"As world experience shows, including [the experience of] our neighbors, democracy and political freedoms are simply impossible in countries with poor economies," Nazarbayev said in Astana at an international conference dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the republic's constitution.
Nazarbayev said, "Due to consistent reformations, Kazakhstan made a leap from 13th place among the countries of the former U.S.S.R into the world's five most dynamic economies and was the first country in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to receive the status of a market-economy country."
"According to the data of the world financial institutions, Kazakhstan provides two thirds of the overall income in Central Asia, [although it has] a quarter of the population," he said.
"In 2005, GDP in Kazakhstan will exceed the combined GDP of seven states of Central Asia and the Caucasus, with almost 80% of GDP coming from the private sector," Nazarbayev said.
"The government is only represented in strategic industries," he added.
"The national economy has attracted more than $40 billion in direct foreign investment, which means that Kazakhstan is ahead of all the CIS countries in its share of investments per capita," the president said.
According to Nazarbayev, the country's international reserves, including the National Fund, stand at $15 billion.
The World Bank has ranked Kazakhstan as a country with a higher than average income per capita, he said.
In the last ten years, GDP per capita in Kazakhstan has increased from $700 to $3,300 and is expected to exceed $4,000 in 2006, Nazarbayev added.
