Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced the Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy (also called “2050 Strategy”) during his annual state of the nation address on December 15, 2012. The 2050 Strategy calls for widespread economic, social and political reforms to position Kazakhstan among the top 30 global economies by 2050. The 2050 strategy calls for the economic diversification of single-industry towns and the direct election of regional governors, which were previously presidential appointments.