Tag Archives: Kazakhstan

Clinton in Central Asia / Elections in Cote d’Ivoire / Good News for Polar Bears

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In Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has a new parliamentary democracy and Kazakhstan is emerging as a force. The U.S. says that the provisional results of Cote d’Ivoire’s election should stand. Iran has an opportunity to improve relations with the international community. The top U.S. negotiator calls for ratification of START. Entrepreneurs are needed to lead economic growth in Africa. And, finally, the U.S. is moving to protect the habitat of Alaskan polar bears.

Democracy in Kyrgyzstan
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Kyrgyzstan and praised the country’s new parliamentary democracy and the quality of recent national elections. “This is a country that has been through a great deal of change and upheaval … however, the elections show that the people of Kyrgyzstan want to resolve disputes peacefully through politics, not violence,” Clinton, at right with Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva, said.


An Emerging Kazakhstan
Hosting the first summit in 11 years of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe highlights Kazakhstan’s emergence as a force in Central Asia, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says. “As the first former Soviet Republic to lead the OSCE as an independent nation, Kazakhstan has helped to focus attention on Central Asia’s challenges, as well as its many opportunities,” says Clinton.

Cote d’Ivoire Election Results
The provisional results of the second round of presidential elections in Cote d’Ivoire show opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara as the victor with 54.1 percent of the vote. These results are a “victory for the Ivorian people” and should stand, says U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs William Fitzgerald.

An Opportunity for Iran
U.S. officials are welcoming Iran’s agreement to hold talks about its nuclear program December 6-7, and say there is still room for Iran to build confidence with the international community. In Kazakhstan, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the meetings offer Iran “an opportunity … to come to the table and discuss the matters that are of concern to the international community,” principally its nuclear program.

A Call for START Ratification
In an op-ed published in the December 1 edition of The Hill, Rose Gottemoeller, assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification and compliance and chief U.S. negotiator of the New START Treaty, calls on the Senate to ratify the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty so the United States can “get back to work with Russia.”

Economic Growth in Africa
As Africa takes its place on the world business stage, entrepreneurs must be ready to play leading roles. Murray Low, director of the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center at the Columbia University Business School, says Africa has “huge business opportunities” and as such, “people are now figuring out how to tap those opportunities.”

Good News For Polar Bears
The U.S. government has designated an area larger than the state of California as “critical” polar bear habitat, a move aimed at protecting the threatened  animals from impacts of climate change. The rapid increase in man-made greenhouse gas emissions has accelerated the melting of sea ice, on which polar bears depend to mate, hunt for food, and raise their cubs.

Clinton in Kazakhstan / Climate Talks in Cancun / World AIDS Day

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In Kazakhstan, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addresses the OSCE Summit and speaks about the role of civil society activism at a town hall meeting. After returning from Asia, Clinton will host foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan in Washington. Faith can be a force for healing among nations, says U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice. At the COP-16 talks in Cancun, countries strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, today is World AIDS Day; read how the United States is leading the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Clinton Urges Stronger OSCE
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to expand its role in promoting human rights, preventing regional conflicts and enhancing security across the continent. Speaking in Kazakhstan, Clinton also outlined U.S. priorities for the OSCE, the first of which is to increase the group’s role in supporting stability in Afghanistan.

The Role of Civil Society Activists
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says governments cannot build strong democracies, thriving economies or stable societies by themselves. “Governments hold so much of the future in their hands, but they are not the most powerful determinant. That is the people themselves, and particularly the organizations that bring people together in civil society,” said Clinton, speaking at a town hall meeting in Astana.

U.S. to Meet Allies on North Korea
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will host the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan in Washington for discussions concerning recent North Korean activities and their impact upon regional security.

Faith Among Nations
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice says faith can be a force for partnership and healing among nations.

Climate Talk at COP-16
Leaders from more than 190 countries are attending the COP-16 climate meeting in Mexico to try to build on commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions made during last year’s gathering in Copenhagen. Though a legally binding treaty remains elusive, some 140 countries have signed on to the Copenhagen Accord, and more than 80 have submitted greenhouse gas reduction targets.

World AIDS Day
Increased U.S. support for antiretroviral treatments will help deliver life-saving drugs to more than 4 million people living with HIV around the world by 2013, the State Department says. “By investing in what we know works, we can save millions more in the future,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says in marking World AIDS Day.

Clinton to Kazakhstan / The U.N. and North Korea / The Skinny on Obesity

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is heading to a summit in Kazakhstan. The U.S wants tighter enforcement of U.N. sanctions on North Korea. You asked why so many Americans are obese; we have some answers. And finally, on the eve of World AIDS Day, we take a look at posters created by young people and a Kenyan doctor who is leading the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Clinton to Attend OSCE Summit
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, will attend the 2010 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Summit December 1–2 in Kazakhstan. “We hope that this event will shine a light on positive developments in Central Asia and the role that the OSCE has played, and can play in the future, in promoting its principles throughout the OSCE region,” says Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake.

U.S. Calls on U.N. to Enforce North Korea Sanctions
The Obama administration called on the United Nations Security Council to tighten the enforcement of U.N. sanctions against North Korea following recent reports that Pyongyang has acquired centrifuges capable of enriching uranium to make nuclear weapons. U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan Rice says U.S. concerns about North Korea’s nuclear activities “have only been heightened” by “North Korea’s deadly, unprovoked attack” on November 23 against South Korea.

The Skinny on Obesity
This essay, by Marion Nestle of New York University, is excerpted from the Living Book “You Asked.” Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health, is the author of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health and What to Eat.

Photo Gallery: “Celebrate Life” on World AIDS Day
In honor of World AIDS Day on December 1, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief invited young people from around the world to create posters reflecting the theme “Celebrate life.” In this photo gallery, see some of their submissions. At left, a submission from India.

A Leader in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Dr. Frederick Sawe is deputy director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute/Walter Reed Project HIV Program, a prevention, research and treatment project run jointly by his home country of Kenya and the U.S. military’s international HIV program. Read about his success.

A New Fund for Women / Clinton’s East Asia Trip / Cows to Kazakhstan

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announces a new $44 million fund devoted to women’s empowerment and preps for her upcoming trip to Asia. The world’s major economies come to an agreement on currency. Among mobile phone users, there is a major gender gap. Learn about the craft of Lowcountry basket-weaving. And, finally, find out why the U.S. is shipping cows to Kazakhstan.

A $44 Million Fund for Women
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that the Obama administration will commit nearly $44 million to fund women’s empowerment initiatives around the world in order to advance U.N. Security Council goals of integrating women into international peace and security efforts. Speaking at the Security Council, Clinton, right, said that the largest portion of the U.S. funding – $17 million – will support civil society groups in Afghanistan that focus on women, who she said are “rightly worried that in the very legitimate search for peace their rights will be sacrificed.”


Clinton to Travel to East Asia
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton plans extensive talks with leaders and senior officials from at least eight East Asian and Pacific nations during a 13-day trip to the region to show U.S. engagement on a range of issues. She will also address the East Asia Summit in Hanoi.

An Agreement on Currency
Only two weeks after failing to resolve differences at a meeting in Washington, financial officials of the world’s major economies agreed to avoid conflicting currency interventions and, in principle, to reduce trade imbalances.

A Mobile Gender Gap
A gender gap is preventing approximately 300 million women from taking advantage of the potential of mobile phones to improve conditions for the world’s poor.

Lowcountry Baskets on Display
The weaving of coiled baskets is a craft that was brought from West and Central Africa to the American Colonies more than 300 years ago and is still passed from generation to generation among the Gullah/Geechee people of South Carolina and Georgia.

Cows for Kazakhstan
Under an agreement between a U.S. company and the Kazakh government, the first shipments of pregnant heifers have begun making the trip from Fargo, North Dakota, to Astana, Kazakhstan. The goal is to upgrade Kazakhstan’s beef breeding stock and reinvigorate its agricultural industry by shipping cattle. In Kazakhstan, a once-strong cattle industry that sent much of its beef to Russia went into decline after the fall of the Soviet Union. A dozen flights between North Dakota and Kazakhstan are scheduled by early December, each shipping nearly 170 heifers. At left, a heifer is packed for shipping.

In Kazakhstan, in Search of Workers, Financing, Attitude

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Nurlan Kapparov is one of many entrepreneurs coming to the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship from countries with sizeable Muslim populations, April 26-27. Kapparov founded electronics distributor Accept Corporation in Kazakhstan in 1990, when he was still a student, and served as president until 1997. Today he is chairman of Lancaster Group.

Shahid Ansari is provost and dean of faculty at Babson College. He specializes in behavioral and cultural aspects of management accounting, strategy, control, and change management.

Nurlan Kapparov

Nurlan Kapparov

Nurlan Kapparov:
The biggest challenge I see is the lack of professional human resources. We struggle to find the right people to move on with different projects.

We have a very high literacy rate in Kazakhstan, and our population in general is very well educated, because we came out of the strong Soviet education system.

But in the business life, we have a different system. There are not so many local entrepreneurs who speak English, who have a business education, who understand the importance of working transparently and are efficient.

That’s why we invite a lot of ex-pats to work with our country. We would like to rely on our local human resources, but people want more pay than what they can deliver in work. You can get much better, higher-level professionals from outside – people ready to work on less than what our local people want to earn.

Another thing with which we are struggling is the lack of funding [bank financing]. Funding became extremely expensive in the last two years. Our banks have raised interest rates dramatically, to 14, 15 percent per annum. Normal projects cannot survive. The government is encouraging entrepreneurs to participate in the diversification of our economy, but with expensive funding, it is going to be difficult.

Many people are scared of the entrepreneurs; they would rather stay with companies that take care of them. If you have the entrepreneurial spirit inside yourself, you might try to start a business. Many times it will not be successful in the beginning. But small achievements will start to create confidence.

My advice is to be careful with people and build trust in people slowly. Don’t believe that because you’re exceptional, you will get this opportunity or deal or customer.

Another lesson I have learned and could pass on is this: If you have negotiations and you are stuck, try to make the pie bigger so there’s food enough for everybody.

Shahid Ansari

Shahid Ansari

Shahid Ansari:
You focus fairly heavily on the lack of funding and the lack of financial resources. Financial resources are merely one of several things an entrepreneurial ecosystem needs. You need a support system where entrepreneurs can link with each other, a system of “angel investors” to bypass the system of structured finance, a network of education and training materials that cut across from grade school to adults running small and medium enterprises.

The other idea you’re talking about is a cultural idea: attitudes toward risk and failure. The key here is to understand that the traditional notion of an entrepreneur as a “swashbuckling risk-taker” is not correct. Entrepreneurs are actually quite risk averse. They tend to make their decisions based on how much they can afford to lose rather than how much they stand to gain.

One has to make it safe for entrepreneurs to fail. We train our students to start a business and close it down within the first year of college. They learn very quickly that entrepreneurship is about acceptance of failure. They learn to redefine “failure” as “learning opportunities.” They pick up and move on. It’s not always about finding an opportunity but making an opportunity.

Particularly in Muslim countries, the historical context of Islamic entrepreneurship was rooted in trading and caravans. People went and traded goods and distributed profits. If they failed in this venture they never came back because they had let down investors. That’s why a lot of cultures, particularly in Islamic countries, do not separate the failure of a venture from the failure of an individual. The phrase “serial entrepreneurship” doesn’t enter into their lexicon. In the U.S., we understand that individual ventures an entrepreneur may undertake may fail, but that doesn’t mean the failure of the individual.

Do Car Buyers Show National Pride?

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Yerzhan Mandiyev is one of many entrepreneurs coming to the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship April 26-27, 2010, from countries with sizeable Muslim populations. He is president of Asia Auto, “AZIA AVTO,” in Ust-Kamenogorsk, East Kazakhstan, the first car-assembly plant in Kasakhstan, making cars for Chevrolet, Cadillac, Skoda and KIA.

Mike Ducker leads the entrepreneurship practice at J.E. Austin Associates Inc. in Washington and supports increased productivity, entrepreneurship and private sector institutions, particularly in Kenya and China.

Yerzhan Mandiyev

Yerzhan Mandiyev

Yerzhan Mandiyev:
Less than 20 years ago, our country was a part of the Soviet Union. Our heritage was one of strong machine-building industry and other advanced technologies. Kazakhstan produces fuel for nuclear stations and metal for Boeing and Rolls-Royce. The Kazakhstan space center launches crews to the International Space Station.

Despite this, my countrymen still don’t believe Kazakhstan is able to produce quality cars. In point of fact, our company is more a part of the modern international motor-car industry than a part of the business community of our own country! It’s an incredible and paradoxical thing, that the relations of the plant with foreign partners such as General Motors, Volkswagen Group and KIA Motors are more close and trusting than with many of our Kazakhstan partners and customers.

But we have enjoyed support from our president. In fact, during our comparatively short period of existence, we became one of the main industrial companies of the region, thanks to the rapt attention of the president of our country. (Our country takes ninth place in the world for territory possession and showed the highest economic growth per person, before the economic crisis.)

The saturation of the car market has barely started here. Yet cars made in Kasakhstan (like the ones my company makes) are not popular with most of our people. Maybe it’s normal for them to pursue a dream of owning expensive, prestigious off-road cars such as Lexus or Porsche, after no access to other car brands for almost 70 years. This intentional enmity against all domestically produced things is seen in Kazakhstan not only for cars.

Still we, who manufacture world-quality products at a competitive price, are amazed by consumers’ skepticism and lack of faith in their fellow Kazakh nationals’ ability to do serious work. Maybe seven years is not enough to break the way of thinking of 70 previous years. To gain our unpatriotic and skeptical consumers, we will need not only the right proportion of quality and price, but also patience, self-reliance and the strength to stand up.

We are ready to do that.

Mike Ducker

Mike Ducker

Mike Ducker:
During the last 50 years we have learned that people do not buy cars for national pride. Even the United States consumer doesn’t trust the quality of U.S. name plates as much as Japanese or German ones. The automotive sector is a sophisticated global sector, and firms compete by focusing on their strengths and partnering with others on their weaknesses.

In the automotive industry, building a brand name that consumers can trust is not just about producing a good product at a low price. A firm needs to invest heavily in educating the consumer on the value provided, while focusing on creating processes to improve quality to keep up with the international competition.

Over the last 10 years, Chinese automotive firms like Chery have developed very successful business models that were built on their great reputation of outsourcing manufacturing. Their international partners have utilized them to build automobiles in other countries beyond China. At the same time they have leveraged their learning from international firms in trying to start up their own consumer name plate.

It’s a good model for AZIA AVTO. You should focus on your core competence of manufacturing in the near term and find ways to expand the existing plant or maybe even find other countries in Central Asia that your partners might want to reach. The best way to see if there are opportunities for these expansions is to start talking to your partner and giving suggestions on how jointly you can each expand your business growth. In the long term, you want to focus on your own consumer name plate. Do your market research and find a specific segment in the Kazakhstan market that is not being served by the current competition.