Marat Tazhin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Despite the relatively short historical period of interstate relations between the two independent countries, the cooperation between Kazakhstan and Bulgaria has always had a special nature by reason of common historical and cultural roots of the two nations. At the time, the nomadic proto-Bulgarian tribes from Great Bulgaria under Khan Kubrat, prior to setting off for the Balkan peninsula in the 7th c., were neighbours of the tribes of the Pechenegs, the Polovzians (a Western European exonym for the western Kipchaks, or also known from the Bulgarian, Byzantine and Western annals as Cumans), and the Kangly on the territory of Central Asia. That’s where the tribes led by Khan Asparukh (Kubrat’s son), the founder of the first Bulgarian state in Europe started from. Later, in the 11th c., the Kipchaks arrived in Bulgaria at the invitation of King Kaloyan as a military power, whose cavalry were his personal guards in the wars against the Byzantines, crusaders and the breakaway boyars. Until the Ottoman invasion, the Kipchaks, the major ethnos constituting the Kazakh nation, were Bulgarian boyars and cavalry commanders, playing a substantial role in the history of Bulgaria.

Undoubtedly, the fifteenth is a symbolic anniversary, but it is also an occasion to rethink the road taken and the prospects for future cooperation. A basis for developing the relations is the mindset of both the peoples of Kazakhstan and of Bulgaria for interaction and understanding. This fact inspires confidence in the success of further deepening of our relations.

I’d like to observe that Bulgaria was among the first to recognize the independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan in December, 1991. After diplomatic relations were established, a new page was opened in the history of the Kazakhstan-Bulgarian relations. The first state visits exchanged by the heads of state of the two countries played an active role for the radical deepening of the relations. In 1993, Bulgaria’s President paid the first ever visit to Kazakhstan. In the course of the visit, issues of bilateral cooperation were broached, ways to boost the trade were mapped out and priorities of political interaction were set.

As a response to this visit, in 1999 a Kazakh delegation at the highest level arrived in Bulgaria, led by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. As early as then, our Presidents put high on the agenda among the most topical issues of bilateral cooperation those of using the transitional potential of Bulgaria, transporting hydrocarbons to Bulgaria and Europe. As we witness now, these ideas are coming to life in the projects TRASECA, Burgas-Alexandroupolis, etc.

During that visit, a Declaration on further development of friendly relations and cooperation was also signed as well as agreements on air transport, mutual encouraging and protection of investments, cultural exchange, on cooperation in the areas of metrology and certification and in the tourism industry.

The state visit of Bulgaria’s President Georgi Parvanov to Kazakhstan in 2003 gave a fresh impetus to the development of our relations. During the visit, the heads of state signed a memorandum on further development of bilateral relations. Intergovernmental agreements were signed on combating terror and organized crime, on deepening the cooperation in the areas of healthcare and judiciary. On the sidelines of the visit, President Georgi Parvanov held meetings with representatives of the two Houses of Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, students and teachers at the Eurasian University. In the southern capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty he attended the Kazakh-Bulgarian business forum.

Thus Kazakhstan and Bulgaria coped with the initial stage, proceeding now with a quantum leap: to fill the agreements with practical tenor, searching and finding new areas of cooperation in the changed world environment.

Kazakhstan is interested in cooperation with Bulgaria for a number of reasons. First of all, politically, the two countries have no unsettled problems. Second, the active collaboration within the framework of the international organizations (UN, OSCE, WTO, etc.) achieves results regarding the international security, tackling present-day threats and adoption of uniform standards in human development. In this regard it is worth recalling that Kazakhstan highly appreciated Bulgaria’s contribution as a country presiding over the work of the OSCE in 2004. For its part, Bulgaria assesses positively the chances of Kazakhstan to take over the OSCE presidency in 2009, which comes to testify to the high level of mutual understanding between the two countries.

It is important to stress that the positions of the two countries on international issues either overlap or concur. That’s why they actively participate in antiterrorist coalitions, helping for the post-war reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Intensive are the contacts in the area of parliamentary cooperation. A group for friendship with Kazakhstan works within the National Assembly of Bulgaria, which is a major factor for deepening the friendship between the two nations. Recently, some of the group’s members paid a visit to Kazakhstan to monitor the presidential elections.

Undoubtedly, cooperation in commercial and economic partnership has to further underlie the bilateral relations. For the time being, cooperation in the areas of energy, machine-building, the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries is a priority, particularly as regards joint ventures for production of consumer goods, using Bulgarian technologies; processing of agricultural production; exchange of expertise in the area of tourism industry, participation of Bulgarian companies in building up sites in Astana.

The special interest of Kazakhstan in Bulgaria is due to the country’s role in transit projects in the Balkans as a link between Asia and the Caucuses and EU.

We believe that the Joint Commission on commercial and economic cooperation and scientific and technological relations ought to remain the primary tool for deepening the trade collaboration. In this context, I’d like to emphasize on the necessity of boosting the work of the Commission for implementation of its decisions and using its potentials to the full. In our opinion, our countries have much bigger potentiality for cooperation in the areas of commerce and economy to become more efficient and task-oriented.

Over the recent couple of years, steps have been taken to boost the cultural relations. In the framework of the cultural cooperation, books by Kazakh authors were published in Bulgarian: A Critical Decade by President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev; the first part of the Nomads trilogy by Kazakh classic Esenberlin; We, The People of Kazakhstan by the chairman of the Bulgarian Cultural Centre, Oleg Dimov. Kazakh and Bulgarian artists participate in festivals and concerts held on a yearly basis in Varna and Almaty.

The attention of our governments is constantly focused on the work with the Diasporas. At present, some 30 000 ethnic Bulgarians live in Kazakhstan, who are to mark the 100th anniversary since their immigration here. In 2003, the curriculum of the Kazakh University of International Relations & World Languages included Bulgarian studies with the assistance of the Bulgarian side. A Cultural Centre is functioning within the structure of the Assembly of the Peoples of Kazakhstan.

In 2005, a national cultural society of the Kazakhs was established in Sofia to unite the ethnic Kazakhs, who reside in Bulgaria. The Aruakh society aims to facilitate the deepening of the cooperation between Kazakhstan and Bulgaria in the area of cultural relations and contacts between NGOs. Similar tasks are set by the For Friendship with Kazakhstan society, comprising a number of eminent figures from the cultural, scientific and political elites.

The visit paid in July 2006 by Kazakhstan’s prime minister to Bulgaria gave a fresh impetus to the whole set of bilateral relations. A number of agreements have been reached, which came to testify once again to the right common approach to international issues and the development of global economy.

Practical contribution to the commercial and economic cooperation between the two countries was the Kazakh-Bulgarian business forum held in the framework of the visit with the participation of representatives of leading Bulgarian companies and Kazakhstan’s development institutions.

I’d like to stress on the fact that 2007 is supposed to be significant to both countries, marking the beginning of a new stage in their state development. While Bulgaria starts a life of a full-fledged EU Member State, Kazakhstan keeps on building the sound foundations of its economy and statehood in the new conditions of the modern world. It was not by chance that the address of President Nursultan Nazarbayev of February last was titled “A New Kazakhstan in A New World”, specifying the tasks of the decade to come, oriented towards further reform of the political system, modernization of the economy, improving the wellbeing of the citizens and successful integration into the international community.

Undoubtedly, the relations between the “new Kazakhstan” and the “new Bulgaria”, bound by the strong bonds of friendship and mutual understanding, are to be strengthened and filled with new content in the future.

In conclusion, I’d like to congratulate the Bulgarian nation on our common anniversary, wishing you sincerely peace and understanding, success and prosperity.