U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Kazakhstan's role as a global leader and Washington's strategic partner in non-proliferation, disarmament and security.
President Nazarbayev said he was dreaming of turning Kazakhstan into a nation independent of oil, gas and other mineral wealth. “I am looking forward to having this goal reached and seeing how it works”.
According to Russia’s Izvestiya newspaper, further implementation of the current taxation scheme may lead to Russia missing out on tax revenues of up to $ 1 billion a year.