ASTANA – Kazakhstan was represented by Gabidulla Ospankulov, Chairman of the Investment Committee at the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, and Alida Tuyebekova, Director of the Investment Facilitation Department at Kazakh Invest, at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Investment Week held from Nov. 5-7 in Paris, where participants explored new approaches to global investment policy and promotion in a shifting global landscape.
The event was dedicated to discussing new approaches in the context of the changing landscape of investment policy and investment promotion strategies worldwide. Photo credit: Kazakh Invest.
The event’s program included the OECD roundtable on investment and sustainable development and an enlarged session of the OECD Investment Committee.
On the sidelines of the event, Ospankulov met with Ana Novik, head of the OECD Investment Division of the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs. They discussed the implications of the new industrial policy for international investment and sustainable development and OECD research data, including indicators such as the quality of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the Index of Regulatory Constraints for FDI.
Ospankulov and Novik considered new policy instruments for climate change adaptation and promoting sustainable investment, notably, the unique role of international investment agreements. These agreements will help to achieve sustainable development goals by creating mechanisms for global cooperation and ensuring their implementation at the national level.
At the OECD Investment Committee session, the secretariat presented the first draft of a Practical Guide on Investment Preferences, including tax preferences. Ospankulov noted that the specifics and conditions of each country’s development must be considered when developing this document.
At the end of the week, the participants agreed to explore practical recommendations and policy tools to ensure the inflow of high-quality investments, promote the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and achieve zero emissions by 2050. They also agreed to coordinate the actions of the global investment community, regardless of the level of development of the regions and countries represented.
Kazakhstan has been cooperating with the OECD since 2008 within the framework of the Eurasian Competitiveness Program, which includes 13 countries in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe.
In June 2017, Kazakhstan officially became an OECD Investment Committee associate member. Kazakhstan became the 48th country to join the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises. Kazakhstan’s accession to the OECD Investment Committee and accession to the Declaration attests to Kazakhstan’s desire to provide an open and competitive environment for international investment.
