Olzhas Bektenov introduces new Deputy Minister - Minister of National Economy

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The Government pays special attention to deepening localisation in the manufacturing industry and stands firmly on the position of economic patriotism, the main task of which is to support the domestic commodity producer. For this purpose, the Government has made appropriate amendments to the Rules for subsidising agricultural machinery. Thus, when purchasing domestically produced machinery, the interest rate is subsidised up to 6%. At the same time, the possibility of subsidising imported analogues of machinery produced in Kazakhstan is excluded. At the same time, domestic agricultural machine-building enterprises need not only to increase production volumes, but also to continue the process of modernisation of technical equipment, improving quality in accordance with advanced developments and market needs," Olzhas Bektenov stressed.

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The decision was made on the basis of very deep scientific research, which was conducted not only in Kazakhstan, but also abroad. In 2017, a group of American scientists was awarded the Nobel Prize for the study of human circadian rhythms. And in this study, scientists proved that it is best and healthier for a person when he lives in his natural time. That is why now progressive countries of the world are striving for transition to the natural time zone. For Kazakhstan, the natural time zone is the one we live in now, UTC+5. Earlier, you know, we were in a different one - UTC+6. At one time, the country was transferred to a time zone that is not natural for us. Now, on the contrary, we have aligned the time to the solar cycles. I realise that the transition to a single time zone can be uncomfortable for some people. The organism gradually gets used to it. This decision has been made. If there are any inconveniences in the regions, we need to work with infrastructure, lighting, organisation of flexible schedules, which is allowed by our labour laws. All these issues will be further resolved," Prime Minister stressed.

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The President has clearly set a task for the Government - to find new sources of economic growth. Each region has its own strengths and we strive to maximise the potential where we will get a concrete increase in the economy of the region, the country and in general in the work to improve the welfare of the people. The path of economic patriotism we have chosen is bearing fruit in the form of new domestic factories and production facilities, which in turn are developing a layer of SMEs around them. All this allows us to increase self-sufficiency of the domestic economy and create productive jobs," Head of the Government said.

As President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted, we are building an economy based on knowledge and innovation. Today, the IT sector is actively developing in Kazakhstan, exports of digital services are increasing, and young specialists are becoming in demand both inside and outside the country. Our key task is to create conditions for retaining our own and attracting new talent, to support startups at all stages of their development and attract global competences to Kazakhstan," Olzhas Bektenov said.

Based on the materials of the biological substantiation of the Institute of Zoology, an update of the list has been initiated. This work is carried out in accordance with the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Proposals have been made to exclude 21 species of invertebrate animals and to include 6 species of invertebrates and 5 vertebrates. The most effective integrated measure to preserve rare and endangered species of animals is recognised as the creation of specially protected natural areas (SPNA)," Yerlan Nysanbayev said.

Thanks to the efforts taken to protect and monitor snow leopards, we have managed to increase the number of snow leopards from the critical level of the 1990s by more than 2 times and bring it up to about 180 individuals. The work on the conservation of the species continues, transboundary and international co-operation is actively developing," Yerlan Nysanbayev emphasised.

We hope that the imported tigers and their offspring will be the first wild tigers reappeared in Kazakhstan after more than 70 years of absence," Yerlan Nysanbayev said.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has upgraded the conservation status of saigas on the international Red List by three categories from "Endangered" to "Near Threatened," Yerlan Nysanbayev added.

For example, in Western Europe about 10 thousand farms keep more than 700 thousand ungulates. In New Zealand they keep more than 800 thousand individuals of red and spotted deer, as well as fallow deer. In Namibia, 5,000 ranches hold over 500,000 animals of 11 species of ungulates," Yerlan Nysanbayev said.

In 9 regions, specialised wildlife conservation organisations have not yet been established and 14.8 million hectares of the reserve fund remain unprotected. This burden falls on the ministries of ecology and natural resources, as well as internal affairs. Some regions have found an optimal solution to this issue. In particular, in Karaganda region a separate organisation was not created, but the existing institution for the protection of forests and wildlife was given additional functions," Yerlan Nysanbayev noted.

At present, we are waiting for consideration of these topics at the meeting of the Higher Scientific and Technical Commission, after which we will go to the Republican Budget Commission for consideration. To effectively restore the falcon population, it is necessary to establish a reproduction centre. We are currently working on this issue with international partners," Yerlan Nysanbayev concluded.