In an exclusive interview, Kazakhstan Trade and Integration Minister Bakht Sultanov discussed the upcoming WTO ministerial meeting chaired by his country, the economic relationship between the EU and Kazakhstan, and the carbon border tax. .
Bakht Sultanov Is a mathematician, engineer and economist because 1994, He has held various administrative positions in the economic sector of Kazakhstan. He also served as the mayor of the capital Astana.
He talked with Georgi Gotev, senior editor of EURACTIV, on November 17th. The interview was conducted in Russian.
The first question I asked the visiting ministers was, what brought you to Brussels and who did you meet?
Next week, our President Kassym-Jomart Tokaev will visit Brussels and EU institutions. Many meetings are planned to meet with politicians and major businessmen. After that, he will visit Switzerland to attend the opening ceremony of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference chaired by Kazakhstan. So basically, my task is to help prepare for this visit. I met with the European Commission, Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, many members of the European Parliament in leadership positions, and business representatives.
The overall theme is to further develop bilateral cooperation. Kazakhstan is the first country in Central Asia to sign an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) with the European Union, which is crucial in this regard. The EU is our largest trading partner and our country’s largest investor.
We need to use new means and better mechanisms to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation. We are a major economy in the region, and our country is an active stakeholder in all regional initiatives, including the “Belt and Road” initiative. We have our plan, Nurly Zolh, in which we built new roads and new railways during the 30 years of independence. We are ready to develop into a hub that ensures multimodal transport between the largest economies, the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, Central and Southeast Asia, and China.
We also consulted the European Commission on climate change on the Glasgow agenda and the goal of phasing out coal. Kazakhstan is committed to achieving these goals, and we have set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. What needs to be considered is that as a young country that has been independent for only 30 years, it has always been a raw material appendage of a larger country. Country, we have just started economic development. This is why in our consultations with EU partners, we seek to take into account the situation in our region and our country.
The Twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) It is expected to be held in Nur-Sultan, capital of Kazakhstan, from June 8th to 11th. The international community, especially the European Union, has high hopes for this issue.It is the WTO Ministerial Conference, which was held when the organization was facing a crisis. However, The meeting was cancelled Because Coronavirus disease broke out. Perhaps the time is better now, because Donald Trump is no longer in the White House and WTO reforms are overdue. What is your opinion?
The Twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference was not cancelled but postponed, as you said, because of the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. The meeting was decided to be held in Geneva, but Kazakhstan is still the chairman of the ministerial meeting that will start on November 30. As far as restrictions on the new crown pneumonia epidemic are concerned, the physical participation of this meeting is a one-plus-one format, and we look forward to our heads of state attending the opening ceremony. The details of the meeting agenda are being worked out.
In addition to the way out after the COVID crisis, these issues also include issues discussed over the years, distorted subsidies provided by members to their industries, farmers and fishermen, and of course the internal reforms of the WTO. As the chair of the conference, we are interested in reaching unanimous decisions, which will be reflected in the conclusion document-the ministerial declaration.
When you say physical existence is one plus one, does that mean the president and you?
No, one plus one means the trade ministers of member states plus one. The head of state will attend the opening ceremony.
The EU is an important trade and investment partner, accounting for about half of Kazakhstan’s foreign trade turnover and economic investment. Can you tell us about the trade trends between the EU and Kazakhstan over the past period of time (including during the COVID period)?
Indeed, our trade volume is as you described, but as far as we are concerned, it is mainly raw materials from the oil and gas industry. This is why a key task is to diversify our exports and increase the share of processed products. We are very interested in the climate part. After analysis, we propose to add 140 products, which will increase our trade volume by 1.5 billion US dollars.
In the last period, the proportion of processed products in Kazakhstan’s exports showed an upward trend. To this end, we meet the highest standards, the organic standards. One of the issues we discussed with the European Commission is our export of agricultural products, which will fully comply with EU requirements.
Unfortunately, like many other countries, the COVID pandemic has had a negative impact on us, and our trade with the EU has decreased. But we are now noticing a dynamic rebound. We have not yet reached the level before COVID, but we are moving in this direction with new business contacts.
I have a question about the EU’s promotion of a carbon border tax. Igor Sechin, head of the oil giant Rosneft, said Carbon border tax like the EU Wanting to implement will cause greater damage to the Russian economy than sanctions. Do you agree with this statement? What is your opinion on the EU’s carbon border tax policy?
The reduction of CO2 is extremely important, and the carbon border tax is one of the means to achieve this reduction. We understand this position. But similar to our Russian colleagues, we want to take into account the peculiarities of our economy. Our industrialization has similarities with Russia, and we should also be considered to be in the center of Eurasia. We are the largest landlocked country. We are far away internally. We don’t want our products to lose competitiveness when they reach the EU market.
This is why we believe that it is useful to have long-term consultations and discuss the mechanisms and deadlines for introducing such instruments.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
