New Human Resources for the New Economy

The efficient provision of the economy of Kazakhstan with skilled human resources became the main topic of discussion at the 23^rd meeting of the Foreign Investors Council under the President of Kazakhstan, held on June 4 in Almaty. Today, people, representing businesses, and leaders of the state speak about the threat of the lack of highly-skilled human resources in the economy of the country; they are going to solve this problem through active participation of foreign investors.

EU cooperation on Kazakhstan: Aims, Strategy and Limits

Within the frame of the Sino-Russian rivalry on Central Asia, the EU plays a minor role because of the deep lack of knowledge of the cultural, economic and social needs of the partner. It is indeed a paradox that the EU plans of development are constantly put aside in favour of Russian and Chinese ones, much less comprehensive and profitable. The aim of this research is to trace back the evolution and the content of EU programmes on Kazakhstan, assessing both the theoretical and the factual limits of the EU policies.

Development Banks. Projects and Problems

The experience of many countries has demonstrated that market relations according to the principle of ‘laissez faire, laissez passer’ may lead to economical disproportions. So, in the conditions of increased risks, especially in the post-crisis period, business may not be interested in investments in projects that are long-term, but important for the society. These disproportions are to be eliminated by more than 750 development banks operating throughout the world.

Accelerated March for the Mining and Metallurgy Sector

The raw material sector is one of the factors allowing Kazakhstan to make an economic spurt and becoming a competitive commodity producer. Along with that, the policy of concentration on raw material, i.e. on the products with a low added value pursued by the owners of companies of the mining and metallurgy sector creates a threat to the sustainable development of the domestic economy. The Accelerated Industrial and Innovative Program of Kazakhstan as it is in the current state is hardly able to efficiently remove this threat.

Subsurface Use in 1996–2009. Reserves, Production, and Investment

The 2009-year results showed that Kazakhstan turned out to be one of a few countries in the post-Soviet area, which continues showing positive economic performance indicators in the condition of the world crisis. In many respects, the sustainable development of our republic is achieved due to an effective investment policy, stability of legislation, availability of a rich mineral resource base and, as a consequence, high export potential.