ASTANA – European Bank for Reconstruction and Development President Odile Renaud-Basso commended an enduring partnership with Kazakhstan, one built on trust and shared strategic priorities, in an interview with The Astana Times.
EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso visited Kazakhstan to participate in the 37th session of the Foreign Investors’ Council. Photo credit: Nargiz Raimbekova/ The Astana Times
Long-standing partnership
As the bank enters its 33rd year of partnership with Kazakhstan, it has invested more than 11 billion euros (US$12.7 billion) across 340 projects, making it the bank’s largest and longest-running continuous operation in Central Asia. Much of that investment has been directed toward boosting private entrepreneurship.
“Indeed, it is a long-term partnership,” said Renaud-Basso, who arrived in Astana to attend the 37th session of the Foreign Investors’ Council. “I think that there are three key reasons why this partnership has developed and is proving very solid. First of all, the alignment of strategic priorities: moving towards a market economy, market reforms, diversification of the economy, and promotion of sustainable development.”
The second reason is EBRD’s strong presence on the ground, with large regional offices in both Astana and Almaty. This, she added, makes the bank closer to its partners and better able to respond to their needs.
The third aspect is that the EBRD’s support to the country extends beyond financing and includes policy and advisory support.
“For example, we were very much at the origin of the creation of the Foreign Investors’ Council, which will be meeting tomorrow,” she said, stressing the institution is instrumental in facilitating dialogue between foreign investors and the authorities.
What’s good and what’s missing in investment efforts
Commending the government’s overall efforts to improve the investment climate, Renaud-Basso pointed to multiple opportunities arising in the current geopolitical context.
The Astana Times journalist Assel Satubaldina and EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso, as she congratulates The Astana Times on its 15th anniversary this year. Photo credit: Nargiz Raimbekova/ The Astana Times
“Kazakhstan has made real progress in enhancing its investment climate, and recent geopolitical shifts are opening new opportunities for the country to position itself as a key investment destination,” she said.
The latest United Nations Conference on Trade and Development World Investment Report highlights an 11% decline in global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to $1.5 trillion. According to the report, Kazakhstan’s net FDI has surpassed $151 billion since gaining independence in 1991.
The nation can benefit from what Renaud-Basso describes as a “reorganized global supply chain.”
A notable example is Kazakhstan’s investments in the development of the Trans-Caspian corridor, also known as the Middle Corridor.
“We have done a study in 2023 to assess what would be needed and the amount of investment,” she said. The study concluded that approximately 18.5 billion euros (US$21.4 billion) in investment is needed to enhance the corridor’s competitiveness, covering rail and road rehabilitation, rolling stock, port expansion, border upgrades, multimodal logistics hubs, and better regional linkages.
Renaud-Basso believes unlocking this potential requires more than just ambition.
“It is very important to have the ambition and vision, but then you need to develop projects and pieces of infrastructure. As I was saying, roads, railways, ports, as well as soft connectivity like improving customs,” she said. “Regional cooperation is very important to facilitate customs.”
Attracting private businesses and building strong public-private partnerships (PPPs) are also crucial. The EBRD has supported several such partnerships, including the Big Almaty Ring Road, a model that Renaud-Basso brought up as an example.
Diversifying economy
“Kazakhstan’s traditional economic strength has been in raw materials exports, namely mining, oil and gas. To date, it attracted over $150 billion in accumulated FDI. However, the markets for these commodities are volatile,” Renaud-Basso said.
She pointed to a substantial potential that Kazakhstan can harness from the development of renewable energy, a sector that EBRD has supported extensively.
“But there is also a lot of potential in critical raw materials, which is a big area of interest for foreign investors. All this, in a way, are new areas for foreign investment that should be developed to diversify the economy and ensure that foreign investors find Kazakhstan an attractive place. Improving the rule of law, transparent management, opening up a market, and opening up for competition are very important. Progress has been made, but there are always further steps that can be taken,” she explained.
Renaud-Basso pointed to continued privatization as one of such steps. She mentioned the initial public offering of Kazakhstan’s Air Astana airline last year, which EBRD supported by investing nearly $42 million in the shares.
Renaud-Basso also stated that the EBRD is keen to support Kazakhstan’s development priorities as part of the country’s National Infrastructure Plan until 2029. “We are very much keen to support it through our financing activity, but also policy work,” she added.
High level of uncertainty
The broader economic environment remains volatile. Growing trade protectionism, particularly in the United States, is a source of uncertainty for emerging markets.
“When we look at the economic side, there is also a lot of uncertainty, because the U.S. has announced a very high level of tariffs with this reciprocal tariff, but it has been suspended. It is difficult at that point in time to know exactly what the impact will be,” Renaud-Basso said.
The average effective U.S. tariff on imports from the EBRD regions is expected to go from 1.8% in 2024 to 11.3% after the U.S. import tariff became effective in mid-June.
“Our countries of operation are not so much directly exposed to the U.S. The export to the U.S. is not a big share of their direct export,” she added.
The EBRD expects the direct impact to be relatively modest, resulting in an average of approximately 0.15% of GDP. This contrasts with an estimated 0.7% for Malaysia, an economy with significant trade linkages to the U.S.
While the broader macroeconomic impact may be limited, specific sectors, such as the automotive and steel industries, could suffer significant losses. In the Slovak Republic, where the automotive industry plays an important role, the direct impact is projected to be around 0.8%.
“Our focus on the private sector helps the countries where we work to build their resilience and enhance competitiveness amid global uncertainty. Generally speaking, market economies based on democratic principles are better suited to withstand geopolitical adversities. This is what we promote as an institution, this is part of our fabric,” Renaud-Basso said.
She noted that as an institution, EBRD works well in times of crisis. In 2024, the EBRD delivered a record 16.6 billion euros (US$19.2 billion) of investment to its economies of operation, with more being invested in the private sector, the green economy and human capital than ever before.
In Ukraine, the bank has deployed more than seven billion euros (US$8.1 billion) since the start of Russia’s war.
Energy transition
The EBRD has also significantly supported Kazakhstan in its green transition, and Renaud-Basso reaffirmed the EBRD’s commitment to continuing to do so.
Kazakhstan has almost three gigawatts of installed renewable capacity as of spring 2025, increasing its share to more than 6%. According to Renaud-Basso, around a third of that increase was financed by the EBRD.
She emphasized that scaling up renewables is a key component of the country’s competitiveness.
EBRD is also helping Kazakhstan with the implementation of its long-term low greenhouse gas emissions development strategy and the Global Methane Pledge.
“Further decarbonisation of the economy will require accelerating the roll out of the renewable auctions with battery storage,” she added, stressing equal importance of investments in the modernization of the electrical grid.
