Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has instructed the Foreign Ministry to strengthen the country’s foreign, economic activities, the presidential press service said on Friday.

“The work on the foreign and economic affairs of the Foreign Ministry must be strengthened,” Nazarbayev said at a meeting of the Ministry. “We are implementing a programme of industrial and innovative development. Our task is to attract new technologies. It is important to work very pragmatically.”

In particular, Nazarbayev has ordered the strengthening of the embassy’s activity in the countries having serious economic contacts and interests.

“We have come to a point when we have the opportunity to invest abroad,” he said. “If necessary, we can become shareholders in high-tech companies.”

Nazarbayev said that Kazakhstan’s activity in the Customs Union and Common Economic Space must be one of the priorities for the Foreign Ministry in the coming years.

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Former Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Akhmetov will become the new Prime Minister of the country, presidential advisor Yermukhamet Yertysbaev said in an interview with Trend.

“The issue over him has been resolved and in an hour or two his candidacy will be put forward to the Majlis, and I think the faction of the Nur Otan Party will support his candidacy. I think two other political parties will also support him, as Serik Akhmetov has great experience. He was transport minister, headed the Karaganda region and was trained carefully for this position,”Yertysbaev said.

According to Yertysbaev, Serik Akhmetov’s main task as the new prime minister will be an industrial and innovative programme.

Earlier, Prime Minister Karim Masimov resigned and was accepted by the president.
Yertysbaev also said that the president held a meeting with employees of the Ak Orda, during which he praised Karim Masimov’s work as prime minister.

“The government when led by Masimov worked well. I strongly disagree with conclusions and statements of other experts that there was no innovation component in the activities of the government led by Karim Masimov,” Yertysbaev said.

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The first overhaul of the Second Generation Plant on “Tengiz” is completed, Thursday’s company report said. Tengizchevroil involved more than 6 thousand people, who worked a total 2.6 million man-hours.

“We outdid all indicators in technical security and time adherence,” the construction manager Gary Ank said.  “The local contractors have managed to successfully involve a huge number of workers, mostly local Kazakhs,” he said.

This was the first simultaneous service maintenance overhaul on the two facilities, a type-SGP and the Tengizchevroil sour gas facility.  “The overhaul was implemented according to the plan and in the framework of budget,” Brad Midlton, the general manager on maintenance noted.  “Following the completion of the overhaul, we started the launch of the plant and brought production to full capacity, considering safety standards,” he said

Kazakhstan intends to transport 64 million tons of oil to the Black Sea by 2020, the first deputy chairman of the board on Corporate Development of the KazMunaiGas national company Daniyar Berlibayev said at a press conference in Astana today.

The press-conference has been devoted to the seventh Eurasian Forum KAZENERGY scheduled for October 2-3 in Astana.

“Kazakhstan intends to ensure delivering 64 million tons of Kazakh oil to the Black Sea by 2020,” Berlibayev said.

He said that the first oil is expected to be obtained from the Kashagan field in the first quarter of 2013.

The Caspian region including this field, will ensure ten per cent of global oil consumption in the next 35 years, Berlibayev added.