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A little time has passed since the time when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan created KazAID (Kazakhstan International Development Agency). There was a wave of discussions on social networks and the media, so one can seriously discuss what it is and how it will work.
How the idea of development assistance appeared in Kazakhstan
Officially, the desire to have our own agency appeared in 2013, but its roots were earlier. The fact is that already 10 years ago, according to the World Bank, Kazakhstan moved to middle-income countries and therefore lost most of the international assistance.
At the same time in Busan in 2011, the idea of forming «new donors» was presented as it was said «from among the dynamically developing economies in transition in providing development assistance and the importance of the diversity and flexibility of its forms was recognized.»
Because of this, the Concept of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of official development assistance was developed. It is interesting that the Concept itself mentions the following fact — «according to UN statistics for 2006 — July 2011, Kazakhstan allocated $ 53.7 million as humanitarian aid to foreign states, the bulk of which was sent to Central Asia.
With an indicator of $ 30 million, Kazakhstan ranks third in terms of the volume of humanitarian aid provided in the region. That is, humanitarian aid was already provided, but it went through different channels, programs, and therefore we ourselves do not realize its scale. And this is bad — a certain centralization is needed here in order to get maximum benefit.
According to this Concept, the policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of official development assistance will pursue the following goals:
• rendering assistance in solving global and regional problems of sustainable development, including problems of poverty, international crime, illegal drug trafficking and illegal migration;
• assistance to the processes of building a socially oriented economy;
• development of political, economic, educational, social, cultural and scientific ties with foreign countries;
• formation of a belt of good neighborliness along the perimeter of the Kazakh border;
• development of trade and economic cooperation with partner countries and stimulation of the processes of integration of capital markets, goods, services and labor;
• strengthening the authority and promoting a positive perception of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the world community.
It was then that the idea of «Kazakhstan Agency for Development Assistance and Technical Assistance KAZAID» appeared in the Concept, which had to be created after 2018. In principle, everything is provided there according to classical standards and takes into account the entire world experience of creating such agencies.
Official development assistance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, according to the documents, should be aimed at the following sectoral priorities:
• agriculture and food security;
•environment protection;
• conflict resolution and security;
• fight against transnational crime;
• education;
• healthcare, including the quality of nutrition, the availability of medicines, the fight against infectious diseases;
• improvement of the public administration system;
• reducing poverty, including by stimulating economic growth and supporting entrepreneurship in recipient countries;
• development of trade.
After that, in 2014, a profile law was adopted that regulates legal relations related to the provision of official development assistance to states cooperating with Kazakhstan. He has already given legislative form to all concepts.
I will note how the forms of development assistance are formulated there and ways they are implemented:
• international grants;
• creation (construction) of new or reconstruction of existing facilities in the priority sectors provided for by this Law;
• loans on favorable terms;
• voluntary contributions to international organizations for official development assistance;
• creation of joint funds with the partner country;
•technical assistance;
• other forms adopted by the Republic of Kazakhstan within the framework of international treaties and other obligations in the field of official development assistance.
It also fully described the role of various government departments in this area — the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KazAID, and other ministries.
Then in 2017, the idea of development assistance was refined in another document, which consolidated the main directions in this area for the period from 2017 to 2020.
It is interesting to note Kazakhstan’s achievements that can be shared with other countries:
- Creation of a stable business climate
- Agriculture
- Social development
- Environmental protection
- Public finance
The countries of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) and Afghanistan are named geographic priorities there. That is, first of all, aid should form a belt of loyal countries near our borders.
The decree also explains what management standards will be used, what kind of interaction will be with other aid participants, what mechanisms will be used.
Well, on August 10 this year, a government decree was already issued, where it is written:
• Create a non-profit joint-stock company «Kazakhstan International Development Agency KazAID »with 100% state participation in its authorized capital.
• To designate the Company as an operator in the field of official development assistance, the main subject of activity of which is assistance in the provision of official development assistance, provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
That is, in 7 years, a path has been passed from intention and concept to the creation of a specific operator. I would like to note that, according to the explanations, in the period from 2013 to 2016, Kazakhstan allocated more than $ 158.6 million to aid foreign countries, of which $ 84.8 million is qualified as official development assistance, that is, the volumes are growing and the need for a centralized operator is growing too.
What is the Kazakhstan International Development Agency
Among the main activities of the new organization are:
• participation in the implementation of the state policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of official development assistance;
• interaction with state bodies and organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and foreign states in the field of official development assistance;
• submission to the authorized body of proposals for improving the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of official development assistance;
• submission to the authorized body of proposals on the volume and sectoral priorities of official development assistance;
• conclusion of agreements with individuals and legal entities both on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan and abroad in the field of official development assistance and others.
Development assistance from KazAID is provided in the form of grants, loans and other transfers in cash or in kind to partner countries identified as recipients of assistance on the list of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The authorized capital of KazAID is determined at 138 million tenge, the preliminary staff will be 15 people, then increased to 25 people.
Most importantly, at first, the KAZAID will operate as a service company — that is, for 7% of the project cost, it will carry out activities in the region ordered by a third-party donor, for example, UNDP (United Nations Development Program) or the Turkish International Cooperation Agency (TIKA).
Well, as the classic of such assistance teaches, Kazakhstani companies, specialists and equipment will be involved in the implementation of projects on a priority basis so that the allocated funds are maximized in Kazakhstan. First, they will work with the Kazakh diaspora in neighboring countries, and then expand their activities.
The relevance of creation KAZAID in the world
Why should Kazakhstan's diplomacy be more active and have more tools? For this question, I have a beautiful graph from the Uppsala University Conflict Database. As you can see, the volume of violence in the world is growing significantly, and this can be seen with the naked eye on the same conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which is the most intense in this century.
One could also cite the growth of military spending in the world as an example, but it seems that this is understandable. The world is becoming a much more dangerous place than even 10 years ago, not to mention the beginning of the century. And there is no reason to think that anything will change for the better.
Most likely, our region will soon become a field of rivalry between the United States and China, and will also suffer large losses from quarantine measures caused by coronavirus infection. In this situation, it will be necessary to help neighbors so that they do not become destabilized, because it is better to prevent than to try to stabilize the situation later.
Initially, projects in the field of education and social projects were announced. But, in my opinion, first of all, scientific projects are needed — in order to know the real state of affairs about each other, then contacts at the level of civil society are needed to work with local NGOs (non-governmental organization), and of course, business development programs are needed to improve mutual understanding.
The Conclusion
The creation of KazAID is, albeit a small, but the first real step towards the goal that Kazakhstan has constantly declared — leadership in the region.
It must be understood that leadership implies, first of all, responsibility for what is happening in neighboring countries and, as a consequence, helping them. If one does it correctly, constantly and well, then the notorious «soft power» begins to work, which is what we need.
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