By N.A. Nazarbayev, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan at The 4th Eurasian Media Forum Almaty, 21st April 2005

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased to welcome you, the participants and the guests of the Eurasian Media Forum!
Annual forums here in the land of Kazakhstan, in the heart of Eurasia, have become a good tradition.
I believe that our international forum bringing together the world’s leading politicians, experts and journalists from all over the world is a unique opportunity to exchange views on crucial issues. That is why I believe that the significance of such meetings cannot be overestimated.

The current situation in Kazakhstan can hardly be compared to that just 13 years ago.
After Kazakhstan gained independence all the areas of our society have been radically reformed.
Having escaped from the totalitarian past, we managed to transit from a centrally controlled bureaucratic economy to an economy based on free competition, from a one-party dictatorship to political pluralism and from an ideology suppressing human rights to the universal values of human rights and freedoms.
Kazakhstan is now taking itself to a new level of development, consistently creating an open democratic society and actively integrating itself into the international community.

We created a successful market-oriented economy. Many international experts view the Kazakhstani way of development as an example for the former Soviet Union republics.

According to the World Bank classification, Kazakhstan is now one of the medium-income countries.
In the past 10 years the income of Kazakhstanis has increased by five times.
Average monthly pay has increased by almost six times.
Average monthly pension has increased by 4.5 times.
The number of individual deposits with banks has increased by 35 times.
GDP per capita will reach 3,000 US Dollars in 2005.

Our achievements enable us to make ambitious plans - turning Kazakhstan into one of the world’s rapidly developing countries with a high standard of living. That is why we choose the way of accelerated economic, social and political modernisation.

Moreover, we had to start our reforms virtually from scratch.
I recall that back in 1991, at one of the meetings with the editors-in-chief of Kazakhstani newspapers, we were talking about problems the media were facing in new circumstances i.e. a market-oriented economy. Growing prices for paper and communications, coupled with high tax rates, had put the media in a very difficult situation.

At that time the government, although facing problems as well, helped the media to survive, to become stronger and to establish themselves.

We approved a number of preferential economic measures and tax exemptions for the media.
We kept providing support to the media.

Until recently the Kazakhstani media have also been exempt from value-added tax.
I would like to emphasise that we believe Kazakhstan can be making further progress if democracy and an open society are assured.

I view freedom of speech and freedom of the press as an integral part of this process. This is what I firmly believe in.

Currently, there are over 2,000 media in Kazakhstan. Of them, 80% are privately owned.
And our media are proponents of various political forces, including those sharing radical opposition views.
You are probably aware that people coming from 130 ethnic groups live in Kazakhstan. That is why lingual diversity is another distinctive feature of Kazakhstan’s media market.
Along with the Kazakh and the Russian languages the media use another 11 languages, including Ukrainian, Polish, English, German, Korean, Uigurian, Turkish, and Dounganian. Newspapers and broadcasts made by representatives of some ethnic groups, e.g. Kore ilbo, Uigur avazi and Deutche Algemeine Zeitung are supported by the government, which is not the case in virtually any other former Soviet Union republic.
There are many foreign media operating in Kazakhstan.

About 2,400 foreign media players are active in Kazakhstan’s media market. These include the world’s leading ones: BBC, Reuters, Deutsche Welle, Associated Press, Interfax, ITAR-TASS, Agence France-Presse, Xinhua, Bridge News et al.

Kazakhstan is open to global information traffic.
Satellite television and the Internet have become facilities that Kazakhstanis can access every day. Moreover, the Internet is now the most rapidly growing segment of the domestic media market. There are over 1.5m Internet subscribers in Kazakhstan.

Did we have a chance to enjoy things of this kind before? Never, ever.
I am confident that all these significant achievements will enable us to proceed with liberal reform and will assure their future.

Liberalisation and the openness of Kazakhstan to the international community are not just statements. They have been deliberately chosen by us as strategic priorities, reflecting the country’s vital national interests.

Globalisation brought more freedom to all of us, at the same time making us more interdependent.
This is what underlies the major goals to further rapidly modernise the country, set out in my recent address to the nation.

Globalisation opens up the new post-ideological era for mankind. The current generation will decide what form it will take.

In my opinion, globalisation leading to a new era of accessible and transparent information, increases the demands on the media and their moral liability for virtually every single word.
That is why finding the balance between freedom of the press and the moral liability of the media to society is one of the major items on this forum’s agenda.

Freedom of speech is not unlimited. It is capable not only of inspiring and creating but also of destroying.
It not only shapes policy but also shapes public opinion and consciousness, influencing the future. Indeed, to a large extent freedom of speech involves journalists’ liability.

Freedom of the press is an unquestionable value which should not be used as a suppressive tool in “information wars”. Journalists should be guided by common sense when covering any events.
The media are primarily a device which enables the balance of forces between society, the economy and entrepreneurship to be maintained. As a rule, newspapers are owned by individuals and corporations, but freedom of the press is owned by the people.

This issue has become especially relevant given recent developments in some Eurasian countries.
I mean the developments in Georgia, Ukraine and our neighbour - Kyrgyzstan.
As reasonable people we realise very well the in-depth reasons for such developments. These developments are driven not only by any mythical external conspiracies but also by internal development issues.

Poverty and unemployment resulting from lack of development strategies and visible economic successes make people feel unhappy with the authorities.

Abai, the great Kazakh philosopher, said: “Can poor people feel well about each other..? Their implicit hostility towards each other eventually turns into explicit and irreconcilable animosity; they go mad, they fight each other, they set up parties, bribe influential proponents to take advantage of their enemies and fight for high positions.” Isn’t that the case today?

It is poverty and inequality which drive such evils as international terrorism and extremism.
Abu Nasr Al Farabi, our great ancestor who came from the ancient city of Otyrar, and whose sacred face is displayed on Kazakh banknotes, stated in his well known treatise About the Views Shared by Residents of a Virtuous City: “Groups of virtuous people might achieve consensus and mutual understanding through order and interaction. So the entire world will become virtuous, if nations help each other to become happy”.
Journalists bring nations and states together.

And they should promote the consent and harmony which the great Oriental guru talked about a thousand years ago.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Kazakhstan is now confident in its capabilities and is optimistic about its future.
We plan our GDP per capita to reach over $ 5,800 by 2010 and about $ 9,000 by 2015.
At the same time, we will proceed with political liberalisation aimed at improving the efficiency of public administration, introducing local self-governance, reforming the judiciary and developing the potential of civil society institutions and the media.

Our aim is to become one of the effectively developing countries of the world, relying on universal democratic values and providing a high standard of living for our people.
The Kazakhstani model of development can serve as an example for all the former Soviet Union republics.
This is the conclusion of a recent conference held at Harvard University by leading experts in that internationally recognised centre of learning.

Such opinion matters to me as it not only reflects the fact that Kazakhstan made the right development choice but also the fact that our future plans and aspirations are right.
At today’s forum I would like to call the journalistic community to realise the challenges the world is facing and the role the media are expected to play in shaping a new global community based on cooperation and common interests.

The world has become global not only because of the globalisation of many issues. The main reason for globalisation is that the international community eventually realises the global nature of issues. And this means that the global mind and the global intellect are being shaped.
Great rivers originate from small springs. Similarly, the global mind originates from such forums as this one. And the atmosphere of interaction, mutual information and trust promote mutual understanding and communication.

It is obvious that such problems as terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking which cause concern to people across the world can only be resolved through the joint efforts of all nations and the entire international community. This is why Kazakhstan has engaged in a coalition to combat terrorism.
I was talking about that at UN headquarters and I would like to say it again here: rich countries should help poor ones as poverty and inequality cause many problems to develop. That is why we not only support the efforts made by the international community to bring people in Afghanistan and Iraq back to peaceful days but also believe that assistance to those countries should be more effective and active.
We were pleased to learn that relations between India and Pakistan are being taken to a new level as they are a significant component of regional security.

Kazakhstan is a country where many religions, ethnic groups and civilisations interact. That is why we are desperate to have stability in the country, as well as inter-ethnic consent and security in the region.
I am confident that our Media Forum will promote better understanding of these and other relevant issues concerning all of us. I am confident that an open exchange of views here in the next few days will promote further international dialogue and true partnership.

This tradition of holding Media Forums in Kazakhstan is further evidence that our country is open and cooperative in addressing the issue of the optimal relationship between the media, the authorities and the public.

I would like to conclude by remembering the words of wisdom of Franklin Roosevelt, the great American president.

In America’s hard times – on 6th January 1941 – at his third inauguration ceremony, he was delivering a speech to Congress and spoke about four crucial democratic freedoms and rights: freedom of religion, right to well-being, freedom from fear, freedom of speech and expression.
We have assured freedom of religion by assuring inter-confessional consent.
We have assured the right to well-being by conducting successful economic reform.
We have assured the right to be free from fear by assuring the stability and national security of the country.
We have assured freedom of speech and expression by providing the required environment for free media.
We have created an open and free society.
And all this is the fundamental achievement of Kazakhstani democracy.
I wish you fruitful and effective work and interesting and open debates.
All the best.