Kazakhstan’s investment prospects discussed in Brussels
In conjunction with the official visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the Kingdom of Belgium, a roundtable called “Kazakhstan-Belgium-Luxembourg: prospects for investment cooperation” took place with the participation of the leadership of more than 20 major European companies. During the visit, substantive negotiations were also held with the heads of large Belgian companies related to implementing a set of promising investment projects in Kazakhstan, as well as to sign a number of commercial documents.
In his welcoming speech, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tleuberdi called on the Belgian business community for mutually beneficial cooperation, establishing joint ventures in Kazakhstan, as well as a joint search for new forms of development of bilateral relations.
He also briefed on the opportunities of priority sectors of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including the agro-industrial complex, mining and metallurgical complex, renewable energy sources, construction, etc.
“Kazakhstan today has a huge investment potential, providing new and great opportunities for mutually beneficial business in all sectors of the economy. The business circles of our countries are already actively cooperating and implementing joint projects. This is a sign of high confidence in Kazakhstan on the part of foreign business,” added Mukhtar Tleuberdi.
Meirzhan Yusupov, the CEO of NC KAZAKH INVEST JSC, described in more details the Kazakhstan’s business climate, as well as its investment opportunities. He also acquainted the participants of the roundtable with the achievements of Kazakhstan in economic development, promising areas of Kazakhstan-Belgian investment cooperation, as well as measures taken by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan to further improve the investment climate in the country.
Following the roundtable, the Kazakhstan company Olzha Argo Trade signed an agreement with Vandeputte for the supply of flax from Kazakhstan to Belgium in the amount of $ 16 million. Moreover, the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan signed two memorandums with the Brussels Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BECI) and the Flanders’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VOKA).
Furthermore, during the event, the leadership of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, NC KAZAKH INVEST JSC held a number of B2B meetings with the Belgian side on potential and ongoing investment projects.
Thus, as part of the meeting with the leadership of the major European producer of building materials Soudal, the Kazakh side offered the possibility of expanding its activities in Kazakhstan. By the way, next year the company intends to open a number of representative offices in West Kazakhstan region.
Moreover, at the meeting with SES, ranking second in the globe with highest turnover among satellite operators, the investors announced that they were interested in implementing a number of digitalization projects.
Also, the talks with the heads of AMOS, BREG considered the issues of implementing joint projects in the renewable energy, mining, construction sectors, etc.
“The talks held by the Kazakhstan delegation resulted in an increased interest on the part of the Belgian business in cooperation with the Republic of Kazakhstan. In addition to the ongoing projects, a number of completely new projects are being worked out in the sectors, such as construction, renewable energy, ICT, MMC, etc.” said the Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ardak Zebeshev, expressing the hope that joint work would allow to increase the volume and expand the structure of interaction between the two countries.
By the way, over the past 15 years, Belgium has invested more than $ 9 billion in the economy of Kazakhstan. Today, about 70 enterprises with the participation of Belgian capital are successfully operating in Kazakhstan.
It’s worth noting that the event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Belgium and NC KAZAKH INVEST JSC.