The Week in Kazakhstan: Manual Transmission

The Interview

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said he is a strong believer in a presidential system founded on the principle “Strong President – Influential Parliament – Accountable Government”.

In an interview with the Ana Tili newspaper published on January 3, Tokayev also addressed several other topics, shedding light on the 2019-2022 period. He argued that Nursultan Nazarbayev, his predecessor, lacked “political tact” because “he regularly held meetings with the Prime Minister, the Central Bank, ministers, and governors.” The fact that Nazarbayev took part in a series of high-level meetings in late 2021 and his public statements in that period led to a “real crisis of power,” according to Tokayev.

Tokayev said that early parliamentary elections are unlikely, despite rumors. He also dismissed rumors that he would leave the presidency early to compete for the position of UN Secretary General in 2026.

Regarding two of the hottest topics that were put on the agenda last year, Tokayev said he is expecting a “fair and balanced” decision from the government and parliament regarding the decision to merge Kazakhstan’s two time zones into one, which became effective in March last year. Tokayev also confirmed talks with Russian companies and institutions about their participation in the construction of Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant, but said Kazakhstan would play the role of operator of the prospective plant.

Diplomacy

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev told the press on December 29 that the AZAL plane that crashed outside of Aktau was damaged by shelling in Russia. On December 25, the Embraer aircraft en route from Baku to Grozny could not land and was hit by Russia’s air defense system, according to Aliyev. It attempted an emergency landing in Aktau, western Kazakhstan, but could not reach the landing strip. As a result, 38 people were killed and 29 survived.

On December 28, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had called Aliyev to apologize for the incident. Later, Putin held a phone conversation with Tokayev, who promised a fair investigation of the incident. Kazakhstan’s government sent the plane’s black box to Brazil, the country where the aircraft was manufactured.

The Deals

A Vietnamese consortium headed by Sovico completed the purchase of a 51% stake in Qazaq Air. National holding Samruk-Kazyna will sell off its 49% stake in the next few years. The deal concludes a long trail of attempts to sell the airline in recent years.

Mounissa Chodieva, Patokh Chodiev’s eldest daughter, quit the board of Eurasian Bank, the lender’s press service reported on December 31. She had only joined the board of directors three months prior. The board will now only feature four members, including ​​Alexander Mashkevich and Shukhrat Ibragimov, the son of the late Alijan Ibragimov, another co-founder of the Eurasia Group.

The Agency for the Regulation of the Financial Market decided against granting the status of bank to Solva, a microfinance organization. The regulator issued a statement on December 28, without disclosing the reasons for its decision. Solva said they did not have time to address the regulator’s comments on time and that it will re-submit an application.

The pilot project to issue Individual Identification Numbers (IIN) to foreigners at Kazakhstan’s diplomatic missions abroad was suspended as of January 1st, 2025, state media reported. Foreigners apply for an IIN to enter Kazakhstan’s social security system, find employment, and pay taxes.