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RR RUEHIK
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010322Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
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INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 2419
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1780
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 1396
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2486
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEFAAA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1976
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC 1824
RUEHAST/AMCONSUL ALMATY 2240

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000132 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR ECON EINV SOCI RS KZ
SUBJECT:  KAZAKHSTAN:  GALA CELEBRATION MARKS 50 YEARS FOR 
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 
 
REF: 09 ASTANA 2157 
 
ASTANA 00000132  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public 
Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  On January 27, the Chamber of Commerce 
and Industry -- a state-sponsored business association that 
supports the development of small- and medium-sized 
enterprises -- held a lavish, gala celebration to mark its 
50th anniversary.  The presidents of the Russian, 
Belarusian, and German Chambers of Commerce were among more 
than 200 people in attendance and delivered letters of 
congratulation and pledges of support.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the 
Republic of Kazakhstan (the Chamber) celebrated its 50th 
anniversary on January 27 with an impressive -- if somewhat 
self-congratulatory -- show that included a star-studded 
cultural program, formal speeches and official letters, an 
employee awards ceremony, and a lavish, four-course meal 
and open bar.  More than 200 business leaders, diplomats, 
and government officials attended the affair, including the 
ambassadors of Russia, Germany, The Netherlands, India, 
Georgia, Ukraine, and the UAE, but the majority of the 
audience appeared to come from regional branches of the 
national organization.  No high-profile business leaders or 
senior government officials were in attendance. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Chamber was established in 1959 by a decree 
of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist 
Republic, and has been in operation ever since.  In 2005, 
it was officially registered as a non-governmental 
organization, and claims to represent the interests of more 
than 40,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 
Kazakhstan.  The Chamber has offices in each of 
Kazakhstan's 16 oblasts and its network of regional 
organizations represents the largest single business 
community in Kazakhstan.  More than 1500 organizations 
claim membership in the Chamber, which provides market data, trade 
mission support, quality assurance, and legal advice to its 
members.  It maintains partnerships with 72 foreign 
counterparts, particularly the Russian and Belarusian 
Chambers of Commerce.  It also established 10 regional 
courts of arbitration for the resolution of business 
disputes.  According to the president of the Chamber, 
Yerlan Kozhasbay, "one of our highest priorities is to 
present the interests of local businesses to foreign 
partners and investors.  It is important that they trust 
our businesses and understand Kazakhstani 
entrepreneurship." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Kozhasbay clearly enjoyed being on center stage 
during the gala celebration, playing host with grace and 
charm.  A young, savvy, well-connected businessman with an 
MBA from Moscow State University, Kozhasbay 
worked at national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy 
from 1997 until 2002 when he was implicated in 
embezzlement charges filed against former Minister of 
Transportation and Communications Ablay Murzakhmetov. 
Although he was identified by the General Procurator's 
Office as a "person of interest," charges against Kozhasbay 
were never filed.  The Chamber's Vice President, Serikzhan 
Mambetalin, appears to be in his late 30s, speaks fluent 
English, and completed an MBA at the Kazakhstan Institute 
of Management, Economics, and Strategic Research(KIMEP) in 
Almaty.  He himself provided the English translation during 
Kozhasbay's speech to the assembled dignitaries. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The evening had a very strong Soviet style and 
structure, from cherubic children in formal attire singing 
in a choir, to pledges of fraternal fidelity from the 
Russian and Belarusian Chambers of Commerce, to the glitzy 
 
ASTANA 00000132  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
appearance of Roza Rymbayeva, a middle-age megastar from 
the 1970s, who sang ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All" to 
resounding applause.  Other performances throughout the 
evening, interspersed with speeches and awards, included a 
pas de deux from Swan Lake, a violin virtuoso, a dozen boys 
on the dombra, and sexy girls in short skirts playing sax 
and singing.  That last act got the crowd on the dance 
floor.  The emcees for the evening -- well-known television 
anchors of a popular entertainment program -- spoke both Russian 
and Kazakh, and kept the show moving at a brisk pace. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) A representatives from the Chamber read letters 
of congratulations from President Nursultan Nazarbayev, 
Senate President Kasymzhomart Tokayev, and Prime Minister 
Karim Masimov, while the presidents of the Russian, 
Belarusian, and German Chambers of Commerce read their 
letters aloud, barely audible above the buzz of casual 
conversation. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT:  The Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
has an impressive network, both in Kazakhstan 
and with its immediate neighbors, and Kozhasbay certainly 
knows how to throw a party.  Nevertheless, the overwhelming 
impression of this parastatal "private sector" association 
is that it has yet to fully shake its Soviet legacy.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
SPRATLEN