DAVOS – Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Massimov signed a memorandum of understanding between the Kazakh government and the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the implementation of the country programme for 2015-2016 while attending this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
Karim Massimov and Angel Gurria
Massimov headed Kazakhstan’s delegation to the forum, which addressed global economic issues, international politics and social development under the umbrella topic, “The New Global Context.”
The OECD country programme, co-signed by Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the organisation, was designed to strengthen the OECD’s support of Kazakhstan’s reform agenda and to play a significant role in implementing major projects in key social and economic areas.
It envisages Kazakhstan’s accession to a number of OECD declarations and the adoption of some recommendations, as well as the establishment of direct collaboration with the OECD’s various subdivisions, further solidifying the Central Asian state’s commitment to enhancing its integration into the global economy.
Bilateral cooperation with the OECD is expected to raise Kazakhstan’s competitiveness and improve policies across the public sector, not only in public administration and governance but in areas including education, public health, employment and finance. Kazakhstan has become only the fourth country to enter into this kind of country programme for cooperation with OECD.
Following the signing ceremony, Massimov emphasised that “implementing the country programme is a strategically important stage in bilateral interaction [between the OECD and Kazakhstan] that confirms Kazakhstan’s intention to implement the best practices of OECD member states, which will help [achieve] its long-term goal of becoming one of the world’s 30 most advanced nations by the year 2050.”
In the framework of this event, presentations were made on investment opportunities in Kazakhstan as well as on the international specialised exhibition EXPO 2017 in Astana, which were visited by WEF guests, including more than 50 political leaders and heads of transnational corporations.
During the visit, Massimov met with a number of heads of state and government, leaders of international organisations and major international companies.
With his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, Massimov reviewed progress in deepening Kazakh-Chinese cooperation and the implementation of existing agreements and terms and conditions of joint projects.
At a meeting with Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu, Massimov commended the rapidly growing trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, the activity of the Kazakh-Turkish Intergovernmental Commission and the close ties between Kazakh and Turkish business circles.
With President of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti, the Kazakh prime minister discussed the key directions of cooperation between the bank and Kazakhstan in the framework of the implementation of joint projects in the national economy.
Massimov also met Rwandan President Paul Kagame; the Swiss Confederation’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Education and Research Johann Schneider-Ammann; President of the WEF Klaus Schwab; Chief Executive Officer of JP Morgan Daniel Pinto, and others.
The latest WEF session gathered a record number of visitors: more than 300 politicians, more than 2,500 representatives of the world’s largest corporations and nonprofit organisations and media from 140 countries.
The forum discussions focused on ways to restore confidence in the midst of an escalation of armed conflicts and economic crises. French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, King of Jordan Abdullah II, Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak and other world leaders were on hand.
