Kazakhstan's Ambassador to India Doulat Kuanyshev believes that ties with India will continue to flourish and prosper in spite of the political churning that is taking place in India, given that elections are just a few months away.
In an article that has appeared in the Astana Times newspaper recently, Ambassador Kuanyshev speaks of his admiration for the Indian way of life, including its traditions, symbols and unique rituals.
Describing the year 2014 as "fateful" for Indian politics, he says that the country is in the midst of a "very active and at times fierce electoral campaign", but adds that its outcome will in no way have an impact on the positive and forward looking bilateral ties that both India and Kazakhstan enjoy.
"Kazakhstan's relations with India have always been warm and friendly. Bilateral relations between Astana and Delhi are based on equal partnership, mutual respect and understanding. Ties between the two countries, maturing from year to year, show great potential, which has everything to once again bring the Kazakhstan-India relations to a new level of cooperation," Ambassador Kuanyshev says in his article.
"Establishing new contacts, regular signing of major projects demonstrate the progressive development of bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation. The recent state-of-the-nation address by President Nazarbayev attracted wide interest in India. The Kazakh leader's call on developing an "Eternal Land' concept, in particular, drew special attention as nationhood in the modern and diverse world is always in the focus of the Indian public opinion. That is why Indian delegations to the traditional sessions of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions tend to be the most multifaceted and colourful," he adds.
Describing both countries as multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, multi-cultural societies committed to following secular policies and to countering fundamentalism, religious extremism and terrorism, the Kazakh envoy reiterates that Kazakhstan respects and recognizes India's global and regional standing.
"India is one of the key players in political, economic, global and regional affairs. We see the growth of India and we have full appreciation for the opportunities India's growth presents to the world and to our part of it," he says.
In the article, he also dwells on the significant landmarks of Kazakh-India diplomatic relations since 1992. He also says that India has been consistently and actively supporting the CICA process initiated by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1992.
"Its idea of a full-fledged security and cooperation mechanism is very much in concert with aspirations of India for the continent, being a founding member and a driving force of the Non-Aligned movement, SAARC, BRICS, IBSA, among others," Ambassador Kuanyshev maintains.
He also praises India for its support as an observer in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and adds that there is a considerable positive interest among members to engage India more actively and substantively as a full member of the organization.
Today, he says Kazakhstan accounts for more than half of India's trade with the Central Asian countries.
"Bilateral trade between India and Kazakhstan increased from USD 120 million in 2005 to almost half a billion dollars in 2012. During the nine months of 2013, this figure reached $505 million," he reveals in his article.
At the same time, he says that one of the biggest impediments to expanding bilateral trade is the lack of direct connectivity.
He says there is a need for constructing new routes from North to South, which he believes will play an important role in the development of trade and economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and India.
"India has been invited to be a part of the Eurasia Project to develop oil and gas assets in the north Caspian Sea area. ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) is keen to participate in it. Currently, OVL, in close cooperation with KazMunayGas (KMG), finalizes preparations to start drilling on Satpayev exploration project. The Indian side proposal to establish a joint working group to study the possibility of constructing a pipeline from Shymkent in the south Kazakhstan to the border of India has received positive feedback in Kazakhstan. Since 2010, Kazakhstan's KazStroyService (KSS) engineering, procurement and construction company's has signed up to perform works in Indian infrastructure projects worth more than $600 million. Another Kazakhstan company, Azimut Energy Services, signed a contract with Cairn India Ltd. to work on implementation of a seismic survey in Rajasthan," Ambassador Kuanyshev writes.
"Nowadays, several private Indian companies have a significant presence in Kazakhstan such as Punj Lloyd Kazakhstan Ltd., KEC International Ltd., TCS and others. They have been active in the market in the area of construction of oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines, IT etc. Indian companies are also keen to bid for infrastructure and construction projects in Kazakhstan in the field of road and railway construction, electric power transmission and distribution, telecommunications, power generation etc. According to the statistics, more than 500 joint ventures are registered in Kazakhstan, of which 190 are fully funded by Indian capital," he adds.
He concludes by saying that prospects of cooperation between Kazakhstan and India are bright.
"We have agreed to work very closely and pragmatically to develop connectivity between South Asia and Central Asia. This is the key answer to many challenges which lie before us. We hope that with the strength and potential of India we will be absolutely able to develop those connecting opportunities in multiple forms," he said.
