In which sectors does Kazakhstan intend to attract Swiss investors?
The Swiss business intends to continue investment cooperation with Kazakhstan. This was announced by investors as part of the online webinar called “Recent Events, New Developments”, organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Switzerland, with the support of the Swiss Joint Chamber of Commerce.
The event was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Switzerland Alibek Bakayev, the Chair of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ardak Zebeshev, the Chair of NC KAZAKH INVEST JSC Meirzhan Yusupov, the President of the Swiss Joint Chamber of Commerce Marcel Pawlicek, and more than 100 representatives of Swiss business.
In his welcoming speech, Marcel Pawlicek highlighted the importance of direct communications in solving crucial issues of investment cooperation between the two countries. In turn, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Switzerland, Alibek Bakayev, briefed on the current status of relations and provided detailed information of the unrest that took place in Kazakhstan at the beginning of this year.
Furthermore, the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Trade and Integration, Co-Chair of the Kazakhstan-Swiss Intergovernmental Commission Bakhyt Sultanov made a video message.
“Switzerland is of interest to Kazakhstan as an investor in many sectors. The Government of Kazakhstan is making best efforts to further improve the business climate and investment attractiveness of the country. We will continue to develop our contacts and invite you to mutually beneficial cooperation,” the video message says.
The Chair of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ardak Zebeshev briefed the audience on the key investment indicators of Kazakhstan. Further, confirming the intentions of the Kazakh side to fulfill all its obligations, he drew attention to their reciprocity:
“Creating best framework conditions for investors, we are expecting the timely implementation of investment projects with the involvement of advanced technologies and the creation of permanent jobs.”
In turn, Meirzhan Yusupov, the CEO of NC KAZAKH INVEST JSC stressed that Switzerland is an important economic partner of Kazakhstan in Europe. According to him, the countries have managed to build strong relationships based on trust, mutual respect and common priorities. These relationships are underpinned by a strategic partnership in global and regional security, dynamic trade cooperation, and political and interpersonal ties.
“The 2021 year was very productive in terms of creating new investment projects between Kazakhstan and Switzerland. During the investment forum, organized as part of the visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in November last year to Geneva, 17 documents were signed worth more than $300 million with all of them are at various stages of implementation. Thus, the pool of NC KAZAKH INVEST JSC has currently 37 projects with the participation of Swiss capital amounted to $8.2 billion. We also have great prospects for the implementation of projects in the food production, transport and logistics, engineering, pharmaceutical industry, green projects, etc., - Meirzhan Yusupov said.
The webinar was followed by a FAQ session, where investors could ask questions and get comprehensive answers.
By the way, most often the entrepreneurs were interested in the procedure of the visa-free regime resumption, as well as attracting highly specialized foreign specialists, creating joint ventures and interacting with Kazakhstani partners.
For reference: Switzerland ranks third after the Netherlands and the United States (over $1.9 billion in 9 months of 2021) by the volume of direct investments in the Kazakhstan economy. The total volume of Swiss FDI in the Kazakhstan economy since 2005 has exceeded $29 billion. 300 Swiss companies and joint ventures are active in Kazakhstan.