30 years of Independence: Kazakhstan’s formula of peace and harmony
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On August 29, the world celebrates the International Day against Nuclear Tests, an important reminder of the need for peace in today’s world. An international event that would not be possible without the peace efforts by Kazakhstan.
After its independence in 1991, Kazakhstan was the fourth largest country in the world in terms of nuclear arsenal, as one of ex-USSR countries, and was famous for the Semipalatinsk test site which was used for more than 40 years. Experts say that the total power of all explosions committed between 1949 and 1963 exceeded the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb by 2,500 times.
Striving for the nuclear security, the country took a significant step towards peace efforts by closing the Semipalatinsk site on August 29, 1991 and refusing all nuclear tests.
Kazakhstan’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev had a leading role in helping his country and the world to resolve this problem, and in 2009 he proposed to declare August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests.
Nazarbayev’s proposal was supported by the UN General Assembly and 26 countries joined Kazakhstan as co-authors of the resolution on International Day against Nuclear Tests.
According to this resolution, events are held annually on this day to remind the world of the terrible consequences of nuclear tests and the need to protect and preserve peace.
The international community recognizes the historical importance of this day, and Malaysia is one of the countries that actively promote the idea of non-proliferation and advocates the complete elimination of nuclear weapons under the Declaration on a Zone of Peace, Freedom, and Neutrality (1971).
The KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific President Tan Sri Michael Yeoh in the statement stressed that “Malaysia as a force for peace and harmony is committed to achieving security and stability of a world without nuclear weapons. Ultimately, nuclear weapons have no place in our world”.
“As the world celebrates the International Day against Nuclear Tests on 29th August, we are reminded of the threat of nuclear weapon test explosions to humanity. We value the efforts that have been made by the First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev towards the global security. We call upon the nations around the world to uphold a rules-based international order by reiterating their commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons” he added.
Aside from common values on abolishing nuclear weapons, Kazakhstan and Malaysia have a lot in common. The two nations share an established bilateral relation in fields of diplomacy, culture, and business.
And both countries have followed a friendly cooperative relation with all neighbouring countries, maintaining their independent positions on many global and regional issues. The most significant feature of Kazakhstan and Malaysia is having a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural population, which was a concern for unrest amid independence for both countries.
This year Kazakhstan marks the 30th Anniversary of its Independence, and the country is celebrating this historical event with a model of peace and harmony despite having a variety of different ethnicities and cultures.
Kazakhstan prioritized interethnic stability and tolerance in the development of the country, and it based its national policy on transparent and clearly postulated principles, including the search for interethnic interaction, public stability as the basis for a fair solution to the national issue, the rule of law, strengthening of state independence, and an active integration policy.
This helped the country develop interethnic relations through the equality of citizens, and the preservation and development of cultural and linguistic space.
In 1995, the Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev established the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan, an advisory body under the President’s supervision. It has an essential role in the political system, preserving the interests of all ethnic groups in Kazakhstan and protecting their rights and freedoms. Nine members of the Assembly are presented in the lower chamber of the Parliament of Kazakhstan – Majlis.
The policy of peaceful development of Kazakhstan’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev led to the investments flow to the country and subsequently to the fast economic development of Kazakhstan. In 2019, following the nationwide elections Kassym-Jomart Tokayev assumed the role of the Head of Country and became the 2nd President of Kazakhstan. President Tokayev’s government continues to implement a significant package of political reforms as part of his program towards the development of Kazakhstan’s socio-economic and political life.
To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Kazakhstan’s Independence Embassy organised the photo exhibition on its website. Click the link to visit the exhibition: https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-kuala-lumpur/press/news/details/244973?lang=en
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