Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 26
By Matanat Nasibova – Trend:
The decision of President Nursultan Nazarbayev to resign as head of Kazakhstan, like his entire political course, is a wise and far-sighted step, head of the Baku Club of Political Science and candidate of political sciences Zaur Mammadov told Trend.
While addressing the people of Kazakhstan on the air of the republican TV channels on March 19, 2019, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev announced his decision to step down from his duties as president.
Nazarbayev’s successor is Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, chairman of the Senate (upper chamber) of the Kazakh parliament.
"Nazarbayev will remain in the history of his country as a wise politician and prominent statesman, as a leader of the nation. Therefore, his authoritative opinion will continue to have a positive impact on strengthening the statehood after his resignation as well. In general, the issue of continuity, along with that of transit of power, is important for Asian countries, for preserving a stable domestic and foreign policy course. Of course, the people of Kazakhstan were lucky that the country was headed by Nazarbayev during the period of independence, since it was thanks to his efforts that present Kazakhstan has become an important regional player," said Mammadov.
The expert noted that Kazakhstan has entered the 21st century as a fairly experienced and active participant in international relations at various levels.
"Having made his bet on multilateral cooperation, the country has seriously demonstrated itself both on a regional and a global level. In the first case, this concerns a number of initiatives and the participation of the republic in the development of integration processes in the post-Soviet space, starting from the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and ending with the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)," Mammadov continued.
According to the expert, the position of Nazarbayev in the integration and other processes in the Eurasian space has always been taken into account by the leaders of neighboring countries.
"Nazarbayev has always held a principled and firm position in matters of international and regional importance. At the same time, the head of Kazakhstan supported the fair position of Azerbaijan in connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in organizations such as the CSTO and the EEU, and supported the territorial integrity and inviolability of the Azerbaijani borders. It is of fundamental importance for us that Kazakhstan’s foreign policy is built precisely taking into account the principle of recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan," Mammadov said.
The expert further noted that close bilateral cooperation has been established between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in all areas.
"Energy and transport cooperation is being strengthened between the countries. Here we can also include international transport and logistics projects, such as Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), Trans-Caspian international transport route (China-Turkey-Europe), Baku-Tbilisi-Kars and other projects," Mammadov said.
The expert recalled that Nursultan Nazarbayev, along with Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev, laid the foundation for Azerbaijani-Kazakh relations, expressing hope that the course laid out under President Nazarbayev will be continued by his followers.