A Kazakh delegation recently visited Tokyo to explore cooperation prospects and review joint projects in engineering, energy, agriculture, logistics, petrochemicals, light industry, robotics and information and communication technologies. The delegation, headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev, met with Japanese companies including Chiyoda Technol, Hitachi Construction Machinery, JOGMEC, Marubeni, Nikke Group, Nippon Express, Sojitz, Sumitomo, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Terra Drone. The delegation briefed the Japanese businesses on Kazakh measures to improve the investment climate and expand opportunities for investors. During the meeting, Nippon Express, the world’s fourth largest logistics company, announced the August opening of Central Asia’s representative office in Kazakhstan. Hitachi Construction Machinery, which has been present in Kazakhstan since 2004, has also been working to open a regional mining equipment maintenance centre.
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) has opened the Abu Nasr Al-Farabi centre in the Topkapı Culture Park Museum in Istanbul. The opening of the ethnographic museum in the Turkish capital marks the 1,150th anniversary of Al-Farabi, a world-renowned philosopher and Oriental thinker. The important date will be commemorated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2020. The centre will play a key role in preserving Al-Farabi’s legacy, whose works served as the foundation for scientific development worldwide. “The opening of the Al-Farabi House Museum in Turkey is another important milestone in the popularisation of the legacy of the Great Son of the Great Steppe, who played a significant role in the history of human civilisation and the treasury of Turkic and Kazakh culture,” said KazNU Rector Galym Mutanov.
Nur-Sultan will host the 2020 International Economics Olympiad (IEO) among schoolchildren on the Astana International Campus at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The IEO council, which consists of 24 countries, unanimously approved Kazakhstan’s application during its July 25 open voting as part of the IEO event held July 24-31 in St. Petersburg. More than 100 high school seniors from more than 20 countries participate in the Olympiad every year. The event will contribute to one of the AIFC Bureau’s main missions – to develop human capital and improve financial literacy in the region through thematic events and support initiatives in finance, economics, education and new technologies.
Jakarta, Indonesia recently hosted the presentation of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS). The IOFS was launched in 2016 at Kazakhstan’s initiative. IOFS Director General Yerlan Baidaulet invited the Indonesian side to join the organisation and take part in the IOFS General Assembly’s second session Aug. 27-29 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. During his visit, Baidaulet met at the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture with Food Safety Agency Director General Agung Hendriadi, Special Envoy of the Indonesian President for the Middle East and OIC Alvi Shihab and Halal Product Assurance Agency head professor Ir. Sukoso. Hendriadi noted the importance of ensuring food security for Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country. He commended the Kazakh efforts to promote the organisation and said the Indonesian side will consider joining the organisation and participating in the upcoming assembly session.
Kazakhstan signed the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation Aug. 7, joining 46 other countries including Australia, China, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States at the signing ceremony in Singapore. The Kazakh delegation, led by Minister of Justice Marat Beketayev, was among more than 1,500 delegates from 70 countries. The participants noted the convention is important in developing international trade, as it promotes mediation as an alternative method to resolve trade disputes. The document also provides mechanisms for an efficient framework for cross-border enforcement of settlement agreements and ensures the settlement reached by the parties will become binding and enforceable in accordance with a simplified and streamlined procedure.
