Kazakhstan, Astana, Oct. 24 / Trend A. Maratov /
Astana should involve British ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair as an adviser to lobby for its interests on the international scene, Kazakh political analyst Dosym Satpayev told Trend on Monday.
"This is a fairly common practice for foreign countries attract high-ranking officials among former officials of other countries," he said. "This process is associated with an attempt to find the most influential lobbyists in the face of foreign specialists to lobby for these or other interests in the international arena."
The Daily Telegraph wrote on Sunday that the Kazakh authorities have hired former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for consultations on economic reforms. According to the newspaper, Blair will earn nearly 8 million pounds during a year of his activity.
This fact was confirmed by Adviser to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev Ermuhamed Yertysbayev.
"Astana has a large number of other projects and ideas, as well as how to position President Nazarbayev and Kazakhstan in the eyes of the international community," Satpayev said.
He said that Kazakhstan has problems with fugitive ex-bankers.
"Mukhtar Ablyazov (BTA bank former chairman) disappears, as it is well known in London," he said. One of the possible targets of attracting Tony Blair as a consultant is the question of how to solve this problem in Akorda."
He said that there are other initiatives in Kazakhstan, which also require lobbying.
Mukhtar Ablyazov is former minister and former owner of BTA Bank. He got asylum in Great Britain. Ablyazov is accused of embezzling $ 4.5 billion in Kazakhstan.
"Tony Blair is a right person for this purpose," he said. "I think that Astana will attract other consultants, including the U.S.".
He said that Blair's fees are another important question.
"If the fee is paid to him from official sources, then Kazakh citizens would like to receive a report on his future consultations," Satpayev said.
The amount of Blair's fees has not been specified by Nazarbayev's adviser.
The Daily Telegraph writes that after the resignation in 2007, Blair earned tens of millions of pounds. At present, he gives consultations to a number of clients in different countries, from financial institutions and governments. In particular, his services are used by JP Morgan, Kuwait's government, Abu Dhabi's sovereign fund and others.