Nearly 2,000 young people attended the Forum, among whom were students, sportsmen, workers and creative thinkers. Representatives of Atyrau and Mangistau regions participated in the event through video conferencing.
Nursultan Nazarbayev congratulated the participants on the opening of the Forum, noting young people’s involvement in the implementation of key government initiatives.
“Kazakhstan is making every effort to increase the country’s forest cover despite its harsh climate. Under the auspices of “Zhassyl Yel” programme 115 thousand hectares were planted with 50 million trees. The huge work done by 200,000 people is a true heroic deed. In line with another programme, “With Diploma to Village”, 30,000 young specialists went to work in rural areas. This indicates their involvement in the development of the country. Kazakhstan supports its youth in various fields, including by educating young people abroad. We are also introducing dual education system that combines apprenticeship and education. We have provided all favourable conditions for active and purposeful young people,” he said.
The President noted there were thousands of young Kazakhs present at the Forum whose hearts beat to the same rhythm.
“Together we are building a strong country. All of this is done for you. Over the last four years the amount of money allocated for education has increased twice, while the funding of science and healthcare has grown by 2.5 and 1.5 times, respectively. Every year the government provides more than 35,000 scholarships enabling students across the country to study in universities for free. Nazarbayev University and Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools are working efficiently. We have successfully completed the first five-year period of industrialisation, within which 700 new enterprises were built and 60,000 jobs were created. The flow of foreign direct investment into the country amounted to US $ 200 billion. By virtue of our joint efforts, Kazakhstan entered the list of 50 most developed countries of the world,” he maintained.
Nursultan Nazarbayev underscored the region enjoys stable economic growth, manages to resolve social issues and sees increased household wealth.
“In recent years, 34 companies worth 260 billion tenge have been built and modernised in the West Kazakhstan region. More than two thousand people have been employed. Over the past three years alone, the volume of industrial output has increased twice. Defense enterprises are also successfully developing, ensuring we have a shipbuilding industry and our own navy. At the same time we support small and medium-sized businesses. Last year, the government allocated 1.7 billion tenge to the West Kazakhstan region under the programme Business Road Map 2020 that helped to implement 123 projects worth 9.5 billion tenge. 12,000 young people were employed through the programme “Employment-2020,” he said.
The President touched upon key areas of the “Nurly zhol” new economic policy and the implementation of industrial projects in the region.
“We are building roads, social facilities and housing for young people. Over the last two years, apartments were given to 360 young families, which equals to more than 1,000 people. As part of the “Nurly zhol” programme a highway from Uralsk to Kamenka will be reconstructed. In order to attract additional investment, a new industrial zone has been established. We are planning to put into operation two more industrial projects worth 44 billion tenge. Three more project worth 2.5 billion tenge are underway and will be launched next year. We have big plans and a lot of work. This is not the limit for hard-working people,” he said.
The Head of State noted a lot of famous athletes were attending the forum.
“The whole world knows the names of our famous Olympic champions - Ilya Ilyin, Gennady Golovkin, Denis Ten, Alexander Vinokourov and many others, including those who created sensation at the London Olympics. They are good role models for the next generation. Today there are 1,500 sports facilities in the region, including stadiums, swimming pools, hockey and tennis courts. It is no coincidence that our Forum is taking place in the modern tennis center, which was built with the assistance of Kazakhstan Tennis Federation. Future champions are brought up here,” he said.
Nursultan Nazarbayev emphasized the beginning of a new stage on the way to becoming one of the 30 most developed countries of the world.
“We are implementing five major institutional reforms aimed at improving people’s standard of living, including through good governance, judicial and legal protection, well-developed industry and strengthened unity. This is a large-scale development plan for years to come,” he said.
The President stressed that every endeavor made by Kazakhstan is aimed at ensuring prosperity of the younger generation and a better future for the country.
“Today the world is open to you. You live in interesting times and grow together with the forward-looking country. All this became possible due to peace and stability, friendship, brotherhood and understanding of the people of Kazakhstan,” he said.
Among the keynote speakers were Member of the Nationwide Campaign “Kazakhstan-2050”, Head of Kazakh-Finnish Business Hub M.Mankeyev, a student of West-Kazakhstan State University named after M.Utemissov and a Presidential scholarship holder G.Koilanova, Olympic champion I.Ilyin, as well as representatives of Atyrau and Mangystau regions. The speakers thanked Nursultan Nazarbayev for the continuous support of young people and their initiatives and told they are ready to take an active part in the implementation of “Kazakhstan-2050” Strategy.
