Kazakhstan has sufficient reserves for the rainy day: President Nazarbayev

 Kazakhstan has sufficient reserves for the rainy day, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev said at the annual meeting with journalists at his Astana-based Akorda Residence December 21.

“The current crisis originates from a different source. Back in 2007 the crisis started in the USA (…) The current crisis has been triggered by falling oil prices and gas prices. And the second cause was reciprocal sanctions of Russia and Europe. All of this has caused turbulence. The sluggish crisis may linger for 10 or 20 years”, Head of State said.

President reminded that the Government’s social obligations wouldn’t be slashed. “Let the people of Kazakhstan stay calm… we have action plans based on the oil price of $70, $60 and $40 per barrel (…) we do have reserves for the rainy day (…) We are closely monitoring the situation around foreign currencies, including in Russia. There should be some bottom to hit. Nothing [frightening] is happening in Kazakhstan, there is no reason to be worried or cut a wide swath. We have passed a law against those triggering public turmoil … and we’ll be holding such people liable. Safety of individual deposits kept with banks are guaranteed by the Government. There will always be some fluctuations of currencies (…) We rely on the tenge, our national currency, in everyday life, to buy foodstuffs (…) We’ll ensure internal stability and make sure all the all the social welfare allowances are paid on time”, President said.

According to him, “the country’s industrialization program is aimed at developing processing industries. If everything we consume is manufactured and processed domestically, we will not be dependent on imports. In times of price fluctuations, export and imports aggravate the situation”.