ASTANA – Mathias Cormann, the Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), will visit Kazakhstan for the first time in May to participate in the Astana International Forum, reported the Kazakh Ministry of National Economy.
Serik Zhumangarin at a meeting with William Thompson. Photo credit: gov.kz
During a March 12 meeting with William Thompson, the head of the Eurasia Division in the OECD Global Relations Secretariat, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin highlighted the country’s progress in adopting OECD standards in public administration, macroeconomic policy, investment and competitiveness since 2008.
Key areas of cooperation with OECD include macroeconomic stability and fiscal policy, economic diversification and investment attraction, digitization and development of an innovative ecosystem.
“The OECD’s support in terms of joining the organization’s key legal instruments, including the Codes of Liberalisation of Capital Movements and Current Invisible Operations, is also important to us,” Zhumangarin noted.
The parties also focused on potentially establishing a regional OECD office in Astana. While Kazakhstan is the only partner supporting the Eurasia Competitiveness Program, which promotes reforms in the region’s countries, a final decision on the office will follow OECD’s general strategy review.
“In the near future, we plan to update the OECD-Kazakhstan Action Plan, which will define the priorities of bilateral cooperation for the coming years,” Thompson said.
