Balaubayeva
B.M.
The senior teacher, Candidate of Historical Sciences of the Kazakh
National University named after Al-Farabi
Shakeyeva B.R.
2-st year MA student of international relations
The Kazakh National University named after Al-Farabi
the Kazakhstan CHAIRMANSHIP the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers
2011-2012
Kazakhstan's cooperation with
the OIC develops dynamically. Chairmanship in the OIC will help Kazakhstan
participate actively in the political and economic space of the Islamic world,
carrying out economic projects in Kazakhstan. Spiritual culture of the Islamic
civilization is very close to Kazakh people. OIC is an organization with great
potential, so with a great future.
Many members of the OIC are
trade-economic and investment partner of Kazakhstan. Gulf countries have helped
to build a new capital - Astana, as well as other strategic projects.
The organization actively
supports Kazakhstan's initiatives in the international arena as the
establishment of the CICA, Congress of world leaders and traditional religions.
OIC recognizes the role of Kazakhstan in the development of inter-religious and
inter-civilizational dialogue as a bridge between the "West and the
East."
If we consider the 15-year
relationship of Kazakhstan and the OIC, we can note the dynamic growth of
cooperation. We believe they can be divided into 3 stages:
1-stage. 1991-1994.
In
this stage, Kazakhstan had observer status since its entry in 1995 into the
largest Muslim intergovernmental international organization - the Organization
of the Islamic Conference, Kazakhstan became progressive able to develop cooperation with the General
Secretariat, subsidiary bodies and institutions of the organization. Thus, the
Kazakh delegation took part in all the major OIC summits: 8th OIC Summit in
December 1997 (Tehran), 9th OIC Summit in November 2000 (Doha), the 10th OIC
Summit in October 2003 (city of Putrajaya). In addition, Kazakhstan
participated in the meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs (the 24th
Ministerial Council meeting in December 1996 in Jakarta on 33rd Ministerial
Meeting in June 2006 in Baku), as well as the annual coordination meeting of
the Foreign Ministers of the OIC at the UN General Assembly [1].
2-stage. 1995 and
2005. On the 12th of December 1995 in a conference of foreign ministers in
Conakry (Guinea) the Republic of Kazakhstan became a full member of the
organization. Also Kazakhstan accepted membership in the Islamic Development
Bank. At this stage, Kazakhstan negotiated funding several projects. Delegation
from Kazakhstan has actively participated in all conferences.
3-stage from 2005
to 2012. 2005 marked an important year of the OIC, because it an important
document was adopted "Ten-Year Program of Action to counter the challenges
threatening the Muslim Ummah in the 21st century." The Muslim world have
to deal with the political, socio-economic, cultural and scientific dangers,
that challenge to unity, peaceful coexistence, security and development.
Member-states of the OIC aimed to cooperate closely in order to prevent these
dangers and take the necessary steps to address them. The most important thing
at this stage is Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the OIC Council of Foreign
Ministers.
In the words of the Minister
Foreign Affairs RK Y.Idrissov:
"Kazakhstan has taken over the chairmanship of OIC in June 2011 for two
reasons: first, in our opinion, this organization provides an important
mechanism to unite the Islamic world, at that time when there is an acute need
for pan-Islamic unity and solidarity; and, secondly, we feel that we can bring
new impulses to the realization of long-term goals and objectives of the OIC -
the promotion of modernization in the Muslim world, in accordance with the
values of Islam, which are
based on peace, tolerance and human dignity, ".
Chairmanship, which was held
under the slogan "Peace, Cooperation, Development", was officially
presented for Djibouti at the 39th session, which was held on the 15th and 16th
November, 2012. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Yerlan Idrissov, at
the conference, pointed out that chairmanship of Kazakhstan had been held in
heavy, hard times in the Muslim world, where there are economic and political
changes. For our country, it is a great experience and will be a significant
event of our diplomacy [2]. Kazakhstan as the chairman of the Council of
Foreign Ministers addressed difficult and important issues as the humanitarian
crisis in Somalia, the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian problem and the
"Arab Spring".
The Head of State has made
significant strides to solve these actual issues. Thus, focusing on
strengthening international and regional security, promoting dialogue between
the Islamic world and the West, countering Islamophobia and strengthening
nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Astana found like-minded
people with approval and applauded the initiative of the Chairman of the OIC.
Chairmanship lasted a year and
a half because of the "Arab Spring." Kazakhstan has put on the agenda
of the current issues and trying to transform and modernize the Islamic world:
1. Kazakhstan proposed to
change the name of the organization from the Organization of the Islamic
Conference to Organization of Islamic Cooperation. In addition, the logo of
the organization has been changed [3]. The Problem of changing the name was
already proposed in 1974 at the 5th session of the Ministerial Council [4].
Among them were the options as "Organization of Muslim countries",
"Organization of the Muslim peoples," etc. But in our opinion, the
name "Organization of Islamic Cooperation" fully reveals the essence
of the organization. Moreover, the problem of changing the name of the
organization was awarded with "ten-year program of the Muslim Ummah in the
21st century" [5]. All member-states of the organization supported
Kazakhstan’s initiative.
2. Kazakhstan tried to give
new content to the organization. The main purpose of our state was – to
skillfully exploit the potential of the organization to develop and raise the
profile of the regional and global scale. This task of the reform and
improvement of the OIC was given in the program. Therefore, Kazakhstan proposed
the creation of six regional offices, and plan to place one of them in Astana.
3. Kazakhstan has tried to
strengthen relationships with the western states, acting as a bridge between
East and West. For this purpose, the RK using the following mechanisms:
• To fight against religious
groups those threaten global security;
• To conduct a dialogue among
all the world's religions;
• To come to a compromise
between Western anti-Islam and radical groups in the Islamic world;
• Criticize parties and
movements, who for the sake of voters use religious beliefs of peoples.
4. Set up systems of food
security. To achieve this goal, plans to create a system similar to the FAO
(UN) with the Islamic Development Bank and the food bank members-states. A
headquarter is planned to be placed in Astana, as Kazakhstan has the potential
to become a leading exporter of food. On the one hand, Kazakhstan will get the
opportunity to expand its market for wheat, but on the other hand, this will
solve the problem of hunger in the Muslim countries. Currently Kazakhstan is
negotiating the exact financial arrangements with the Islamic Development Bank
[6].
5. Islamic G10. Kazakhstan
is one of ten developing countries with the Islamic world. In order to exchange
experience in many areas of the Kyrgyz Republic has a forum like the G8 (forum
of developed countries) and G20 (forum of developing countries). This is an
excellent platform to address current economic, political, social and
environmental issues.
6. Strategy modernization
of the Islamic world was proposed by Kazakhstan. President Nazarbayev said:
"The Muslim world, which is one-fifth of the world population, does not use
its full potential in the economy. For example, there is no representative of
the Islamic world in the G8 ... Therefore, the Muslim world has to go through
an upgrade. If, during the not tackle this problem, the development will be
delayed, and the backwardness of the last for a century "[7]. To achieve
this goal it is necessary to create conditions for the development of trade,
economic assistance, to modernize Muslim society through the development of
education, science and innovation. "We believe that the focus of the OIC
should be on promoting economic development and competitiveness through the
implementation of a trade and investment policy, which relies on efficient
investments in education, science and technology. This explains why, in the
period of our country’s chairmanship, we offer a variety of important
initiatives, including the formation of a platform for dialogue among ten
leading Islamic economies, the creation of an international center of
innovation, support for small and medium businesses and the development of food
security within the OIC, "- said the head of the Foreign Ministry [8].
Mass protests that swept the
Arab world in 2011-2012, affected a number of countries in North Africa,
Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East.
The results of these social
movements, known as the "Arab Spring", was the overthrow of the
ruling regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, the requires collapse itself in Libya, a
significant change in the power elite of Yemen and the ongoing confrontation
between the government and the opposition in Syria. But if, in Tunisia, Egypt
and Yemen, the main causes of anti-government protests were internal factors -
social and economic crisis, the corruption of the ruling elite, the lack of
real democratic freedoms, ethnic and religious conflicts, in Libya and Syria
(with, to a lesser extent, similar problems) the decisive role played by the
external factor - support the opposition forces from outside.
During his chairmanship of the
OIC in Central Asia, 1) intensified financial interests of Islamic countries,
2) was mobilized Islamic countries to rehabilitate areas of the Semipalatinsk
test site and the drying-up Aral Sea, 3) raised the issues of gender equality.
But the most memorable event of the chairmanship of Kazakhstan was the renaming
of the OIC, which existed half a century under the name of the Organization of
the Islamic Conference. As the representatives of the OIC,
"cooperation" to a greater extent reflects the essence of the
organization. This principle is adhered to, and Kazakhstan, which used the
platform OIC in order to strengthen the economic ties between the countries.
In addition, Kazakhstan's
chairmanship in the OIC affected other important issues of life in the Islamic
world, which Astana wished to draw to the attention of the Muslim world. For
example, Kazakhstan when it was not as chairman of the OIC, held a forum on
their land under the auspices of the Business Women of the World Islamic
Economic Forum. In the framework were discussed topical issues of the family, the
role of women in the Islamic society. June 7, 2011 during the seventh World
Islamic Economic Forum held a forum of business women WIEF - "Women and
Business: perseverance and tenacity." The fact that the opening of the
World Islamic Economic Forum meeting of business women speaks volumes. It is no
secret that throughout the world is gradually increasing the role of women in
leadership.
As a result, Kazakhstan's
chairmanship in the OIC was highly appreciated by the participants of the
organization. And this objective, because, while serving as chairman,
Kazakhstan has established itself as a responsible state, able to participate
constructively in the complex political processes, as well as an example of
effective state-building, economic development, preservation of inter-ethnic
and inter-religious harmony that is so necessary in the global economic crisis,
instability in many countries of the Islamic world and the uncertainty in the
future development of the global situation. As the General Secretary of the
OIC, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said, the Kazakh Chairmanship will remain one of the
most brilliant chapters in the history of the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation.
In conclusion, we can say that
Kazakhstan has put all efforts to revive and modernize the organization of
economic and social situation of the Muslim states, sharing the experience of
the OSCE chairmanship.
The list of the used sources:
1.К председательству Казахстана
в Организации Исламская Конференция книга 2
2.Председательство Казахстана в
ОИС завершилось успешно http://www.khabar.kz/rus/politics/Predsedateljstvo_Kazahstana_v_OIS_zavershilosj_uspeshno.html
3.OIC Journal June-august
2011 Issue №18, 6p.
4.Аль-Файез Мохаммад Зияб. Роль
Организации Исламской Конференции в решении региональных проблем. Диссертация. М, 1990
5.Ten-Year Program of Action //
http://www.oic-oci.org/page_detail.asp?p_id=228
6.В
Казахстане могут разместить офис продовольственной безопасности ОИС//http://news.headline.kz/chto_v_strane/v_kazahstane_mogut_razmestit_ofis_prodovolstvennoy_bezopasnosti_ois.html
6.http://oic2011-2012.kz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=104%3Avystuplenie-prezidenta-respubliki-kazaxstan-nanazarbaeva-na-vii-vsemirnom-islamskom-ekonomicheskom-forume&catid=48%3Aregionalnye-novosti&Itemid=135&lang=kz
2012.kz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=104%3Avystuplenie-prezidenta-respubliki-kazaxstan-nanazarbaeva-na-vii-vsemirnom-islamskom-ekonomicheskom-forume&catid=48%3Aregionalnye-novosti&Itemid=135&lang=kz
7.Қазақстан
ИЫҰ-ға төрағалық ете отырып, ұйымның
позициясын нығайтуға өз үлесін қосты http://wap.bnews.kz/kk/news/post/110827/
Резюме
Данная статья рассматривает роль Казахстана в
председательстве в ОИС СМИД в рамках «Десятилетней программы действий по
противостоянию вызовам, угрожающим мусульманской умме в ХХІ столетии». А также
анализирует суть концепции «исламского единства» и влияние «Арабской весны».
Summary
This article considers the role of Kazakhstan in the OIC
Council of Foreign Ministers in the chairmanship under the "Ten-Year
Programme of Action to Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah In The 21st
Century". Moreover it analyzes the essence
of the concept of "Islamic unity" and the influence of the "Arab
Spring."