Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry to spend $20 million on foreign trips in 2014

Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry plans to spend over 3 billion tenge ($20.5 million) on business trips abroad in 2014, Interfax-Kazakhstan reports. The mount of funding is specified in the draft state budget for 2014-2016 published in the Kazakhstan informational-legal system of regulatory acts. According to the draft law, representation of Kazakhstan’s interests abroad will cost the budget 20.3 billion tenge ($135 million). The plan is to spend 6.1 billion tenge ($41 million) on the country’s participation in international organizations and other institutions. 239.2 million tenge ($1.6 million) will be allocated to represent the country’s interests in international organization, foundation and other bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Construction of real estate facilities abroad for housing of Kazakhstan’s diplomatic representative offices will cost 3.3. billion tenge ($22 million). Another 103.3 million tenge ($689 thousand) will be spent on special, engineering-and-technical and physical protection of the diplomatic representative offices abroad. 2.4 billion tenge ($16 million) will be spent on services consisting in coordination of foreign policy activities. Delimitation and demarcation of the state border will cost the budget 227.5 million tenge ($1.5 million). 2.6 billion tenge ($17.3 million) are going to be spent on promotion and image-making campaigns abroad. The draft budget has been submitted to the Majilis -- the Lower Chamber of the Kazakhstan Parliament - for consideration and approval.