Margulan Baimukhan, Kazakhstan's Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg;
Credit: Jazmin Campbell / Chronicle.lu
On Tuesday evening, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Belgium and Luxembourg (and Head of Mission to the EU and NATO), Margulan Baimukhan, and the Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan to Luxembourg and CEO of Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), Benedikt Sobotka, held a reception at Le Royal Hotel in Luxembourg-Ville to mark Kazakhstan's Republic Day.
This was the first official Kazakhstan Republic Day reception organised in Luxembourg since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Republic Day is a public holiday in Kazakhstan, celebrated each year on 25 October to commemorate the country's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.
Various ambassadors and other diplomats were present, as well as representatives of businesses in Luxembourg with operations or an interest in Kazakhstan. One of the guests, Franck-Alexandre Sallebant-Bessone, Business Development Manager at DataThings, confirmed to Chronicle.lu that there are some startups in Luxembourg who are "looking forward to making connections with and supporting Kazakhstan in its energy transition". DataThings was founded in 2017 as a spin-off company of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) of the University of Luxembourg and is currently hosted at Paul Wurth InCub.
Deputy Ambassador Askar Abdrakhmanov officially opened the reception by introducing Ambassador Margulan Baimukhan, who is normally based in Brussels. The national anthems of both Kazakhstan and Luxembourg were played, after which the Ambassador delivered his welcome speech. He welcomed the guests to this national day reception and recalled the importance of this date for Kazakhstan, with 25 October representing the country's "first step to independence"; on this date in 1990, the Declaration of the State Sovereignty of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted. This historical document became a legal basis to develop and adopt the Constitutional Law on Independence of Kazakhstan one year later.
Turning his attention to the present day, Ambassador Margulan Baimukhan highlighted the "important role" played by Kazakhstan in today's global economy. He noted that the country has undergone a "significant transformation" over the years, as illustrated by the new political and economic reform programme presented by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Despite the current geopolitical context, Kazakhstan maintains "the best investment climate", the Ambassador added; Kazakhstan has attracted around $400 billion of foreign direct investments (FDI) since gaining its independence, including around $160 billion of FDI from the European Union (EU). He expressed his hope for a "continued fruitful cooperation" with the EU, including Luxembourg with whom Kazakhstan celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations in June this year. In fact, in the first six months of 2022, Luxembourg invested $145 million in Kazakhstan's economy and became the fifth largest investor in Kazakhstan. Ambassador Margulan Baimukhan hoped the two countries would be able to "expand cooperation" further and develop their relations in the spirit of "trust and dialogue" as well as through partnerships. He also praised the work of the Honorary Consulate of Kazakhstan in Luxembourg in supporting the development of this cooperation. In terms of areas of mutual interests and existing (or potential) avenues for collaboration, the Ambassador cited the space industry, green finance and sustainable development, as well as higher education and science.
Ambassador Margulan Baimukhan later confirmed some more facts and figures to Chronicle.lu: trade turnover between Kazakhstan and EU countries increased by 43% in the first eight months of 2022 (compared with the same period last year). In January to August 2022, trade turnover amounted to $26.3 billion ($18.4 billion in the same period in 2021). More specifically, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Luxembourg in 2021 amounted to almost $4.3 million.
The evening continued with a musical performance by HasSak, a well-known Kazakh ethno-folk group. The band impressed guests with a colourful and energetic performance, featuring various traditional musical instruments (with the musicians switching between them with ease throughout) and throat singing. Their repertoire included a song called "Tartu" (meaning to give someone a special gift in the Kazakh language) which is typically performed during "Nauryz", Kazakhstan's spring festival which coincides with the Chinese New Year – a fitting choice ahead of the holiday season.
Honorary Consul and ERG CEO Benedikt Sobotka later said: "It has been an honour to support the strengthening of economic and cultural relations between Kazakhstan and Luxembourg. At ERG, we are proud of our enduring presence in our home country of Kazakhstan, and are pleased to have been representing Kazakh business in Luxembourg for almost ten years. We look forward to continuing to strengthen the development of bilateral relations between the two countries in the years to come".
