Addressing the XV Session of the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan recently, which was promoting the theme "National Unity - Our Strategic Choice", President Nazarbayev told the gathering at the Palace of Peace and Accord here that "The national unity of Kazakhstan is the foundation on which rests and develops our statehood."
"Ensuring national unity will remain one of the main strategically important priorities of state policy," he added.
Outlining his vision for the Doctrine of National Unity, President Nazarbayev called for the setting up of a working group of representatives from ethnic and cultural centers, NGOs, government bodies, as well as experts and scholars, and urged it to finalize the draft doctrine for final approval by the Head of State through a decree.
"This is a program of action for the entire range of inter-ethnic and inter-faith relations. It aims to become a "handbook" for each Kazakhstan politician, a guidebook for each MP, manager, academician and journalists. It should serve as a basis for any policy documents and laws, its provisions should be taken into consideration in the Country's Development Strategy to 2020," the President said.
The other participants supported the basic approach outlined in the draft doctrine of national unity, and called for a comprehensive discussion of the proposed document.
The session was attended by leaders of national and regional ethnic and cultural associations, MPs, heads of central executive bodies, political parties, religious denominations, NGOs, heads of diplomatic missions of foreign states, international organizations and the media.
Prior to the holding of the assembly, Kazakh Foreign Minister K.B. Saudabayev said that in the light of Kazakhstan assuming the chairmanship of the OSCE, it was vital for the society to seriously consider ways to safeguard "existing peace and accord" in Kazakhstan.
Peace, he said, was the basis of Kazakh prosperity and well being, both now and in the future, and must be seen as one of the main components for promoting a positive image of Kazakhstan in the international arena.
"We can say that our experience of keeping and strengthening inter-ethnic and inter-religious accord in Kazakhstan is one of the key factors of our nomination as Chair of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe next year. Kazakhstan is the first post-Soviet country and the first Asian state to hold this responsible and honorable post. This is a significant achievement of which we should be proud," the Foreign Minister said.
Emphasizing the importance promoting the Kazakh model of inter-ethnic tolerance abroad, Foreign Minister Saudabayev recalled that President Nazarbayev has already stressed that the, "Principles of tolerance are not only the norm of political culture for us, but one of the key principle of the State as well."
He also said that Kazakhstan was assuming the chairmanship of the OSCE at a key moment in history "when the dialogue in human dimension between the East and West is experiencing difficulties."
In this regard, Saudabayev said Kazakhstan has always emphasized on strong and constant dialogue between civilizations, cultures and religions.
He said that this year alone, representatives of the Secretariat and Members of the Council of the Assembly have held important workshops and seminars with the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Knut Vollebaek, in The Hague and Almaty.
There were exchanges of views on Kazakhstan's model of inter-ethnic and inter-religious tolerance, and discussions on further strengthening these ties and seeking ways to improve this kind of activity in the OSCE area, he added.
He said that a key element of the unity prevailing in Kazakh society was its desire to take care of the development of the Kazakh language and culture. At the same time, efforts were on to ensure the prosperity of each of culture that was "an organic and integral part of the country's spiritual wealth."
Foreign Minister Saudabayev re-emphasized that the Kazakh State would pursue balanced and coherent policies to promote the Kazakh language, and warned that any misuse of the media or other public tribune was absolutely unacceptable.
"We intend to continue the implementation of the Head of State's 'Trinity of Languages' programme - which fully promotes the study of not just Kazakh and Russian, but English as well," he concluded.
Last week, President Nazarbayev spoke of the need for an "innovative revolution" in Kazakhstan.
Elaborating, he said there was a need for the people of Kazakhstan to change their attitudes.
Especially training his focus on the youth of the nation, Nazarbayev said there was a need to pay attention to the promotion of their education and intellect.
"We need to create a core of national intelligence; we need qualified people who can compete in the international arena," the President said in a lecture which was broadcast live to all other major universities in Kazakhstan.
"We need an innovative revolution. In any dynamic society, innovation and creative behavior should dominate. All Kazakh companies - especially investors - should live up to the highest standards and allocate funds from their profits to innovation, research and training," he added then. (ANI)
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