NUR-SULTAN – The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Bureau launched an expert school May 27 on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) common financial space.
The first such platform in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) aims to increase the potential of qualified experts, form a common financial space to provide financial services, ensure beneficiary protection and expand financial services.
More than 140 finance, education and analysis managers, researchers and civil servants from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia gathered for the first training on the AFIC’s role in the integration processes and forming the EAEU financial space. A competitive selection process resulted in inviting more than 20 experts, including those in finance, economics and international relations, with experience and knowledge in implementing EAEU activities.
“The mission of the AIFC Bureau is to form a critical mass of professionals who could work in the AIFC ecosystem. Over the past two years, 1,500 specialists in finance, accounting and audit, project management, fintech and other sectors participated in our trainings,” said AIFC Authority Deputy CEO Ernur Rysmagambetov at the opening ceremony.
AIFC opens up prospects to develop the EAEU financial market and “creates an ecosystem to attract foreign investment not only to Kazakh economy, but also the EAEU countries,” he added.
“The pace of development of the AIFC is impressive because there is painstaking work on the creation of advanced financial technologies and professional development programmes. Today, the EAEU has an extensive agenda and plans for the development of integration are scheduled until 2025. One of the main directions is the formation of a single financial market of the EAEU. I am convinced that the AIFC will harmoniously complement the mechanisms created within the EAEU aimed at ensuring sustainable economic growth,” said Russian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Alexey Borodavkin.
The training was the eighth organised by the council, said Russian International Affairs Council Programme Director Ivan Timofeev. It created a pool of young professionals familiar with the priorities and tools of Eurasian integration, achievement forecast and assessment and approaches to teaching Eurasian integration topics.
“Financial and investment issues are of critical importance and we are pleased that in partnership with the AIFC we will be able to inform experts about new opportunities in this area and to receive from them analysis and recommendations for the implementation of these opportunities,” he said.
Anatoliy Nichkassov, Belarusian Ambassador to Kazakhstan, noted EAEU countries have a common task to harmonise legislation in regulating financial markets by 2025. The AIFC will become a platform for testing new approaches and new tools.
The participants attended lectures on the AIFC ecosystem, forming a single exchange space and its integration into the world exchange trade, global challenges and trends in developing the financial market and financial technologies and the role of human capital and professional development in forming international standards of the EAEU financial market.
The training also included discussions, workshops and master classes on implementing foresight projects and presentations to develop specific financial integration proposals between the EAEU member states.
