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Tag: Kazakhstan

  • Kazakhstan hails successful visit to Nigeria, signs MoU on Islamic banking

    Kazakhstan hails successful visit to Nigeria, signs MoU on Islamic banking

    Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alibek Kuantyrov, has described his delegation’s visit to Nigeria as a great success, highlighting key economic and investment opportunities explored during the trip.

    Leading a 30-member delegation comprising public and private sector representatives, Kuantyrov noted that one of the major achievements was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nigerian investment bank, TAJ Bank, to support the establishment of an Islamic bank in Kazakhstan.

    The delegation’s visit was facilitated by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, as part of efforts to strengthen economic ties between both nations.

    He said: “So, I consider this visit to be very successful, and we’re going to continue our joint work with the Nigerian side. And in the coming future, we’re also awaiting a business delegation led by His Royal Majesty, His Royal Highness, to Kazakhstan, to Astana International Forum, where we’re going to go on with mutual realisation of investment and trade projects.”

    Kuantyrov explained that some agreements have already been signed. 

    He said, “We already, for example, today, signed a memorandum between Astana International Financial Centre and the Taj Bank. So, this in particular is directed at developing the Islamic banking and Islamic finance in Kazakhstan, where, you know, Nigeria has a great experience. So, we have quite a big Islamic population in our country.

    Read Also: Nigeria, Kazakhstan discuss bilateral relations to explore agriculture, ICT others

    “So, this is just a particular project that we are developing at the moment. And of course, there will be other projects.”

    The Deputy minister stressed that his country and Nigeria have the potential to improve on the current trade relations.

    Currently, the trade volume between both countries is hovering around one million dollars. 

    This, Kazakhstan Deputy Foreign Minister said, would be addressed by developing the value-added trade between two countries. 

    He explained that the visit to Nigeria is aimed at exploring all avenues.

    He said: “The trade is not that big. I think it’s less than one million dollars. And, of course, we have to raise this figure manifold, because we have a great potential for that.

    “On the one hand, Kazakhstan is rich in one kind of resources, mineral resources and agricultural resources, and Nigeria is also rich. And more than that, we should develop the value-added trade between two countries. 

    “And that’s why we are here, and that’s why we are discussing this potential, not only in trade, but also in mutual investment and in cooperating in the ICT, IT and AI spheres.”

    Speaking further on the delegations activities in Nigeria, he said the delegation had been involved in government to government and business to business meetings.

    The issue of visa was also part of discussion, the Deputy Foreign Minister said.

     “Well, for the last two days, these have been very active days, and we had plenty of G2G and B2B meetings. Well, yesterday we started with a meeting with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where we discussed issues on political consultations, visa requirements, and also mutual support at international platforms, including the UN. After that, we had a meeting with the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment.

    “And we are very much interested in developing cooperative projects in the sphere of solid minerals with Nigeria, and, of course, increasing our bilateral trade. For example, one of the interests is directly importing cocoa beans, of which the chocolate, the Kazakhstani chocolate, is made. And, of course, there are many, many other spheres where we can cooperate, including exporting Kazakhstani grain, high-quality grain, wheat, to be particular, to Nigeria.

    “After that, we also had a meeting with two ministers, one of the Minister of Oil and also the minister of gas, where we also expressed mutual interest in developing oil and gas projects together and exchanging technologies and expertise in developing these spheres. 

    Also, we had a meeting with the EXIM Bank that is helping trade operations, export and import operations. And we decided to have close cooperation with the Kazakhstani EXIM Bank as well.

    “And today, we also had a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, where we discussed phytosanitary and other restrictions, that elimination of them will be helping us in boosting our bilateral trade, especially in the agricultural sector. 

    “I personally had a meeting with the Minister of Digital Economy, where we also agreed upon cooperating in the spheres of cost monitoring, in the sphere of IT development, ICT development, smart bridges, e-golf, etc., where Kazakhstan has a lot of experience and is one of the forerunners in the world in e-golf and ICT. And Nigeria has a great potential to do the same, and Nigeria has been developing very rapidly in the sphere of ICT and smart cities.”

  • Nigeria, Kazakhstan to discuss bilateral relations, others

    Nigeria, Kazakhstan to discuss bilateral relations, others

    Nigeria and Kazakhstan in the next few days will engage in series of discussions with the aim to enhance bilateral relations.

    Already both countries are exploring areas of cooperation in agriculture, trade and information technologies at a business conference in Abuja facilitated by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.

    No fewer than  30-member delegation from Kazakhstan public and private sectors operators are in country to explore several areas of cooperation.

    Speaking at the conference, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari,  highlighted the giant strides made so far in the agriculture sector by the current administration,  including having more harvest compared to the previous year.

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    He, therefore, said Nigeria could collaborate with Kazakhstan in many areas of the sector.

    He said: “We’re meeting with them on Tuesday at 2 o’clock, and we will talk more and elaborately on some of the opportunities that exist between Nigeria and Kazakhstan in terms of the agricultural space.

    “We are not asking only for them to come and invest, we are also asking for us to partner with them. What is it that they need? We have products in abundance here.”

    Speaking at the conference, the Minister of the Federal Ministry of Communications, innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, said the ministry had already developed a strategic blueprint with six pillars, adding that each of these pillars is a potential area of collaboration and partnership with the Kazakhstan team.

  • Nigeria, Kazakhstan discuss bilateral relations to explore agriculture, ICT others

    Nigeria, Kazakhstan discuss bilateral relations to explore agriculture, ICT others

    …as Ooni facilitates business engagement

    Nigeria and Kazakhstan in the next few days will be engaged in a series of discussions to enhance bilateral relations.

    Both countries are exploring areas of cooperation in agriculture, trade, and information technologies at a business conference in Abuja facilitated by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.

    No fewer than thirty member delegations from Kazakhstan’s public and private sector operators are in the country to explore several areas of cooperation.

    Speaking at the conference, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, highlighted the giant strides made so far in the agriculture sector by the current administration, including having more harvest compared to the previous year.

    He therefore said Nigeria could collaborate with Kazakhstan in many areas of the sector.

    He said: “We’re meeting with them on Tuesday at 2 o’clock, and we will talk more and elaborately on some of the opportunities that exist between Nigeria and Kazakhstan in terms of the agricultural space.

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    “We are not asking only for them to come and invest. We are also asking for us to partner with them. What is it that they need? We have products that we have in abundance here.”

    Speaking at the conference, the minister of the Federal Ministry of Communications, innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said the ministry had already developed a strategic blueprint with six pillars, adding that each of these pillars is a potential area of collaboration and partnership with the Kazakhstan team.

    “In particular, pillar number one speaks about knowledge, capacity building, and talents. I’m aware that Kazakhstan is quite advanced in terms of its knowledge base in ICT. So this is a big area that we can partner,” the Minister represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Faruk Yabo.

    “We already have the world’s largest capacity-building initiative that we are running, which is the three million technical talents by 2027. This is intended to train Nigerians in technical talent so that at least 1.5 million of them will be able to work in Europe and the remaining ones could be here.”

    He also said the two countries were looking to cooperate in artificial intelligence, adding that Nigeria had just finished drafting its artificial intelligence strategy.

    Besides, the minister called for cooperation in the development of digital infrastructure.

    On his part, the Kazakhstan head of delegation, Alibek Kuantyrov, said this is the first official delegation from Kazakhstan to Nigeria, adding that the huge young population of youths in the two countries provided an opportunity for cooperation.

    “Our main trajectory is economic development, and we are the largest economy in Central Asia. So the same as Nigeria, Nigeria is a leader in the African continent.

    “We see Nigeria as a very important partner and also the channel to go through the whole continent, and I think we can work together in terms of the transit of goods, trade and also making pure mutual investment in the field of minerals. 

    “We’re also an ICT and AI nation and also a FinTech nation, the sectors that are being developed in Nigeria and now we have managed and come to a conclusion that we can also open some FinTech and banking companies in the Nigerian markets.

    “We can also exchange our ICT products and make an exchange of students because we have a target in our country to prepare at least 1 million IT specialists.”

    The Ooni of Ife said President Bola Tinubu should be credited for being proactive and making the business conference a reality, adding that it was a follow-up from the meeting between the presidents of the two countries in Abu Dhabi in January.

    “They are very bullish. They are serious. They mean business. They’re here with their largest contingent, and they want to see how to explore so many things, and it will really help Nigerian youth in terms of employment. Look at another beautiful thing that came up today as a country. They’re changing their visa policy for them to accommodate Nigerians that are so talented in the area of tech, artificial intelligence, in area of writing codes.”

  • Nigeria, three others nominated for OPEC+ committee

    Nigeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been nominated  as members of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC coalition, including Russia.

    The JMMC monitors and ensures compliance of members with production cut directives. The JMMC met in Baku, the Republic of Azerbaijan, for its 13th meeting. The Committee reviewed the monthly report prepared by its Joint Technical Committee (JTC) and recent developments in the global oil market as well as immediate prospects for the remainder of 2019.

    The JMMC reiterated the critical role that the “Declaration of Cooperation” has played in supporting oil market stability since December 2016 and took note of the expressed commitment of all participating countries to ensure that such stability continues on a sustainable basis, as overall conformity reached almost 90 per cent for the month of February 2019, which is up from 83 per cent in the month of January.

    The Committee recognised the current, critical uncertainties surrounding the global oil market throughout 2019, and stressed on the shared responsibility of all participating countries to restore market stability and prevent the recurrence of any market imbalance.

    All participating countries at the meeting, individually and collectively, assured the Committee that they will exceed their voluntary production adjustments over the coming months.

    The JMMC also urged all participating countries, including those not present at the meeting, to achieve full and timely conformity with their voluntary production adjustments under the decisions of the 175th Meeting of the OPEC Conference on December 6, 2018, and the 5th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting on December 7, 2018.

    In consideration that market fundamentals are unlikely to materially change in the next two months, the JMMC adopted a recommendation to forego the full Ministerial Meeting in April and instead schedule a JMMC meeting in May ahead of the OPEC meeting on June 25, during which a decision will be taken on the production target for the second half of 2019.

    The Committee also endorsed the adjustments of the baselines of three countries, Brunei, Daressalam, Ecuador and Malaysia.

    The JMMC thanked Azerbaijan President, Ilham Aliyev, for his hospitality and the support he has given to the “Declaration of Cooperation”. The Committee emphasised the unique role that Baku has played in the history of the oil industry and expressed its gratitude to all involved from Azerbaijan, particularly Minister of Energy, Parviz Shahbazov, for the excellent arrangements for the meeting.

    The JTC will continue its monthly meetings and the next meeting of the JMMC is scheduled to take place in May, in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

  • China, others complete border disarmament inspections

    China, others complete border disarmament inspections

    China has completed the last round of inspection on the obligation of border disarmament agreements with four countries, the official newspaper of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has said.

    The PLA daily said the countries that signed the agreements with China are; Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

    The newspaper reported on Tuesday that China and a team, representing the other four countries, inspected each other’s border defence forces in mid-August.

    According to the PLA, the five countries signed agreement on Confidence-Building in the Military field along border areas in 1996.

    Similarly, in 1997, they signed agreement on Mutual Reduction of Military Forces in the border areas.

    The PLA reports that the agreements opened the cooperation process of the “Shanghai Five” and laid solid foundation for the establishment and development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ( SCO ).

    During the past two decades, the two sides convened more than 30 meetings and organised more than 140 mutual inspections along the borders, with over 7,600 kilometers between China and the other four nations, according to the report.

    Currently, the number of military personnel and amount of arms and military technology equipment are below the limits set by the agreements in applicable areas, said the report.

    The two sides also stepped up exchanges by visiting each other’s border defence posts and border cities, as well as organising literary and sports contests and military training and performances, it added.

    They have organised several “Peace Mission’’ joint military exercises under the SCO framework, carried out regular joint patrols, and regularly reported border situations to the other side, it added.

    “Though the staff are different in their professional backgrounds, language and culture, they can trust and understand each other and cooperate closely,’’ Huang Xiaodong, head of the office for the obligation of border disarmament agreements, Ministry of National Defence of the People’s Republic of China, was quoted as saying.

    The report said the China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan would continue to deepen implementation of the two agreements and cooperation on border defence.

  • French, Russian spacefarers return safely back to Earth

    French, Russian spacefarers return safely back to Earth

    A Russian spacecraft landed in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan on Friday, having returned French astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy from the International Space Station.

    The duo’s six-month mission aboard the orbiting station was Pesquet’s first. Novitskiy, a veteran spacefarer, has spent a total of more than 300 days in space.

    “It’s been a fantastic adventure and amaSing ride,” Pesquet said in a post on Twitter that also featured a collage of landscapes in the colours of the French flag.

    “The space station is such a unique and remote and almost magical place,” Pesquet said. “I will miss it.”

    The Soyuz craft landed on schedule, according to a statement by the European Space Agency (ESA).

    Pesquet will now travel to the ESA’s astronaut centre in Cologne, Germany, and Novitskiy to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre near Moscow, Russia, the ESA said.

    Three spacefarers remain on the station.

    Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and U.S. astronaut Jack Fischer arrived in April, and veteran U.S. commander Peggy Whitson

  • ‘Naira devaluation coming in 2015’

    ‘Naira devaluation coming in 2015’

    The continuous decline in foreign reserves and increased spending expected during 2015 elections are likely to force the incoming Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor to devalue the naira, Global Chief Economist, RenaissanceCapital (RenCap),Charles Robertson firm has said.

    In a report titled: Nigeria/ Kazakhstan comparison and Sanusi oil sally, he said the cumulative deterioration in the external reserves position last year and this year implies devaluation next year, after the elections.

    Robertson, however, doubts devaluation before the elections, saying such an act would be unpopular for an import-dependent nation. “We think a N160 to 170 to dollar target range is likely. One upside for the government from a weaker naira would be more naira from dollar oil tax revenue,” he said.

    The economist said foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $41.7 billion on February 14, would drop to $35 billion by year-end.

    He explained that should such decline occur, that would imply greater weakness of the naira than current N164 to dollar end-year assumption, adding that the CBN would counteract the position, by tightening monetary policy.

    “We assume foreign exchange reserves will fall from $44 billion in 2013 to $35 billion this year – a decline of $9 billion.That would imply greater weakness than our current 164 to dollar end-year assumption. But we expect the CBN to counter-act this, by tightening monetary policy,” Robertson said.

    However, he said the foreign reserves would have to drop significantly for the naira to be devalued, adding that the last time the CBN devalued the naira was in 2011, following the $11 billion drop in foreign reserves.

    Continuing, he said: “We believe reserves will likely fall further in 2014 on the back of subpar oil production and higher imports due to election-related spending. We think the cumulative deterioration in Nigeria’s external position in 2013 and 2014 implies devaluation in 2015, after the elections; a devaluation before the elections would be unpopular for an import-dependent nation. We think a N160 to 170 to dollar target range is likely. One upside for the government from a weaker naira would be more naira from dollar oil tax revenue,” he said.

    The global economist explained that the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido sees no advantage in devaluation.

    “He highlighted his hawkish stance when sharing with us his that he voted for an increase in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) on private sector deposits at the January Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting; however, he was outvoted by other Monetary Policy Committee members. A CRR hike at the March MPC is a real possibility. This stance is contrary to a central bank that may be considering a weaker naira,” he stated.

    He continued: “Although our base case is for no devaluation in 2014, there is a risk that the new CBN governor may devalue the naira, as Kazakhstan’s new central bank governor did in February 2009.

    “Like Kazakhstan, Robertson said the naira came under pressure recently from the United States’ Federal Reserve’s tapering policy, and its current account surplus is likely to decline as imports rise in the run up to the elections.”

    The foreign reserves declined to $43.5 billion as at January 2, as petroleum and food imports soared. The reserves which stood $45.4 billion on September 30, last year, have maintained steady fall in recent months.

    The level of Nigeria’s external reserves has fallen precariously low to $43.63 billion as at December 30, last year. This is the lowest level since November of the previous year and a decline of 10.7 per cent from last year’s Year to Date peak of $48.86 billion.

     

     

  • 20 feared dead in Kazakhstan’s air mishap

    At least 20 people are feared dead after a passenger plane crashed near Kazakhstan’s commercial capital, Almaty.

    BBC reports that the CRJ-200 aircraft was travelling from the northern town of Kokshetau.

    Kazakhstan’s Scat airlines said it believed everyone on board died when it crashed on approach to Almaty.

    Reports say the plane encountered bad weather.

    Last month a military plane carrying top Kazakh security officials crashed, killing all 27 on board.

    “According to preliminary information there are no survivors,” the airline said in a statement quoted by the Interfax news agency.

    The statement added that 20 people were on board the aircraft.

    Earlier reports quoted officials as saying that 21 people – 15 passengers and six crew members – were on the plane.

    Details about the crash are still emerging and there is little information about casualties or damage on the ground.

    Almaty’s deputy mayor, Maulen Mukashev visited the crash site near the village of Kyzyl Tu and said that the Canadian-built Bombardier plane crashed in thick fog, Reuters news agency reports.

    “The preliminary cause of the accident is bad weather,” Mr. Mukashev is quoted as saying. “Not a single part of the plane was left intact after it came down,” he said.