1. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan re-elected as President
Tags: Person in news International News
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan has been re-elected as the President of Kazakhstan. According to the Kazakhstan Election Commission he has won 81.31% of the votes polled in the Presidential election held on 20 November 2022.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev became the President of Kazakhstan on 29 March 2019 after the resignation of the first President of Kazakhstan Nur Sultan Nazarbayev.
On 6 September 2022 the Kazakhstan constitution was amended and the term of the President was extended to 7 years from 5 years and a person can become the president of Kazakhstan only once. Since the constitutional amendment is being considered a new constitution, Tokayev became eligible to contest the Presidential election held on 20 November 2022. His earlier term as President is not being counted.
Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union which gained Independence on 16 December 1991, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
It lies in Central Asia. It is the largest country in central Asia and 9th largest country in the world.
Capital: Astana
Currency : Tenge
2. Meenaskshi Lekhi leads Indian delegation at the 6th CICA Summit meeting at Astana
Tags: place in news Summits International News
Union Minister for External Affairs Meenaskshi Lekhi led the Indian delegation at the 6th Conference on Confidence Building Measures and Interaction in Asia (CICA) summit held on 12-13 October 2022 at the Kazakhstan capital, Astana.
Replying to the Statement of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif on Kashmir she said that Pakistan is misusing the CICA for propagating malicious propaganda against India. She said that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.
Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA)
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
The idea of convening CICA was first proposed by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, on 5 October 1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
27 countries including India, China, and Pakistan are members of CICA.
Summit meetings of CICA
The First summit meeting was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 4 June 2022. It was attended by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The second CICA summit was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on June 17, 2006
The third CICA Summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey on 8 June 2010
The Fourth CICA Summit, was held in Shanghai, China on 21 May 2014
The Fifth CICA Summit was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 15 June 2019.
3. Kazakhstan renames its capital to Astana and bars second term for President
Tags: place in news International News
The Parliament of Kazakhstan voted to amend the constitution on 16 September 2022 to revert back the name of the nation’s capital to Astana. It also extended the term of the President and barred a person from becoming President more than once.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Term of the President :
- The term of the President has been extended to seven years from the present five years.
- Also a person can become the President of Kazakhstan only once. Earlier a person can become the President for a maximum two consecutive times.
Renaming of the Capital :
- It also passed a constitutional amendment to change the name of the capital to Astana from Nur-Sultan.
- Kazakhstan moved its capital from Almaty to Astana in 1997 after it became an Independent country in 1991. In Soviet times Astana was called Tselinograd.
- Later when Kazakhstan first President Nur Sultan Nazarbayev resigned after being in power for almost thirty years in 2019, his successor the current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev renamed Astana to Nur-Sultan in honour of the ex-leader.
- However, now again the name has been changed back to Astana.
Parliament of Kazakhstan :
- The Parliament of Kazakhstan is bicameral. It consists of the upper house senate and a lower house called National Assembly (Mazhilis).
Republic of Kazakhstan :
- Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union which gained Independence on 16 December 1991, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
- It lies in Central Asia. It is the largest country in central Asia and 9th largest country in the world.
- It has the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which is the world’s first spaceport. The Soviet Union used to launch its space rocket from here.
- The first Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma was launched into space from here on the Soviet Soyuz T-11 rocket on 3 April 1984.
- Now it has been leased to the Russians.
- Capital: Astana
- Currency: Tenge
- President: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
