s direction. In the reverse direction the speed is up to 736 Kbytes/sec. The figures seem striking, especially if we take into consideration the possibility to transform simultaneously both the voice and data, i.e. at the same time when you speak over telephone with your friend, your child (younger generation) is travelling in Internet space at a super-natural speed. Undoubtedly, this is the most successful technical decision of the problem on informatisation of the domestic users� sector. Though, the maximum speed of the line depends on a number of factors, including the length of the line and thickness of the telephone cable, you will never hear �a busy� signal, as it is a constant connection. You should agree, for the Kazakhstan Internet market, which is tired due to constant problems of a low communication quality, regularly broken joints and endlessly long minutes of awaiting, the possibility to have almost a leased line at the Dial-up price may be a tempting proposal. �Domestic users� will be especially interested in this proposal, as well as a small business, as maintenance of two telephones (one for Internet and another for telephonic talks) is expensive.
As far as the application to ADSL technology is concerned, we may state with confidence that now interactive multimedia appendixes requiring high rates are available for the physical user. This technology also gives new opportunities to settle the distance education problem, which has aroused the interest by the high educational institutions of the republic.
The advantages of the complex centralised approach to the development of the republican telecommunication infrastructure used by �Kazakhstan Online� are obvious. This approach allows to cover practically all groups of users: now the common people may afford what previously have been available to big companies only.
The increased activity of the Kazakhstan telecommunication market is evident now, first of all in the field of provision with the access to the up-to-date technologies of the telecommunication world. Let�s hope that in the future other innovations of the world�s technologies (not only telecommunication ones) will be properly used in Kazakhstan.
Note:
�Kazakhstan Online� network was established to provide a full telecommunication service-package. This is first of all a connection of natural persons and corporate clients to Internet and establishment of corporate networks on the basis of separated channels and Frame Relay channels. Clients of the network may be also different secondary or independent providers, who require channels of �Kazakhstan Online�. The network consists of 34 nodes, located in 18 biggest towns of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Units of the network are connected with each other with digital terrestrial channels. This allows to improve significantly the transmission quality. The total capacity of the network is 43 Mbytes.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan
To, The editorial staff THE GLOBE
In connection with the article �Supply of weapons to North Korea: was there any official contract?� published by your newspaper dated October 7, we give the following explanations:
Indeed, the official contract, evading which MIGs were sold to North Korea, was mentioned in the announcement of the head of the Kazakhstan Foreign Department. It was regarding the contract, according to which the above-mentioned fighters were intended for the National Defense Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but not for DPRK, as it was wrongly supposed in the publication. The announcement of the Committee of National Security of RK dated September 14, 1999 contains the detailed information about it, as well as other concrete facts on the investigation of the incident. We recommend the author of the article to get acquainted with the same.
The announcement by head of the Foreign Ministry was aimed to explain the official position of the Kazakhstan government regarding the problem, but not to ascertain separate details of the investigation, which is a prerogative of CNS of RK.
The first deputy the Minister E. Idrisov
From the editorial staff: THWE GLOBE attracts readers� attention to the dates of the published materials: the announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is dated September 12, while the explanation by CNS was published two days later.
It seems to us that the announcement by the Foreign Ministry is a self-sufficient material. At least, it should be so. Bosnia and Herzegovina were not mentioned in the announcement of the head of the Foreign Department at all.
We offer you to remind the incident with the arrest of the aircraft in Baku and the confusion with the documents, which took place in March, 1999: the Russian Foreign Ministry, to which the aircraft transported the Kazakhstan fighters belonged, ascertained that the cargo was to go to Slovakia. Members of the crew of the arrested aircraft announced that the plane was supposed to go to North Korea, while the documents received by the Customs department, stipulated the Czech Republic as a destination. Later the Minister of Foreign Affairs of RK Mr. Tokaev confirmed that in 1998 Kazakhstan ad signed a contract with a Czech company.
THE GLOBE thanks the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan for the exhaustive and fast response.
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