European Union

ASTANA, 26 April 2010 – The EU-funded project on “Support for Policy Dialogue and Advice Program in the Republic of Kazakhstan» (PDAP) organizes the forum “Development of local governance as necessary criterion for effective regional development”. The forum will take place on 27th of April, and will be opened by Marat Beketayev, the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of the RK. By the end of the forum the participants will adopt comprehensive resolution stating proposals on institutional development of regions and local governance.

The purpose of the forum is to discuss the issues of further development of local governance, interaction of state authorities and local self-governance bodies, the activity of auditing commissions and One-Stop-Shops and number of other issues of current importance.

At the conference Mr. Thierry Mariani, Member of National Assembly (the Parliament) of France, Mr. Zeginis Dimitris, deputy Head of Regional Administration, Prefecture of Eastern Attica (Greece), Mr. Frederic Angermann, Member of French Supreme Accounts Court and other European experts will take part. At plenary sessions they will tell to the participants about territorial organization for the purpose of regional development, about the state fiscal control over execution of local budget used in the EU member-states.

Moreover, together with the representative of the Committee of Registration Service and Rendering Legal Assistance under the Ministry of Justice they will discuss the issues of improvement of state service quality to population on local level via One-Stop-Shops that have been transferred to local executive bodies in 2010.

The local governance is one of the priorities of the PDAP Project. Alongside with the number of round tables and regional forums devoted to the anniversary of adoption of the Law on amendments and additions to some legislative acts on local public administration and local self-governance in Kazakhstan dated 9 February, 2009, the Project organized in November 2009 a study visit to France for a group of Kazakhstani members of Mazhilis (the lower house of the Parliament), deputies of oblast maslikhats (regional representative bodies) and Kazakhstan's government and administrative bodies officials in order to exchange experience on state structures, administrative-territorial system and local governance.

The EU-funded PDAP project started in February 2008 to support Kazakhstan’s efforts in fostering reforms and increasing competitiveness of the country. The EU has allocated €3.5 mln. to establish a close policy dialogue by means of exchanging expertise, best practices, know-how and advice program (PDAP). The three-year project is implemented by a consortium of companies led by DMI Associates (France) together with IBF (Belgium) and INCOM (Greece) in close cooperation with the JSC National Analytical Center under the Government of Kazakhstan.

The mass media representatives are kindly invited to take part in the Forum:

• at 10:00, on April 27, at the address: Astana, 144 Abay str., Ramada Plaza Hotel (former Intercontinental Hotel), Abay Hall.

For further information you may contact Ms Zhanna Mambetova, PDAP PR expert, at: + 7 (7172) 787-465 or mambetova@supportpdap.kz or Ms. Xenia Udod, EU Delegation Press Assistant, at + 7 (7172) 97-11-49  or Xeniya.UDOD@ec.europa.eu.