ASTANA – Businesses from East Kazakhstan and China signed seven business agreements worth $1.7 billion during a mid-November working trip by a delegation from the East Kazakhstan region to Xinjiang. Leaders of the two regions also signed an agreement on trade, technical, humanitarian and cultural cooperation, Altai News reported Nov. 16.
The agreements pertain to developing the livestock cluster in East Kazakhstan, processing crops and developing the construction industry, Zakon.kz reported. They include memoranda signed between the Eurasia Agro and Reef Investment companies, between the management of the Business and Industrial Innovative Development Department of East Kazakhstan region and the Lu Xing company and between the EMA company and Vostok Agro Holding, according to Altai News.
The working visit began with an official meeting between East Kazakhstan Akim (Governor) Danial Akhmetov, who led the Kazakh delegation, and Chairman of the Xinjiang Regional Government Shorat Zakir, Zakon.kz reports, during which the regional cooperation agreement was inked. At the meeting, Akhmetov emphasised the close relationship between East Kazakhstan and China. Trade turnover between the region and China’s neighbouring province is more than $590 million, according to Zakon.kz.
Following that, Akhmetov and Kazakhstan’s business delegation met with 160 representatives of China’s business community from Xinjiang, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, according to Altai News. Akhmetov discussed the business cooperation potential between the regions and invited Chinese investors to participate in the construction of the $1.4 billion Maikapchagai-ball railway project that will connect China and Kazakhstan, as well as in other projects.
Addressing the business delegation, Deputy Akim of East Kazakhstan Duysengazy Mussin discussed East Kazakhstan’s agricultural potential and explained the region’s priority areas for development, including meat and dairy production and processing and agricultural exports, and shared a list of the 52 most promising investment projects, worth 140 billion tenge (US$456.14 million), according to Altai News.
Akhmetov also met separately with representatives of the Sepko and San Bao companies to discuss their participation and investment in building a $600 million thermal power station in Semey, Kazakhstan.
