ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s trade with the member states of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) reached nearly $82 billion in 2023, which is 5% more than in the previous year, as was reported at the seventh plenary session of the CICA Business Council and the ninth CICA Business Forum on Nov. 20 in Astana.
According to the Khabar news agency, the trade covered such sectors as digitization, transport, logistics, industry, science, and education. Raimbek Batalov, the chairman of the presidium of the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, stated that over 36,000 companies with capital participation from CICA member states are currently operating in Kazakhstan. Last year, investments from CICA countries in Kazakhstan reached $1.6 billion.
The forum concluded with a number of agreements, particularly on launching training programs, developing joint investment initiatives, and introducing new formats of interaction between businesses and governments.
The event brought together nearly 100 companies and representatives from South Korea, China, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Bangladesh, India, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Türkiye.