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Kazakh parliament confirms Masimov’s nomination as prime minister

ASTANA, April 02. /ITAR-TASS/. The lower house of the Kazakh parliament on Wednesday, April 2, unanimously voted for the nomination of Karim Masimov as the new prime minister of the country.

“With your consent I will now sign the decree [on Masimov’s appointment],” Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev said after the vote in the parliament.

He said Masimov was the best possible candidate for the post. “Masimov worked during the crisis in 2007-2009. We avoided the recession that all the other countries were experiencing. A roadmap was worked out, we repaired roads, schools and hospitals in all villages, we gave jobs to people and developed production,” the president said.

“We now expect a production crisis. Europe has not yet risen from the knees. The situation in other emerging economies is complex, and we need to work competently with our foreign partners,” he said.

Masimov was prime minister in 2007-2012. In September 2012, he became chief of staff in the presidential administration and in January 2014 acting state secretary.

He will replace Serik Akhmetov who resigned together with his government. However its members will continue to carry on until a new government is formed.

Under the Constitution, the prime minister in Kazakhstan is appointed by the president with the parliament’s consent. The newly appointed prime minister has to propose a government lineup within ten days.

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