GOVERNMENT: Kazakhstan to introduce social health insurance system

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - This week featured a lot of work for the Government of Kazakhstan in the international arena and at the Parliament of the country. The idea on introducing the system of compulsory social health insurance drew a lot of reaction as well as the plan on implementation of about 100 projects on energy saving and introduction of the budget of local self-government.

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First Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagyntayev held a meeting on the issue of transition to the green economy. The new climate agreement, which is planned to be adopted this December in Paris, provides for stiffening of the regulations of greenhouse emissions in the international arena, introduction of the standards, technological requirements, quotas for hydrocarbon emissions and metering the amount of the emissions while implementation of the international projects.

The INDC document was discussed at the meeting. The document provides for the limitation and reduction of greenhouse emissions for the period from 2021 through 2030. It was decided that the reduction of greenhouse emissions for the reporting period should be about 15%, which is the goal for everyone.

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B. Sagintayev took part in the conference titled "Water and good-neighborly relations in Central Asia" in Berlin. In his speech he noted that Kazakhstan had been developing the legal framework for regulation of water issues for the last ten years. He also informed that the program on management of water resources was adopted and the measures for saving the Aral Sea were taken by the country. However, development of the hydroeconomic situation in Central Asia has negative tendencies. It requires more effective decisions and a complex approach.

The Deputy Prime Minister put forward a series of proposals on improving the water situation in Central Asia that were initiated by President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. In particular, one of the proposals was on holding the sitting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the International Aral Saving Fund or the Water Summit with the attraction of experts and specialists in this sphere. Besides, B. Sagintayev proposed to establish the Central Asian Investment Fund for implementation of water projects and the Regional Center of Water Security.

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Taking into account the situation in the world oil markets the Government of Kazakhstan considers applications of oil extracting companies for reducing the taxes on mining operations. Two of five submitted applications have already approved. As First Deputy Minister of Energy Uzakbai Karabalin informed at the CCS press conference, a special commission is working within the Ministry of National Economy. The commission is working now on considering these applications from companies the work of which turned out to be unprofitable under current economic conditions. Besides, the export customs duty rates related to the world price for oil and gas are expected to changes, which will allow to reduce the burden on companies working in the oil and gas sector. *** Ministry of National Economy proposes to exempt subsurface users' dividends from taxation for the period from 2016 through 2017. As Minister Yerbolat Dossayev explained while presenting a bill in the Majilis, this will be an additional measure of the government on support of industrial companies. This measure will stimulate investment in strategic processing enterprises and increase throughput performance. It will also help preserve production output in the period of the global financial crisis.