OCT. 21 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Quoting sources in Kazakhstan, the FT linked ex-British PM Tony Blair to a $13m deal to advise the Kazakh government. Mr Blair’s consultancy group, which includes staff from his Downing Street days, has agreed to advise Kazakhstan on its social and economic policies, the FT wrote.

Kazakh officials later confirmed the deal. Mr Blair’s press people said that although he had helped set up the group, he personally was no longer involved.

Since Mr Blair left government in 2007 he has been Special Envoy to the Middle East and built up a business as a high profile consultant and adviser through his company Tony Blair Associates.

Whatever the exact nature of his engagement with the Kazakh government, it would be one of his biggest clients as well as one of his most controversial.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev has ruled over Kazakhstan for all 20 years of its independence, international observers have never deemed an election to be free and fair and rights groups criticise its draconian approach to the media.

But Kazakhstan has recently developed a love for consultants. It is a country which has always had a slight air of insecurity about it, more so after the emergence in 2006 of the boorish fictional character Borat. Now, buoyed by its energy wealth, Kazakhstan is increasingly confident and wants to project a more serious image.

There are already plenty of Western advisers, consultants and PR gurus in Astana. Perhaps it was only ever a matter of time before Kazakhstan’s and Mr Blair’s interests converged.

ENDS