On September 2, 2024, the President of Kazakhstan Kassam-Jomart Tokayev made an address to the people of Kazakhstan, which generated interest not not only among the public in the country, but also among commentators abroad. The document defines the priorities in the political and socio-economic development of Kazakhstan in the short term.
The very title of the address - “Just Kazakhstan: law and order, economic growth, public optimism“ – suggests the broad scope and interconnected nature of the messages it contains. This fully applies, for example, to theses concerning energy, professional education, and foreign policy.
Unifying in this sense is the news about the scheduling of October 6 this year. of the long-planned referendum on the construction of nuclear power and thermal power plants, i.e. for the resumption of the operation of nuclear power in the country's energy system.
There are many reasons to expect public approval for the peaceful use of the atom for energy needs:
Kazakhstan ranks second in the world in terms of proven uranium deposits. It is the largest producer and exporter of uranium, whose price on the international market has been rising since the meltdown suffered following the accident in Fukushima, Japan. On the other hand, research reactors operate in the city of Kurchatov and not far from Almaty. Kazakhstan has, albeit brief, experience in the operation of a nuclear power plant, built back in Soviet times at the Mangistau Nuclear Power Plant in Aktau, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Its BN-350 reactor, the world's first fast neutron reactor using sodium as a coolant, was shut down in 1998, under the pretext of security and non-proliferation requirements. Given the mentioned circumstances, hardly anywhere else the expression “the shoemaker walks barefoot” is more applicable than when talking about nuclear energy and Kazakhstan.
The flip side of the historical legacy is the memory and consequences of the hundreds of nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk test site during tests of a nuclear arsenal, which Kazakhstan renounced at the very beginning of its independence. “The atomic steppe“ – this is how the famous specialist Togzhan Kasenova from the Carnegie Foundation calls his research, revealing how the nuclear past is reflected in the country's nuclear present.
The information campaign in the run-up to the referendum on nuclear energy included open and crowded meetings of atomic experts with the public, convened in twenty cities – from the small town of Ulken, near the alleged site for the plant, on the shores of Lake Balkhash, to the megacities of Almaty and Astana. The organizers of the discussions, from the Committee on Civil Society Affairs of the Ministry of Culture and Information, left the agenda for discussion open, as a result of which there were not only environmental concerns, demands for guarantees against increased radiation, but also economic issues - for predictable volumes of investments and transparency of funding, for the participation of local companies in the construction and operation of energy facilities. In Almaty, the ecologist Mels Eleusizov, a former presidential candidate, known for his oppositional views not only on environmental issues, also took part in the heated discussion. Mukhtar Dzhakishev, an influential businessman, former head of Kazatomprom, also expressed his opinion on network podcasts.
Probably the most convincing comments were made by Timur Zhantikin, the general director of the company "Kazakhstan Atomic Electric Power Plants". In his competent opinion, the construction will meet all safety norms, regardless of who wins the tender from among the four companies shortlisted as potential international partners. These are the Russian “Rosatom”, the China National Atomic Corporation (CNNC), the French “ Electricians de France“, the Korean KHNP specializing in hydro and nuclear power.
In many respects, predictions are justified that the upcoming referendum, in the words of President Tokaev, will be “an example of applying the concept of a ‘listening state’, ... for new standards for making key state decisions&rdquo ;. The success of such an approach largely depends on the expert community, on its ability to engage and educate public opinion. Sociological surveys currently show a slight preponderance of supporters of nuclear energy, but also the absence of a position for more than a third of the potential participants in the survey. And for the results of the referendum to be valid, more than half of the citizens with the right to vote must participate in it.
Kazakhstan can count on its many experts in the nuclear field. There are many examples of authoritative scientists, specialists, engineers united in the Association of Atomic Specialists of Kazakhstan, headed by former Minister of Energy Vladimir Shkolnik and Professor Irina Tazhibayeva, head of the Center for Safety of Nuclear Technologies. The industrial corporation Kazatomprom, the National Nuclear Center, the Institute of Nuclear Physics and a number of other companies and research institutes have deserved international recognition.
Kazakhstan must preserve and develop its accumulated human capital, including its professionally trained technical personnel. Probably with such a goal, in his address, President Tokaev declared 2025 as the Year of Blue Collar Professions, calling for a reform of the system of technical and vocational education. In future, the system of state awards will include honorary titles for engineers, geologists, scientists and inventors. It is expected that the recognition of their merits at the state level will be a good motivation for all professionals, including in the nuclear industry.
By tradition, the final part of the president's address is dedicated to the country's foreign policy. The basic postulates of this policy are well known. Some of its characteristics, albeit indirectly, are related to the revival of nuclear energy. This is particularly true of achievements in the fields of disarmament, non-proliferation and the establishment of broad international cooperation for the peaceful uses of the atom. For example, Kazakhstan is the co-chair of the preparatory committee of the eleventh review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to be held in 2026 in New York. In these functions, he endeavors to give due importance to the subject of the use of nuclear energy and technology for peaceful purposes. Not only in words, but also through actions, Kazakhstan tries to encourage such activities. For example, Kazakhstan hosts the one-of-a-kind Nuclear Fuel Bank in Ust Kamenogorsk, managed by the International Atomic Energy Agency and aimed at ensuring access to resources, even in the face of restrictions and sanctions.
As the initiator of the Nuclear Weapon Free Zone in Central Asia, Kazakhstan spares no effort to promote interaction with similar zones in other latitudes. With this aim, at the beginning of September this year another international conference was convened in Astana. At the same time, it should be taken into account that several countries–participants from Central Asia, as well as Mongolia, with a nuclear-free national status, are considering the introduction of nuclear sources into their energy balance.
The possible and expected revival of nuclear energy in Kazakhstan also creates new dimensions of foreign policy challenges. To achieve this strategic goal, Kazakhstan needs favorable external conditions, especially in the context of the current complex geopolitical realities. The choice of partners in the construction of one or more nuclear power plants could have a binding character and become a prerequisite for long-term influence on the part of the suppliers of the relevant technologies.
The upcoming referendum will most likely answer only part of the questions related to nuclear energy, opening the door to its rise. The optimal answers to many other questions related to the preservation of national sovereignty and control over national resources, with the assertion of an independent and balanced foreign policy, will have to be found later, in the course of the implementation of large-scale energy and infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan.< /p>
On October 6 this year, through a referendum, the citizens of Kazakhstan will give an answer to an important question that will determine the long-term prospects for the country's energy sector, and in many ways its economic development, environmental protection and the well-being of the population .