MOSCOW, January 8. /TASS/. All foreign investments in Kazakhstan will be well-protected by the country’s authorities, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Russia Yermek Kosherbayev said in an interview aired by the Soloviev Live YouTube channel on Saturday.
"Speaking about the measures that our country assumes, the president of our country (Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev - TASS) clearly stated that all foreign investments, not only the US, but Russian and from other countries as well, will be well-protected," the diplomat said.
The US is the largest foreign investor in Kazakhstan, with American companies having invested considerable funds, mainly in oil and gas fields, largely in the country’s western regions, he said, adding that the issues of protecting investments dominated the telephone conversation between acting Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tleuberdi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday.
Russia is also a major investor in the Kazakh economy, the ambassador said, noting that Russian companies have joint commercial operations in the country.
The situation is stabilizing
The situation in Kazakhstan is stabilizing as the country is returning to normal life, though there remain separate hotbeds of terrorist activities, Kosherbayev said.
"The situation is stabilizing as the aviation, railway and highroad service is recovering. The country is returning to normal life. However, separate hotbeds of terrorist activities remain," he said.
"The Almaty airport will most likely start working after (January) 10," he said, adding that the capital’s airport "has already returned to peaceful life."
The press service of the republic’s ministry of industry and infrastructure development said earlier on Saturday that more than 160 out of 216 domestic flights in Kazakhstan scheduled for Saturday had been cancelled. All delays and cancellations were due to the closing of airports in Aktau, Taldykorgan, Almaty and the issues with the Internet related to the preparation to flights.
Protests erupted in several Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots with government buildings getting ransacked in several cities a few days later. The ensuing violence left scores of people injured, with fatalities also being reported. Subsequently, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) requesting assistance from the Russia-led bloc. As a result, peacekeepers have already been deployed to Kazakhstan. Law and order, Kazakh authorities affirm, was restored to all of the country’s regions by the morning of January 7. However, the situation remains tense in Almaty.