Topic: Economics of Development
Country: Kazakhstan
Delegate Name: Katlyn Ratzlaff
School: Mattawan High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Kazakhstan position papers GLIMUN 2015 committees
The issue that needs to be resolved in this discussion revolves around the decisive importance each sector has overall, and the difference between a third-world country’s needs and that of a first world country. Due to the difference in necessities, some countries are willing to overlook the long term effects of selling their rich natural resources to foreign companies for a large sum. This money can be used right away, however, the effects can lead to a drought of resources in the future when they have no capability of providing for themselves in the future. This session has gathered to solve the issue of who should determine when and where other countries should provide support to countries who sell their resources to companies who do not benefit the country’s economy.
Kazakhstan believes that countries need to develop the sector of Industrialization. The most difficult aspect of developing a country has to do with creating systems that allow companies to support the country’s economy. Once a country, sells their resources for a short term profit instead of looking at a broadened perspective of the future, then external countries slowly begin to shift the efficient profits from the enterprises into their own country’s economy, excluding the hazards that come from mining gold, copper, iron, etc. and extracting oil. These are the areas that the UN needs to focus on helping when it comes to developing countries affairs.
Kazakhstan has faced our share of obstacles in developing these sectors. The most important one has to do with a hit in the oil sector. In the 2014 crisis, the National Bank devalued the Kazakhstan’s tenge by 19% in order to stay ahead of the Russian decline, since Kazakhstan has such close ties to Russia. This decreased our population’s savings by ⅕ overnight, while causing the price of food to soar in Kazakhstan. These economic downfalls also affected the primary oil businesses. KazMunaiGaz (KGM) planned to sell 16.8 percent of their shares for around 4.7 billion dollars. Which eventually needed the Kazakhstan government to bail them out. Despite the crisis, we kept our companies domestic and did not branch out to sell our natural resources for instantaneous revenue. Today, we continue to work towards a more efficient industrialized system.
Contradictory to some peoples’ beliefs, some countries do not want help from their neighbors when dealing with the industrialization sector, or any other sector besides that. Therefore, the solution can be narrowed to a country receiving help with the development of their country at their request. Not a single organization or country understands the needs of another country other than the people who reside in those same boarders. Neighboring countries have no obligation revoke another’s sovereignty, and if we, as representatives, take the route of providing aid when it’s requested of our countries, then we fulfill our moral obligations, while also preserving the independence between countries that we so heavily applaud.
