A slice of Europe

I was very excited when I received an invitation from the Astana Economic Forum to participate in an international seminar on global economy to be held in Astana in the third week of May. Apart from the fact that participation in this conference would give me an opportunity once again to meet some old friends from the world of global finance, it would also enable me to visit a city I always wanted to visit. I had, in 2003, as the Minister of External Affairs of India, visited Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, but all I remembered of that visit was the tour of the famous skiing site near the city. I could not make a trip to Astana, the new capital city of Kazakhstan during that visit.

Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world in terms of territory, just below India and Australia. It is the largest country in central Asia. Its biggest city,

which was also its capital until December 1997, is Almaty. Astana is a new city and capital of Kazakhstan since 1997. Kazakhstan is sparsely populated; the population being only 70.2 million.

Air Astana operates a daily service between Delhi and Almaty. This is the flight I took from Delhi. It was not a large aircraft. It had two seats on one side and one solitary seat on the other side in the business class. I was allotted the single seat, which gave a grand view of the outside. Within an hour of leaving Delhi I was thrilled to see high mountain ranges covered with snow. The terrain below was barren with hardly any habitation. One could see some habitations only occasionally when the mountains gave way to valleys.

After about three hours of flying we started our descent into Almaty. Here, one could see neatly lined up agricultural fields in contrast to the haphazardly disorganised fields one sees in India. While I was admiring this very ‘European’ scenery, the plane suddenly banked to the right and two stunning views came into sight. The first was the entire city of Almaty down below and the second was the beautiful high mountain peaks covered with snow standing next to the city. The other Indian passenger in business class, noticing that I was suitably impressed, told me with a sense of ownership that Almaty as was as beautiful as any place in Switzerland. I couldn’t agree more.

After a two hour halt at the Almaty airport, I boarded the connecting flight to Astana. The aircraft was larger and better furnished than the earlier aircraft. I settled cozily once again in the single window seat allotted to me in order to enjoy and absorb the experience. Soon we left the mountains behind and came across just vast expanses of flat land. I could also see a lot of water. The snow had just melted and left behind pools of water. There was also some unseasonal rain that had washed Astana clean. We had finally reached the brand new city of Astana.

Astana was way beyond my expectations. I had imagined it as a modern city of steel and glass, generally lacking in architectural beauty. But, I was in for a surprise. There is a lot of steel and glass in Astana no doubt but there are also a lot of modern day architectural landmarks. The Astana opera, the mall shaped liked a tent, the Astana tower with its glittering dome, the Presidential reclining pitcher-shaped hall next to the Art Center in which the official dinner of the conference was held, and many other buildings lend a unique character to the city. The roads are wide to accommodate the growing traffic, though the locals complain of too many traffic lights. The convection center and the area around it is an attractive tourist spot. Situated as it is on flatland all around, Astana will have no problem in expanding in future, which is bound to happen.

Kazakhstan is a central Asian country but it fancies itself to be as European as any country outside Europe can be. The country is also endowed with hydrocarbons and uranium besides natural beauty and potential for tourism. Astana will organise the Expo in 2017 and frenetic construction activity is in full swing. By 2017, Astana would have transformed itself into a thriving smart city. With three of the BRICS countries at its door-step and the whole world interested in it for obvious reasons, Kazakhstan is looking forward to a bright future.

 The writer is a former external affairs and finance minister, and will write exclusive travelogues for us. 

olmdesk@outlookindia.com