1.Introduction
India-Kazakhstan contacts go back to the days of the Great Silk Route which passed from China to the Western world through the Central
Asian region (then known by different names such as
Turkestan, Turan etc.) touching
Southern Kazakhstan especially Shymkent and
Zambul regions. During the period between 12th and 3rd
century B.C., nomadic and semi-nomadic Saka tribes reached
India
from Southern Kazakhstan.
Cooperation between our peoples resulted in deep rooted
linkages, which even today are evident in similarities in
our food, language, dress and culture. The Silk Route played a seminal role in this
cooperation, transporting not only commodities for trade,
but more importantly knowledge and ideas. The flow of
Buddhism from India
through Central Asia to China
and the flow of the ideas of Sufism from Central Asia to India are but
two major examples of this phenomenon. The benefits of such
mutually beneficial cooperation were evident in the richness
of not only our trade, but, more importantly, of our
societal exchanges.
In modern times, Jawaharlal Nehru along with Indira Gandhi
visited Almaty in 1955. 50th anniversary of this historical
visit was celebrated in 2005. Dr. Radhakrishnan visited
Kazakhstan
in 1956 in his capacity as Vice President.
India was among the first
country to recognize the independence of Kazakhstan. President Nursultan
Nazarbayev’s first official visit after
Kazakhstan
got independence was made to
India
in 1992, which shows importance of
New Delhi to Astana. Diplomatic
relations were established on 22 February 1992 during this
visit, when an appropriate Protocol was signed by Mr.
Tuleutay Suleymenov, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, and Mr.
Madhavsinh Solanki, Minister of External Affairs, Government
of India. The implementation of Protocol has started by
opening of the Embassy of India in Almaty In May 1992, and
subsequent establishment of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in New Delhi in 1993.
Foreign Policy of Kazakhstan
with regard to
India
is based on traditions of friendship and cooperation between
the peoples and governments of both countries and reflects
the aspiration for further development and strengthening of
Kazakh- Indian relations.
Interaction in UN and other international fora has been
close and mutually supportive.
Kazakhstan backs
India’s
candidacy for the UN Security Council Permanent Membership.
India has constructively and actively participated in the
Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures
in Asia (CICA) process, initiated by Kazakhstan, ever since
its inception. Kazakhstan
facilitated
India’s entry into the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization as Observer. India also
supports Kazakh foreign policy’s another initiative -
Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
2. Exchange of High Level Visits
The foundation of present-day Kazakh-Indian relations was
laid during the visit of President Nursultan Nazarbayev to India in February 1992 when several
inter-governmental agreements were signed. The declaration
on Principles of Mutual Relations between Kazakhstan and
India was the basic document in which both sides confirmed
their aspiration to establish relations based on respect for
sovereignty, territorial integrity and non- interference in
the internal affairs of each country.
In May 1993 the Indian Prime Minister Sh. Narsimha Rao made
a return visit to Kazakhstan.
During the talks both sides agreed to continue political
dialogue and develop mutually beneficial cooperation. The
issues of training and enhancement of skills of Kazakh
personnel in the spheres of diplomacy, marketing, banking
and agriculture were discussed.
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev visited India in December 1996 and February
2002. Vice President of India
Sh. KR Narayanan visited
Kazakhstan
in September 1996 and Indian Prime Minister Sh. Atal Bihari
Vajpayee visited Kazakhstan in
June, 2002 for 1st CICA Summit and bilateral talks.
Lately agenda of the bilateral cooperation has been topped
by the following priority directions: energy, information
technology and counter terrorism, trade and investment.
Exchange of ministerial visits gave a continuity to the
development of bilateral relations.
In 1992 Sh.RL Bhatia, MOS(RLB), MEA and Sh. S. Khurshid
MOS(Commerce) visited Kazakhstan.
In 1993 Sh. S. Khurshid, MOS(SK), MEA and Sh. Ghulam N. Azad,
Minister of Tourism & Civil Aviation visited Kazakhstan. Mr. Abilsitov, Deputy
Prime Minister & Min of Science & New Technologies of
Kazakhstan visited
India
in July 1993 for the 1st JCM meeting.
In 1994 Sh. S. Khurshid, MOS(SK), MEA again visited
Kazakhstan and Mr. Saudebaev, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan
visited India.
In 1995 Sh. BS Yadav, MOS(Mines) visited
Kazakhstan
and from Kazakhstan
side Mr. Nurmagambetov, Defence Minister visited
India
for signing of Defence Cooperation and Mr. VL Matte, First
Deputy Prime Minister & Dr. VS Shkolnik, Min of Science &
New Technologies for 2nd JCM visited
India.
In 1996 Sh. B. B. Ramaiah, MOS for Commerce visited
Kazkahstan.
In 1997 Prof. Y K Alagh, MOS for Power & S&T visited Kazakhstan for Joint Commission on S&T and Sh. S
I Shervani, MOS, MEA also visited Kazakhstan.
In 1999 Prof VK Ramamurthi, Minister of Petroleum visited
for 3rd JCM and Sh. Jaswant Singh, EAM for CICA Foreign
Ministers’ meeting. Mr. Tokaev, Dy Prime Minister & Foreign
Minister of Kazakhstan
visited
India.
In 2001 Mr. Erlan Idrissov, Foreign Minister visited India in connection with CICA.
In 2002 Smt. Vasundhara Raje, MOS, Small Scale industries
attended 2nd Eurasian Economic Summit in Almaty. From
Kazakhstan
Mr. Vladimir Shkolnik, Minister of Energy and Mineral
Resources visited India for IV JCM and Mr. Absattr Haji Derbissali,
Supreme Mufti of Kazakhstan visited India.
In 2003 Sh. G. Fernandes, Defence Minister visited Kazakhstan.
In 2004 Sh. Natwar Singh, EAM attended CICA Ministerial
Conference and Sh. Elangovan, MOS for Commerce & Industry
visited Kazakhstan. Mr. A. Dzhaksybekov,
Minister of Trade & Industry visited India.
In 2005 Sh. M S Aiyer, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas
headed the Indian delegation for 5th JCM in February and in
December he headed the delegation to KIOGE 2005. Sh. Natwar
Singh, EAM attended SCO Summit held in Astana in July 2005.
In 2006 Sh. M Deora, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas
headed the Indian delegation for 2nd CICA Summit. Mr.
Baktykozha Izmuhambetov, Minister of Energy & Mineral
Resources headed the Kazakh delegation for VIth JCM in Delhi.
In 2007 Mr. Shankersinh Vaghela, Minister of Textiles of India, visited Kazakhstan from 24 to 28 March. Mr.
Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Industry of India,
visited Almaty for 63rd ESCAP, 17-23 May 2007. Mr. Nurlan
Yermekbayev, Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan visited New Delhi for Foreign Office Consultations on
2-4 August 2007.
3. Recent Developments
Recently the two countries have embarked upon the high rise
of the curve of bilateral cooperation. Trade turnover has
increased by 74% and reached USD 210 million in 2006. In
fact, Kazakhstan
is the largest trade partner of
India
in Central Asia.
Major commodities of export from
Kazakhstan
to India
are spelt, asbestos, soft wheat, steel, aluminum, wool, raw
hides etc. Major items of import by
Kazakhstan
are tea, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, machinery,
tobacco, valves and consumer items etc. The major Indian
presence is in pharmaceutical and tea markets. Almost all
the major pharmaceutical companies have their operations in
Kazakhstan
and are gaining/increasing their market share every year.
In 2006, Indian investment to
Kazakhstan
has increased to 16 million US Dollars, indicating the
growing confidence of Indian businessmen in the favourable
environment in the Kazakh economy. On their part, Kazakh
companies are also establishing their presence in India with
KazStroy (infrastructure), Kaspain Shelf (oil exploration),
TVL (retail equipment) being the earliest ones to explore
the Indian market.
In 2006, tourism exchange has risen by 65%. The Kazakh Embassy in New Delhi issued 2622
visas, including 11 diplomatic, 4 official, 1488 business,
35 private and 213 tourist, 93 students and 700 “for work”,
78 transit visas.
In 2006, Mission
issued a total of 3264 visas which includes 2557 tourist
visas, 392 business visas, 174 entry visas and other visas
such as student visa, medical visa, transit visa, diplomatic
visa, conference visa & education visa.
There are nearly 1000 Indian students in Kazakhstan, most of them are
studying medicine.
There is a direct flight between Almaty –
Delhi
by Air Astana twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday.
Indian Airlines is a code sharing partner which has 20 seats
in each flight.
The India-Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Commission,
established in 1992, has been instrumental in developing
bilateral trade, economic, scientific, technological,
industrial and cultural cooperation. The Commission has met
six times, the last meeting being in October 2006 in New Delhi.
Foreign Office Consultations at the level of Deputy Foreign
Ministers are also held annually to discuss the entire range
of bilateral relations and exchange views on international
issues.
Overall bilateral cooperation has been institutionalized.
The following structures, which meet annually, are the
driving forces behind the rapid upsurge of bilateral
activities:
·
Kazakh- Indian Inter-Governmental Commission;
·
Foreign Office
Consultations;
·
Sub-Committee on Science and Technology;
·
Joint Working Group (JWG) on Hydrocarbons;
·
JWG on Military Technical Cooperation;
·
JWG on Counter-Terrorism;
·
JWG on IT;
Indian investment to Kazakshtan has grown from USD 0.6
million to USD 15 million in 2006.
Under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC)
Program, Kazakh specialists are trained in computer and
space technology, standardizing and certification, and
agriculture. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)
Program also provides training facilities to the Kazakh
students in English language, in economics, banking system,
international relations, international law and the arts.
Academic exchange has been revitalised. In 2006 alone, the
think tanks of the two countries came out with 3 books on
bilateral cooperation: India-Kazakhstan Relations: Enhancing
the Partnership (Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies
& India Central Asia Foundation); India-Kazakhstan
Perspectives: Regional and International Interactions (Al-Farabi
Kazakh National University & India Central Asia Foundation);
Kazakhstan Today (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University &
Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation).
4. Legal and Treaty Basis
Today, Kazakhstan
and India have
created an appropriate legal ground for any kind of
bilateral activities and are working to enlarge this domain.
The most important
bilateral documents are as follows:
·
Declaration on the basic principles and directions of
Inter Government relations
·
Protocol on Establishments of Consular Relations
·
Protocol on Establishment of Diplomatic Relations
·
Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Trade,
Economic Relations and Science
& Technology
·
Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Culture, Arts,
Education, Science, Mass
Media & Sports
·
Cultural Exchange Programme for the year 1992-94
·
Protocol on Cooperation between MEA, India and MFA, Kazakhstan
·
Agreement on Science and
Technology
·
Agreement of Government Credit of US$ 10 million
·
Air Transport Agreement
·
Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation
·
Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection
of Investments
·
Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal matters
·
Agreement on Mutual Visa Free Travels for Diplomatic
and Service passports
·
Agreement on Combating International Terrorism and
other types of Crimes
·
Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism
·
MOU on Information
Technology
5. Conclusion
Kazakhstan and Indian are rapidly growing economies, which
is opening open new vistas for the bilateral cooperation.
The two countries are rediscovering each other and
people-to-people contacts have increased tremendously. As
globalization pace gets faster, peoples of the two countries
become “immediate neighbours” instead of “extended
neighbours”. It is expected in the near future relations
between Kazakhstan and India as well as Central Asia and
South Asia will gain more strength.
