His Excellency, President Nazarbayev,
Distinguished members of his delegation,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have the great honour this morning of introducing President Nursultan Nazarbayev to you. When the Soviet Union was suddenly dissolved in 1991, an event which was presented to the Central Asian republics as a fait accompli, he led the Kazakh people to a destiny they were not fully prepared for.

In 12 short years, he has forged a nation with a strong sense of itself and established an economy which is now galloping along at about 10% a year. This is recounted in his book ‘The Critical Decade’ which was launched in Singapore just last Saturday.

From the start, President Nazarbayev was determined to infuse in his people who are of different ethnic groups the spirit of a common nationhood. A critical decision he made very early was to build the new capital city of Astana in the centre of the country. Having visited it a few months ago, I believe that Astana will become the greatest city in Central Asia at the intersection of North and South, East and West.

President Nazarbayev positioned Kazakhstan carefully for a new global configuration. He made sure that the closest links with Russia were maintained. Kazakhstan shares a border with Russia that is almost 7000 km long. Kazakhstan has just signed an agreement to integrate its economy with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, creating a common economic space. President Nazarbayev reached out to a China which is growing fast and which will become more important as an economic partner. He was one of the leaders who formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation which brings together Kazakhstan, Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in greater co-operation. President Nazarbayev also built links to the United States. Following September 11, he extended assistance to the United States in its fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. All these strategic moves were skilfully made. As a result, Kazakhstan today has good links to all the major economic powers and is a good friend to all its neighbours.

With stability and peace, Kazakhstan has been able to concentrate on economic development. Although endowed with a wealth of oil, gas and other natural resources, President Nazarbayev is determined to develop Kazakhstan as a high-tech, industrial economy and not allow the flush of revenue from oil and gas to distort prices and cause other sectors to lag behind.

The growing relationship between Kazakhstan and Singapore was first started by President Nazarbayev. This is of course a great honour to us. Singapore is far away and but a tiny speck compared to his huge country. In 1991, he invited Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew to visit Kazakhstan. SM Lee saw the potential of Kazakhstan and was intrigued by President Nazarbayev’s interest in the Singapore model of development.

In 1996, President Nazarbayev visited Singapore and laid the foundation for regular exchanges between our two countries. His visit this time will bring our two countries much closer together. Under his leadership, Minister Dzhaksybekov and I signed an agreement last Friday on economic cooperation and technical and information exchange. We encourage Singapore’s private sector to participate in growth sectors in Kazakhstan such as e-government, marine engineering, oil and gas, petrochemicals, electronics, infocommunications and technology parks.

Singapore is proud to be a partner in Kazakhstan’s development. We are flattered that there is considerable interest in the Singapore model of development by Kazakh officials. We welcome them to study our successes and failures as they implement new policies and design new institutions for Kazakhstan.

There are many opportunities open to Singapore businessmen in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is determined to diversify its economy and giving great emphasis to manufacturing, services and technology. Last year, financial services grew by 50%. The infrastructural sector is booming, with construction growing 20% last year.

Several Singapore companies are now in Kazakhstan in a variety of sectors. In April this year, Keppel Offshore & Marine, an arm of the Keppel Group, set up Kazakhstan’s first offshore shipyard on the Caspian Sea. ST Engineering recently signed an MOU with Kazakhstan Engineering, a state-owned conglomerate. Singapore-listed Food Empire is well known for its instant coffee in Kazakhstan. Singapore companies would also find opportunities in ICT, logistics, industrial parks, infrastructure and real estate. Changi Airport is discussing with the Kazakhstan Government on the provision of consultancy and management services to Astana Airport.

Kazakhstan will be an important gateway for us to the rest of Central Asia. Under the Eurasian Economic Community, Kazakhstan is working to enhance its Customs Union with Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

In the opposite direction, we encourage Kazakh companies to use Singapore as their regional base for Southeast, East and South Asia. Many foreign companies use Singapore for this purpose. Singapore is home to some 6,000 MNCs and more than 10,000 foreign SMEs. More business activities will justify better air connections between our two countries. I hope that Singapore will one day become an important centre for Kazakhstan in our part of the world.

I encourage Singaporeans to visit Kazakhstan for business and pleasure. It is a country of astonishing beauty with an incredible range of landscapes and very hospitable people. One day, in the not-too-distant future, Singaporeans will fly to Almaty for their skiing holidays because it is only 7 hours away by direct flight. The time difference between Singapore and Kazakhstan is only one hour.

It is now my great pleasure to present to you President Nazarbayev.

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