Kazakhstan and OECD discussed issues of investment promotion during the pandemic
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with the support of NC KAZAKH INVEST JSC, organized a webinar on the topic “Investment promotion and facilitation in Kazakhstan: National strategy and potential for regional co-operation”.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almas Aidarov welcomed the participants of the online event and highlighted:
“Today, cooperation between Kazakhstan and the OECD is underway in different directions, and from year to year we observe the branching and deepening of these relations. We highly appreciate our cooperation and lay hopes on the efficiency and adaptability of the results of our joint projects. We have now come to the home stretch following the completion of our joint project: “Encouraging Diversification and Building Linkages Between foreign direct investment and Small and Medium Enterprises”, aimed at developing concrete action plans to reform the policies that impede the competitiveness and diversification of FDI and SMEs, - stressed the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almas Aidarov.
The webinar was also attended by the Head of Foreign Investments Attraction Administration of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Erlan Zeineshev, Managing Director of Investment Attraction of KAZAKH INVEST Zhandos Temirgali, Adviser to the President of AZPROMO Fuad Panakhov, Team Leader of the OECD for work with Eurasian countries Peline Atamer, AIFC Investment Director James Martin, Director General of the Investment Promotion Agency of Hungary Robert Yeshik, Strategic and Corporate Planning Manager of the Investment Department under the President of the Republic of Turkey Samet Akyuz, Head of the Investment Climate Improvement Administration of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Alexey Sim and others.
During the event, the participants discussed a wide range of issues to provide assistance to Kazakhstan in the development and implementation of the policies in the field of enhancing the diversification of production, exports and employment of the population.
During the webinar, Peline Atamer, Team Leader of the OECD for work with the countries of Eurasia, made a presentation containing, in particular, the results of a review of the work of the IPA of Kazakhstan. The meeting also discussed the possibilities of regional cooperation between agencies to attract investments in order to increase the amount of investments attracted to the region.
At the same time, in his speech, Zhandos Temirgali, Managing Director for Investment Attraction of KAZAKH INVEST, emphasized the crucial role of attracting investment to shape a new economic model of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
“By focusing our efforts on recovery and growth after the pandemic, we are aiming to significantly increase the FDI and fixed capital in the economy. For this reason, we have introduced new measures to meet some of the most competitive capital destinations around the world. One of Kazakhstan's challenging initiatives to attract investors and improve the investment climate is the introduction in January 2021 of a new instrument - a strategic investment agreement. Now strategic investors have the opportunity to directly conclude an investment agreement with the Government. This agreement defines the types of investment preferences, conditions and procedure for their provision,” added Zhandos Temirgali.
Also during the discussion, the representatives of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency and the Turkish Investment Authority shared their practices and conclusions on how to ease the current impact of the pandemic on FDI.
Following the online meeting, the parties exchanged views on the prospects for cooperation between the IPA and new opportunities for attracting foreign investment during the pandemic.