NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh and UK capital hosted the virtual Kazakhstan Global Investment Forum 2020 which was meant to facilitate Kazakh-British investments, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service reported.
During the forum. Photo credit: Kazakh Invest press service
More than 500 heads of state bodies and companies in the processing industry, agriculture, chemical, mining, and financial sectors, as well as metallurgy, alternative energy, logistics and digital technology sectors, attended the forum virtually. The Kazakh delegation was led by the country’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi.
Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi. Photo credit: Kazakh Foreign Ministry press service
The forum participants focused on economic development after the coronavirus outbreak, business, investments and further privatization of state assets.
The program also featured sessions that explored financial services, digital mining, digitization and technologies.
The UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Kazakhstan Baroness Emma Nicholson noted significant opportunities in renewable energy, mining, agriculture and healthcare.
“We have a common interest to strive to do better than what we have done before. There are many opportunities to achieve this goal for investors in Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom has multiple ways to assist Kazakhstan in attracting them (investors),” said Emma Nicholson.
As part of the forum, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Almas Aidarov met with the heads of the largest British companies in energy, infrastructure development, construction, engineering and mining.
During his meeting with the Independent Power Corporation, the sides discussed the company’s participation in the Caspian Digital Hub investment project.
ERG International Group also expressed interest in the infrastructure projects in the Mangistau Region in western Kazakhstan. It plans to build a desalination plant with a daily capacity to produce 50,000 cubic meters of drinking water.
The development of the Bala-Sauskandyk large vanadium deposit field in the Kyzylorda Region in southern Kazakhstan was the focus of the meeting with Ferro-Alloy Resources.
The UK is one of the five largest trade and investment partners of Kazakhstan. The volume of British investments in the Kazakh economy has amounted to US$14.1 billion since 2005. More than 500 companies with British capital work in Kazakhstan, including Royal Dutch Shell, Ernst&Young, BG, Shell, and BAE Systems.
Baurzhan Sartbayev, the CEO of the Kazakh Invest national company tasked to attract foreign investments into the country and support investors, noted the new opportunities that Kazakhstan can offer.
“During these challenging times, the provision of all the required support to investors is our utmost priority. We strongly believe that our natural advantages as well as the public institutions and investment climate formed in Kazakhstan over the past decades will ensure a stable long-term result and mitigate the effects of the crisis. In Kazakhstan, you will find comprehensive support for the successful implementation of business initiatives and investment opportunities. And Kazakh Invest has the honor to become a reliable partner on your road to success,” said Sartbayev, as quoted by Kazakh Invest press service.
