During the recent meeting of Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Germany Bolat Nussupov with President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of North Rhine-Westphalia Werner Gehrig, the parties agreed to organise a Kazakhstan Economy Day in Cologne at the end of June. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan specified that during the talks with Gehrig, the German side learned about the investment opportunities of Kazakhstan, the Nurly Zhol new economic policy, the prospects for closer cooperation within the State Programme of Accelerated Industrial and Innovative Development (SPAIID) and the possibilities of cooperation within Astana EXPO 2017.
Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Andrey Vassiliyev said that at a May 1 special meeting of the UNECE, Kazakhstan was unanimously elected chairman of the international organisation for the next two years. “In contrast to many of the most developed countries, Kazakhstan competently enough is passing through the global financial crisis without any social consequences for citizens. The country was able to become one of the important players in the international arena,” he said. “I have followed the elections in Kazakhstan. I’m impressed by the fact that President Nazarbayev immediately after the election announced to the world community clear and specific plans for the further development of the country,” he added. “I would like to congratulate the people of Kazakhstan and Nazarbayev on the election. This shows very broad popular support for the course that the President and the leadership of Kazakhstan have led in recent years and the belief that this course will lead people and the country to new achievements. The President said that there are two priorities: Eurasian integration within the [Eurasian Economic Union], as well as integration with China and Asian countries within the revival of the Great Silk Road. We are very encouraged by the fact that Kazakhstan was elected the chairman of our commission. For two years we will be working under the direction of Kazakhstan,” he said.
Travel itineraries for guests of the Astana EXPO 2017 will be ready by the end of this year, announced Deputy Chairman of the Astana EXPO 2017 National Company Vera Kobalia at the recent opening of the Kazakh pavilion for EXPO 2015 in Italy. “We believe that it is necessary to offer specific tours to different people – tourists interested in visiting the nearby sights. In cooperation with travel agencies and experts in the field of tourism, we are working out travel itineraries, and they will be ready by the end of this year,” Kobalia said. She also added that in 2016, travel packages and tickets for the exhibition will become available for potential guests. “I think that most of the visitors will be interested in our sights. If a tourist comes for a short time, he will be invited to visit the Burabay resort, and if he has few days, he can make a tour to the southern capital, Almaty,” she added. National Commissioner of the Astana EXPO 2017 Rapil Zhoshybayev said that in the near future, negotiations with global stars to perform at the exhibition will begin and that experts are currently analysing who will be most likely to visit.
On May 1, the national pavilion of Kazakhstan began its work in Milan. Visitors there can learn about the agriculture, aquaculture and environment of the country. As experts expect, Kazakhstan’s pavilion will be visited every day by 6,000–10,000 people. It should be noted that the area of the exhibition EXPO 2015 in Milan is more than one million square metres. The exhibition will last until Oct. 30, and organisers are expecting the arrival of 20 million visitors over the course of the expo.
