Kazakhstan in ОIC: the mission is feasible

The fanfares of the Summit of OSCE had barely to become silent when Kazakhstan already left on start of a new political marathon. Since June, 2011 it will head the Organization of the Islamic conference (OIC). According to the well-established tradition, the forecasts concerning the Kazakhstan foreign policy initiatives are rather contradictory, namely from excessively iridescent to unfairly pessimistic.
One of the network resources expresses the fears that the presidency of Kazakhstan in ОIC can come to an end as well as the present in OSCE, “fruitlessly, with scandal and probability of serious misunderstanding of the partners in the Organization”.
The statement is more than strange. Firstly, the scandal isn't recollected and secondly, the mission of Kazakhstan in OSCE can’t be named as fruitless in any way. Everybody understands that the republic has successfully coped with the obligation of the qualified mediator taken on, having strived for the impossible in fact at the cost of improbable efforts. First for 11 years OSCE Summit has been held - a dialogue platform for the heads of the states and the governments of the countries-participants. And that they have used it not so effectively as could be is the result of contradictions between members of the Organization.
Whether it is possible to settle the protracted conflicts of Nagorno-Karabakh or Transdniestria, for example, for one year of presidency? Certainly, no. That’s why it is possible to relate the fact to the pluses of this Central Asian country, that it wasn't afraid to endanger the political "reputation", starting the settlement of existing problems in the sphere of safety. And finally has managed to organize the direct dialogue between the leaders of the states-participants.
In this respect the republic opposes the considered rule "unite and direct" to a known political principle «divide and dominate".
According to global political geometry offered by Kazakhstan, the partnership is built on a line “East –West” between the European Union and the NATO, on the one hand and between Eurasian Economic Community (EAAC) and Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) from another hand and also on a line “North –South” between OSCE, CICA and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
That is, our neighbors approach to the presidency in OIC with the concrete luggage of the purposes and problems. One of the main things is to transform the Central Asia into a link between civilizations. So, it is planned to pay a special attention to the adjustment of inter-confessional dialogue. Against the crisis of tolerance which is observed in the world, Kazakhstan really can share experience: about 140 groups of people and 46 confessions peacefully coexist in republic. The congresses of the leaders of world and traditional religions were spent in Astana at the initiative of the president of Kazakhstan. 2010 year is announced by the United Nations as the International year of greater intimacy of the cultures.
Absence of mutual understanding between the civilizations leads to Islamophobia growth in the world. Its eradication is one of the priority problems of ОIC, found the reflection in the program document of the Organization, namely the ten years' action plan for 2006-2016. It became "road map" of Muslim Umma. And it is necessary to admit that Kazakhstan has all possibilities for the advancement of successful dialogue in this context. Last year it was possible to expand the contacts between OSCE and CICA, in 2011 the country intends to expand the interaction with ОIC, being the part of "three" of OSCE.
However, according to some experts’ opinion, Kazakhstan hardly will manage to achieve the bigger progress because the state practises a policy of multiple view. The separate political scientists consider that it is necessary to choose between Iran (occupying one of the leading positions in ОIC) and the USA, Palestine (the support of this country is a key question of the agenda of the Organization) and Israel. It will be impossible for all to please and to annoy nobody. Plus the last decision on military presence in Afghanistan … The relation to the country which will be actively at war at the American side in the Muslim state with brothers-Moslems and thus still to be the chairman of the Organization of the Islamic conference, will be at least dual if not to tell the negative.

How much true these arguments are? We will begin that for the Organization where there is no consent between the states-participants, where there are frozen conflicts and other problems, the impartial chairman will be more effective. Kazakhstan also occupies a firm position which arranges both the USA and Ahmadinejad concerning the problem of Iran. As Noursultan Nazarbayev marks, “the reasonable balance is necessary between the global efforts in sphere of struggle against the nuclear terrorism and nuclear programs which are legitimate from the point of view of international law. It is impossible to drive into a corner the whole states and the people, depriving of their legitimate rights for peace atom and touching thus their national pride”.

As to Afghanistan, a sending is incorrect at all. Kazakhstan always acted for peace solution of a problem of IRA. Astana has allocated 50 million dollars within the bounds of the program on training of the Afghani students in Kazakhstan. The republic restores the objects of an infrastructure in this country, develops the trade relations. And the soldiers … let’s remember Iraq. Kazakhstan has been presented in it exclusively by a platoon of the sappers who were not participating in operations.

In other words, Kazakhstan warns: you never know what might happen! But the efficiency of presidency just consists in that the urgent questions were taken out on the agenda. Besides it is necessary to understand that it is impossible to put an equal-sign between the principles of Islamic solidarity and terrorism in no way.

Following the results of last summit in 2008 held in Senegal, the Dakar declaration which condemns the acts of terror and extremism, managed under Islam cover is accepted. So also Kazakhstan, holding so responsible post as the chairman of OIC shouldn't worry about the sympathies from transnational criminal groupings. That is why, certainly, Kazakhstan will bring up the questions of fight against terrorism and extremism, the struggle against drug dealing within the bounds of the decision of the Afghan problem but not with the help of military methods. The republic of Kazakhstan supports the economic, infrastructural, educational modernization and all-round increase of competitiveness of IRA.

The main task of OIC is the large-scale cooperation of member states in political, economic and social areas, carrying out of the peace-loving policy starting with basic canons and directed on preservation of Islamic values. And Kazakhstan approaches for this role as nobody else on space of the Central Asian region.