ASTANA — Kazakh President Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev signed July 9 amendments to laws in education, energy and finance.
The educational amendments seek to improve the system of post-secondary, technical and vocational education. They eliminate conflicts and contradictions in legislative norms in the field of technical and vocational education. In addition, a programme of moral and spiritual development, aimed at educating the younger generation within national and universal human values will be introduced.
In the energy sector, amendments seek to improve natural gas regulation and gas supply mechanisms. The new law deregulates liquefied gas wholesale prices for an internal market by introducing a digital trading system.
The new law will provide transparency of distribution of liquefied gas on the internal market, minimise illegal trade activity, boost competitiveness and ensure a regular supply of natural gas.
In the financial sector, the new law will create a legal framework for the development of venture financing in Kazakhstan. New contracts and instruments will be available for potential investors. The new law will supplement the system of state support for industrial and innovative activities with measures to co-finance Kazakh venture funds.
Venture funds and portfolio companies will be able to enter into an option contract and an option agreement. The provision of assurances and guarantees is stipulated. Its violation gives the right to the investor to demand the termination of the contract and compensation for damages.
It is specified that during the audit and financial control of the implementation of state support measures, the entire portfolio of the co-financed venture fund as a whole will be taken into account.
The President also signed the law on the establishment of United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) liaison and partnership bureau in the country. The agreement identifies priority areas of the Kazakhstan-FAO partnership programme. It includes food safety and organic food production, animal health and livestock production, pasture and phytosanitary management, sustainable natural resource management, fisheries and aquaculture, information technologies for agricultural statistics and data collection.
