The Message of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.Nazarbayev to the people of Kazakhstan. October 5, 2018.

THE GROWTH OF WELFARE OF KAZAKHSTANI PEOPLE: THE INCREASE OF INCOME AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Dear People of Kazakhstan!

During the years of independence, we have done a lot of work. By creating a modern progressive state with a dynamically developing economy, we ensured peace and social harmony. We conducted qualitative and historically significant structural, constitutional and political reforms. We enhanced international prestige of Kazakhstan and strengthening of its geopolitical role in the region.

We have established ourselves as a responsible and demanded international partner in solving regional and global problems. Kazakhstan became the first state among the countries of the CIS and Central Asia, which was chosen by the world community for the EXPO-2017 international exhibition. We have built a new capital - Astana, which has become the financial, business, innovative and cultural center of the Eurasian region. The population of the country exceeded 18 million people, life expectancy reached 72.5 years.

We have formed a solid economic foundation. Over the past 20 years, foreign direct investment in the amount of 300 billion US dollars has been attracted to the country.

Small and medium businesses are developing, which form the basis of the prosperity of the economy. In the business ranking of the World Bank, Kazakhstan rose to 36th place among 190 countries. We have always responded to external challenges in a timely manner and were ready for them.

In this regard, I put forward the necessary policy initiatives to modernize the country. Their implementation has become a major factor in successful development. Our strategic goal is to become one of the 30 developed countries of the world by 2050.

In 2014, we started the implementation of the "NurlyZhol" integrated program aimed at modernizing the country's infrastructure. Three years ago, the Plan of the Nation “100 Concrete Steps” was promulgated. Then we proceeded to the Third Modernization of the country. Its main task is to form a new model of economic growth that will ensure Kazakhstan’s global competitiveness.

The sustainable development of our country gives us great hope for a further improvement in the standard of living. We are ready to meet new challenges.

Dear compatriots!

Recently, the processes of global political and economic transformation have been intensifying. The world is changing rapidly. The seemingly unshakable foundations of the global security system and the rules of international trade are crumbling. New technologies, robotization and automation complicate the requirements for labor resources and the quality of human capital. A completely new architecture of financial systems is being built. At the same time, stock markets are inflating a new “bubble” that could trigger another financial crisis.

Today, global and local issues are intertwined. Under these conditions, the development of the main wealth - a person - becomes the answer to the challenges and the key to the success of the state. The government, each head of a state body, state-owned companies need to change their approaches to work. The growth of welfare of Kazakhstanis should be the main priority. For this parameter I will now assess personal effectiveness and compliance with the positions held.

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The well-being of Kazakhstanis depends primarily on the steady growth of income and quality of life.

I. GROWTH OF POPULATION INCOMES.

Incomes grow when a person is hardworking, is a professional in his field, gets a decent salary or has the opportunity to open and develop his own business. Only by joint efforts can we create the Society of Universal Labor.

Firstly, I instruct the Government to raise the minimum wage by 1.5 times from January 1, 2019 - from 28 to 42 thousand tenge.

This will directly affect 1 million 300 thousand people who work in all sectors of enterprises of various forms of ownership. The increase will cover 275,000 employees of budgetary organizations, whose salaries will grow by an average of 35%. For these purposes, it is necessary to allocate 96 billion tenge annually from the republican budget for 2019–2021. At the same time, now the minimum wage will not be tied to the subsistence minimum. The new minimum wage will be a catalyst for the growth of wages in general in the scale of the entire economy. I hope this initiative will be supported by large companies in terms of raising wages for low-paid workers.

Secondly, it is necessary to form stable sources of business growth, to stimulate private investment and promote market freedom. It is business that creates new jobs and provides most of Kazakhstanis with income.

FIRST. Back in 2010, we launched the "Business Road Map-2020" program. As part of my visits to the regions, I was convinced of its effectiveness. The program should be extended until 2025. For its implementation it is necessary to provide an additional at least 30 billion tenge annually. This will make it possible to create at least 22,000 new jobs over 3 years, ensure the receipt of 224 billion tenge in taxes and the production of goods amounting 3 trillion tenge.

SECOND. It is necessary to take decisive measures to develop competition in the economy and restore order in tariffs for housing and communal services and natural monopolies. In the sphere of public services and regulation of natural monopolies, the tariff setting and spending of funds collected from consumers is still not transparent. There is no effective monitoring and control of monopolists' investment obligations.

The government needs to consider this issue within three months and reform the work of the antimonopoly agency, having significantly strengthened the functions of protecting competition. This is important because it leads to increased costs for business, lower real incomes of people.

THIRD. It is necessary to increase the protection of business from illegitimate administrative pressure and threats of criminal prosecution. I am instructing to raise the thresholds for the application of criminal liability for tax violations to 50,000 MCI with an increase in fines from January 1, 2019. It is also necessary to reorganize the Economic Investigation Service, transferring its functions to the Financial Monitoring Committee, whose main task should be the fight against the shadow economy.

We must go to a "cashless economy." Here it is necessary to rely not only on repressive, but also stimulating tools, for example, to encourage businesses to use cashless payment. Completing the integration of tax and customs information systems will increase the transparency of administration.

The government needs to take effective measures to reduce the shadow turnover in the economy by at least 40% in 3 years. So that a business can start working from scratch, I instruct you to start a tax amnesty for SMEs from January 1, 2019, writing off penalties and fines, provided that the principal amount of the tax is paid.

FOURTH. Export-oriented industrialization should be a central element of economic policy. The government needs to focus on supporting exporters in the manufacturing sector.

>Our trade policy should stop being stagnant. It is necessary to make it energetic in order to effectively promote our products at regional and world markets. At the same time, we need to help our enterprises master a wide range of consumer goods, develop the so-called "economy of simple things." This is important not only for realizing the export potential, but also for saturating the domestic market with domestic goods.

I am instructing the Government to allocate an additional 500 billion tenge to support the manufacturing industry and non-primary exports over the next 3 years.

I am instructing the National Bank to provide long-term tenge liquidity in the amount of not less than 600 billion tenge to solve the problem of affordable crediting of priority projects. The government, together with the National Bank, must ensure strict control over the targeted use of these funds.

For the implementation of large, breakthrough projects, it is necessary to consider the creation of a Direct Investment Fund for the non-resource sector, which will operate on the principle of co-investment with foreign investors. It is also necessary to strengthen the work on the development of transport and logistics and other services sectors.

Special attention should be paid to the development of inbound and domestic tourism in order to use our rich natural and cultural potential. The government should adopt a sectoral state program in a short time.

FIFTH. It is necessary to fully realize the potential of the agro-industrial complex. The main task is to increase labor productivity and export of processed agricultural products by 2.5 times by 2022. All measures of state support should be directed to the large-scale attraction of modern agricultural technologies in the country.

We must use the best experience in managing the industry by introducing flexible and convenient standards and attracting “gray heads” - authoritative foreign experts in the field of agriculture. It is necessary to build a system of mass training for rural entrepreneurs with new skills in farming. I instruct the Government to provide for this purpose an additional at least 100 billion tenge annually in the next 3 years.

SIXTH. Special attention should be paid to the development of innovation and service sectors. First of all, it is necessary to ensure the development of such areas of the “economy of the future” as alternative energy, new materials, biomedicine, big data, Internet of things, artificial intelligence, blockchain and others. In the future, the place and role of the country in the global world depend on them.

I charge the Government together with Nazarbayev University to develop special programs with the definition of specific projects in each area. One of these could be the creation of a research institute for the development of artificial intelligence technologies on the basis of a university.

SEVENTH. It is necessary to strengthen the role of the financial sector in the development of the real economy and ensure long-term macroeconomic stability. The rise in prices, access to financing, the stability of banks - that’s what people are most interested in now.

The National Bank, together with the Government, must finally begin to systematically solve the issues of improving the financial and real sectors and conduct a comprehensive anti-inflation policy. In the current conditions, it is vital to increase lending to the economy, especially the manufacturing sector and SMEs.

It is also necessary to improve the management of pension assets and social insurance resources, to develop alternative financial instruments - the securities market, insurance, and so on. An important role in providing business with foreign investment and access to capital should be played by the "Astana" International Financial Center. We have specially created a separate court, financial regulator, an exchange. All government agencies and national companies should actively use this platform and promote its rapid establishment and development.

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The effective implementation of these measures will increase the income of Kazakhstanis due to the growth of wages and the creation of new jobs. These processes should always be in the center of attention of the Government.

II. IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE.

The second component of well-being is the growth of living standards. The issues of quality and accessibility of education, healthcare, housing, comfortable and safe living concern each Kazakhstani family. In this regard, the Government should reconsider the priorities of budget spending with a focus on the social sector, security and infrastructure.

FIRST. Within 5 years, it is necessary to increase expenditures on education, science and health care from all sources to 10% of GDP. Funding should be directed to the implementation of the planned reforms that will provide a significant improvement in the quality of public services.

SECOND. It is necessary to drastically improve the quality of pre-school education. Foundations of thinking, mental and creative abilities, new skills are formed in the very early childhood.

Emphasis in education is shifting towards the 4С model: the development of creativity, critical thinking, communication skills and collaborative work. In this area, it is necessary to revise the qualification requirements, training methods, the remuneration system of nursery teachers and other kindergarten workers. The Ministry of Education and Science together with the akimats need to develop an appropriate “road map” this year.

THIRD. In the field of secondary education, the main approaches are defined - at the current stage, it is necessary to concentrate on their implementation. The system and methods of teaching in Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools should become a single standard for public schools. This will be the final stage in the reforms of school education.

The knowledge assessment system should be based on international standards. In high school it is important to carry out professional diagnostics and orientation of children to the most popular specialties so far. This will allow building an individual learning path and reducing the training load on the student and teacher.

Given the importance of child safety, I am instructing to ensure that all schools and kindergartens are equipped with video surveillance systems, strengthen the work of school psychologists and implement other consistent measures. In order to increase the availability of education, I instruct the Government to provide in the republican budget for 2019-2021 an additional 50 billion tenge for regions experiencing the greatest shortage of student places and problems with three-shift and emergency schools.

FOURTH. I consider it necessary to develop and adopt the Law “On the status of the teacher” next year. It should provide all incentives for teachers and workers of pre-school organizations, reduce the workload, protect against unforeseen inspections and unusual functions.

FIFTH. In higher education, the requirements for the quality of training in educational institutions will be increased. We have increased the number of grants, now it is time to expand responsibility. The main criterion for assessing the success of a university is the employment of graduates after graduation.

It is necessary to pursue a policy of consolidation of universities. Only those that provide high quality education should remain on the market. It is important to develop partnerships with leading universities in the world, attracting the best foreign top managers to work, according to the experience of Nazarbayev University. I consider it necessary to create a new regional university, following the example of Nazarbayev University, on the basis of the existing educational infrastructure.

SIXTH. The quality of medical services is an essential component of the social well-being. The first step is to increase the availability of primary health care, especially in rural areas. In order to stimulate primary health care workers, starting from January 1, 2019, I am commissioning a gradual increase in wages by 20% to local medical workers who have implemented new disease management approaches. Forthis, nextyear 5 billion tenge willbeallocated.

From January 1, 2019, all clinics and hospitals should switch to the paperless, digital management of medical records. This will allow to form electronic health passports for the entire population, eliminate queues, bureaucracy, to improve the quality of services by 2020. Using the experience of the already established cardiological and neurosurgical clusters, it is necessary to proceed to the construction of the National Scientific Oncology Center in Astana in 2019. In this way we will save many human lives.

SEVENTH. At the regional level, it is necessary to find reserves and increase the availability of mass sports and physical education. I am instructing the Government and akims to build at least 100 fitness and recreation centers. You also need to effectively use the existing sports facilities, especially at schools, to equip yards, parks, squares for physical education.

EIGHTH. The health of the nation is the main priority of the state. This means that Kazakhstanis should consume high-quality products. Today there is no comprehensive policy on protection of the population from goods and services of poor quality and dangerous to health and life. I instruct the Government to take measures and streamline this activity.

Starting next year, the Committee should begin work on the quality and safety of goods and services. Its activities will mainly include the examination of food, medicines, drinking water, children's products, medical services. To do this, it is necessary to provide a modern laboratory base and form a staff of qualified specialists. At the same time, it is necessary to institutionalize and actively use public organizations for the protection of consumer rights. We always help the business, but the person, his rights and health is more important.

The state, in the framework of reducing administrative barriers, has rejected many checks, permits, and the like. Therefore, the responsibility for the quality and safety of the offered goods and services falls on the business community. In general, business should think not only about profit, but also, together with the state, to ensure safety and comfort for our citizens.

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High-quality social services should be harmoniously accompanied by the creation of wide opportunities for improving housing conditions, comfortable and safe living in any settlement of the country.

III. CREATING A COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT.

Comfort lies primarily in the affordability of housing, a beautiful and safe courtyard, a convenient community to live and work in and high-quality infrastructure.

FIRST. Qualitative and affordable housing. Today we are successfully implementing the “NurlyZher” program, which provided a powerful impetus to housing construction. A new large-scale program “7 - 20 - 25” was launched, which increases the availability of housing mortgages. I am instructing akims to work out the issue of partial subsidization of initial contributions on a preferential mortgage from the local budget.

The issuance of such housing certificates will increase the availability of a mortgage for qualified teachers, doctors, police officers and other professionals needed by the region. It is also necessary to increase the construction of rental housing for socially vulnerable groups in large cities. These measures will allow more than 250 thousand families to improve their living conditions. And taking into account the construction of utilities infrastructure for areas of mass development, the state will help 650 thousand families, or more than 2 million of our citizens, in 5 years.

SECOND. It is necessary to ensure the introduction of new approaches to the territorial development of the country. At present, the economies of the leading countries are more represented by global cities or megalopolises. More than 70% of global GDP is created in cities. We have our own historically developed way; the dominating agrarian economy with single-industry towns and small regional centers.

Therefore, for an 18-million country, 3 million-plus cities, 2 of which became such in the era of independent Kazakhstan, are a great achievement.

Astana and Almaty already give more than 30% of the country's GDP. However, the infrastructure of cities does not always meet the rapidly growing needs of enterprises and the public. In recent years, under the “NurlyZhol” program, we have formed the infrastructure of republican significance.

Since 2015, 2,400 km of roads have been built and reconstructed. This work continues, and by 2020 another 4,600 km of roads will be placedinto operation. Now we need to systematically develop the regional and urban infrastructure. To this end, funding has been increased this year: up to 150 billion tenge on local roads, and up to 100 billion tenge on rural water supply. Akims need to concentrate on solving the most acute problems in the regions at the expense of these funds.

The government also needs to systematically approach this task, form a list of additional infrastructure issues, evaluate projects and find sources of their financing. The construction of new schools, kindergartens, hospitals must be synchronized with plans for the development of localities, as well as to create conditions for attracting private investors to this sector. At the same time, it is necessary to gradually move from the “infrastructure to people” model to the “people to infrastructure” model. This will stimulate the enlargement of settlements; increase the efficiency of the use of allocated funds. Each region and large city should develop based on its own model of sustainable economic growth and employment, taking into account existing competitive advantages. In this regard, it is necessary to develop a system of regional standards for various localities - from supporting villages to cities of republican significance.

The standard should include specific indicators of the list and availability of social benefits and public services, provision with transport, cultural, sports, business, industrial, digital infrastructure and more. It is necessary to strengthen efforts to improve the environmental situation, including emissions, the state of the soil, land, air, waste disposal, and the development of environmental monitoring systems with free online access to them. Special attention should be paid to creating a “barrier-free environment” for persons with disabilities.

Before September 1, 2019, I am instructing us to develop a Forecast scheme for the country's spatial and extensional development until 2030, which will become the New Map of the country's managed urbanization. For the implementation of practical measures, I instruct to prepare a pragmatic Program for the Development of Regions until 2025, indicating specific activities, projects and funding.

The noted aspects of regional development should be taken into account in the “Nurlyzhol” and “Nurlyzher” state programs, the implementation terms of which should also be extended until 2025. The first program should focus on the development of transport infrastructure. The second is devoted to municipal and residential construction. We need to give these programs a second wind. We need deep and qualitative changes in the work of law enforcement agencies. Safety is an integral part of quality of life.

Employees of the internal affairs bodies are at the forefront of the fight against crime and protecting citizens, often risking their lives. At the same time, society expects a radical improvement in the work of law enforcement agencies, primarily the police.

I am instructing the Government, together with the Presidential Administration, to adopt the "Roadmap for the modernization of the internal affairs bodies." The start of the reforms should be planned on January 1, 2019.

<Firstly, it is necessary to optimize the staff number of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to remove unusual functions. The released funds should be directed to increase the salaries of police officers, the solution of their housing and other social issues.

Secondly, it is necessary to approve a new police standard and change the system of career advancement, as well as personnel training and selection through police academies. All employees must be re-assessed. Only the best of them will continue the service.

Thirdly, it is necessary to introduce new modern formats of work with the population, to radically change the criteria for assessing the police. It is necessary to transfer the work of the police to the service model.

The understanding that the policeman does not punish, but helps in a difficult situation should settle in the minds of citizens. It is necessary to create comfortable conditions for the reception of citizens on the principle of PSCs in local and regional internal affairs office. All cities of Kazakhstan must be provided with public safety monitoring systems. The key parameters for assessing the work of the police should be the level of public confidence and a sense of security among the population.

FOURTH. Further modernization of the judicial system. A lot has been done in recent years, but the main task - ensuring a high level of trust in the courts - has not been solved yet. However, the supremacy of law is a key factor in the success of our reforms.

Firstly, First, it is necessary to continue the introduction of modern formats of work of courts and advanced electronic services. Every year, 4 million of our citizens are involved in legal proceedings. How much effort and money are spent! The excessive judicial procedures that lead to unreasonable time and resources costs should be reduced. What previously required personal presence can now be carried out remotely.

Secondly, it is necessary to ensure the qualitative development and renewal of the personnel of the judicial system, to create incentives so that the best lawyers strive to become judges.

Thirdly, clear and predictable judicial practice is necessary, especially in litigation between business and government agencies, as well as the exclusion of the possibility of undue influence on judges. I instruct the Supreme Court, together with the Government, to work out an appropriate set of measures by the end of the year.

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The most important role in the implementation of any reforms will be played by a compact and efficient state apparatus, which should consider all its actions through the prism of increasing the well-being of the people.

IV. STATE APPARATUS DEDICATED TO CITIZENS' NEEDS.

How should the state apparatus be changed in the conditions of the new time?

FIRST. Drastic increase in the efficiency of state bodies. “Quality” should become a new lifestyle of a public servant, and self-improvement should be its main principle.

Civil servants of the new formation should reduce the distance between the state and society. This provides for constant feedback, lively discussion and explanation of specific measures and results of public policy to the people. The Academy of Public Administration jointly with the Nazarbayev University needs to develop a program “Leader of the new formation” and special refresher courses when appointing a person to senior positions.

It is important to attract professionals from the private sector who have experience of working in the best foreign companies or have been educated at leading universities in the world. This year, we have introduced a new wage model at 4 government agencies. All pilot projects showed good results. The attractiveness of the civil service has been increased, which is especially important at the regional level.

By optimizing inefficient costs and reducing managerial staff, lower and middle-level salaries of employees increased by 2–2.5 times. The outflow of personnel has decreased twice. The influx of highly qualified specialists from the private sector, including graduates of top universities, increased 3 times. In the Agency for Civil Service, the competition in the central office grew to 28 people per seat, and in regional offices - up to 60 people per seat.

16 people now apply for 1 vacancy in the akimat of Mangistau region, and an average of 13 people in the Ministry of Justice. In Astana, only through new approaches to financing projects implemented in the framework of PPP, it was possible to save more than 30 billion tenge. I gave the heads of state bodies the right to exercise a “budget and personnel maneuver” for implementing the transition to a new model of remuneration. They got the opportunity to send the savings to increase salaries to employees.

Currently, many government agencies want to switch to a new model. The main thing is that they should understand that this is not just a mechanical increase in salaries, but an indicator of the increase in the efficiency of their work above all. I instruct you to check that the increase in labor costs is offset by optimization and budget savings, including expenses of subordinate organizations. Here we must not allow formalism and leveling in order not to discredit this project.

SECOND. In this difficult time, you need to maximize the impact of each allocated tenge. As the results of inspections show, in some cases the cost of construction is overestimated at the stage of developing project documentation. There are projects that are not being finalized or initially have no prospects. If we treat the assigned work responsibly, then we can release hundreds of billions of tenge of budget funds and direct them to the real needs of the population. The government needs to take systemic measures to optimize costs and save money, eliminating inefficient and untimely expenses.

THIRD. The active fight against corruption will be continued.

Firstly, we should strive to reduce the direct contacts of civil servants with the population within the framework of provided public services. One of the issues of concern to people is bureaucratic procedures in the field of land relations and construction. This area has no transparency, full access of the population and business to information. I am instructing you to create a unified information database on land and real estate objects.

In this matter, it is necessary to get its act together and give land to real investors! This is just one example. We need to carry out relevant work in all other areas that cause criticism of people and the business community.

Secondly, vit is necessary to work out the issue of increasing the personal disciplinary responsibility of the first leaders in the commission of corruption offenses by their subordinates. At the same time, an honestly working employee should not be afraid of examinations.

Thirdly, the experience of the capital in the implementation of the anti-corruption strategy should be disseminated within the framework of the “Regions free from corruption” projects.

<FOURTH. It is necessary to reduce the formalism and bureaucracy in the work of the Government and all state bodies. Recently, the number of long sessions and meetings in the Government and government agencies has increased significantly, and the paperflow has also increased significantly. There are days when the Government, with the participation of akims and their deputies, holds up to 7 meetings per day. When should they work? We need to put an end to this and streamline this issue. It is necessary to provide freedom of decision making to ministers and akims, who must assume concrete obligations and publicly report for them. The basis for this should be a developed map of indicators of the Strategic Development Plan of the country until 2025.

FIFTH. For effective implementation of the tasks, it is necessary to strengthen the mechanism for monitoring reforms.

By the end of the year, the government and public authorities must develop specific indicators and road maps to cover all of these development issues, as well as timely submit all the bills necessary for launching reforms to the Parliament. In turn, the Parliament should consider and adopt them efficiently and quickly.

To monitor and evaluate the implementation of reforms and key strategic documents, I instruct you to create a National Modernization Office under the Presidential Administration and give it the necessary authority. In addition to the monitoring of statistical indicators, it will provide for regular surveys of the population and business on topical issues for the population, as is practiced in the OECD.

The office will regularly report me the situation in each direction. Each member of the Government, the head of the state body, the head of the state-owned company will be personally responsible for achieving the objectives set.

V. EFFECTIVE FOREIGN POLICY.

To ensure successful modernization of Kazakhstan, further implementation of a proactive foreign policy is necessary. Our peace-loving course and clearly defined principles in this area fully justify themselves. Relations between Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation are the benchmark of interstate relations. The Eurasian Economic Union is successfully functioning, which took place as a full-fledged integration association and an active participant in world economic relations.

A new interaction page has opened in the Central Asian region. A comprehensive strategic partnership with the People’s Republic of China is progressively developing. The program “One Belt - One Way” gave a new impetus to our relations with China.

During my January official visit to Washington and talks with President Donald Trump, an agreement was reached on an expanded strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the United States in the 21st century.

We will continue our dynamic cooperation with the EU - our largest trading and investment partner. Mutually beneficial bilateral relations are developing with the CIS countries, Turkey, Iran, the countries of the Arab East and Asia. The Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, adopted at the summit in Aktau, opens up new opportunities for cooperation with the Caspian countries.

Kazakhstan worthily completes its mission to the UN Security Council. The Astana process on Syria has become practically the only effective working format for negotiations on a peaceful settlement and the exit of this country from the crisis. At the same time, in difficult modern conditions, the foreign policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan requires adaptation and promotion of national interests on the principles of pragmatism.

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At all times, only the firm will to success and the unity of the people have decided the fate of countries. We can reach great heights only by common efforts.

VI. ENGAGEMENT OF EACH KAZAKHSTANI WITH TRANSFORMATION PROCESS IN THE COUNTRY.<

Every Kazakhstani should clearly understand the essence of the reforms being carried out and their importance in the prosperity of our Motherland. Today, the consolidation of society around common goals is more important than ever for their successful implementation. The "Rukhani zhangyru" program received wide support and gave a powerful impetus to the modernization processes in society. This initiative should not only be continued, but also be filled with new content and directions.

Comprehensive support for youth and the family institution should be a priority of state policy. It is necessary to create a broad platform of social elevators, which will include a full range of measures to support all categories of young people. I propose to declare next year the Year of Youth.

We must begin to modernize the social environment of rural areas. This will be facilitated by the launch of a “Aul - El Besigi” special project. Through this project we will have to promote the ideology of labor in the regions. It is necessary to create “Sarbaz” children's and youth associations, by analogy with the Boy Scout movement, to strengthen the role of military-patriotic education in schools.

The new initiative “Know your land” should revive mass school tourism in the regions of the country. Today, unprecedented measures have been proposed in the main areas that determine the social well-being of the population. The financial weight of initiatives exceeds 1.5 trillion tenge, and the cumulative effect is even greater, which will provide a real breakthrough in raising the standard of living of the population. This is the most reliable and profitable investment.

Dear people of Kazakhstan!

The well-being of the people and the entry of Kazakhstan to the 30 developed countries of the world is the long-term goal of our independent state. We always respond adequately to the challenges of time. This is ensured primarily due to our unity. “The country where people live in harmony is rich,” - they say among our people. The present stage has difficult tasks as well. For us, there are no insurmountable heights, if we maintain our agreement and unity. In each of my messages, I pay special attention to improving the social status and quality of life of the people. The main goal of the “7–20 - 25”, “Nurly zhol”, “Nurly zher” state programs and others implemented today is to improve the quality of life of the population. Kazakhstan still has many unconquered peaks. The trust of the people raises our spirit and gives us strength along the way. There is nothing above this noble goal!