Reuters reports exclusively that Kazakh leader wants another decade in power

Reuters broke the news on Sept 16 that Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev planned to stay in power for another decade. Kazakhstan is strategically important to Europe, the United States, Russia and China because of its vast energy, metals and uranium reserves and Central Asian location. Some analysts and commentators had believed Nazarbayev would stand down in 2012 when Kazakhstan next holds presidential elections and a behind-the-scenes succession struggle among the political elite was cited as the single biggest investment risk. One of Nazarbayev’s top advisers told Reuters Nazarbayev, already in power for 20 years, had no plans to step down before 2020.