News - Kazakhstan and OECD Discuss Issues of Stimulating Investment During the Pandemic

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with the support of “National company “KAZAKH INVEST” JSC organized a webinar on «Investment promotion and facilitation in Kazakhstan: National strategy and potential for regional co-operation».

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almas Aidarov opened the online event,

«Today, Kazakhstan's cooperation with the OECD is conducted in different directions, and from year to year we observe the branching and deepening of these relationships. We highly value our cooperation and place high hopes on the effectiveness and applicability of the results of our joint projects. Currently, we have reached the finish line of our joint project: "Promoting diversification and establishing links between foreign direct investment and small and medium-sized businesses", which is aimed at developing specific action plans to reform policies that hinder the competitiveness and diversification of FDI and SMEs»,-  said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almas Aidarov

The webinar was also attended by Head of the Department for Attracting Foreign Investment of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Erlan Zeyneshev, Managing Director of the investment attraction unit «KAZAKH INVEST» Zhandos Temirgali,  Adviser to the President of «AZPROMO» Fuad Panakhov, Head of the group of the OECD Division for Work with Eurasian Countries Pelin Atamer, Director of Investment at AIFC James Martin, Director General of the Investment Attraction Agency of Hungary Robert Eshik, Manager for Strategic and Corporate Planning of the Investment Department under the President of the Republic of Turkey Samet Akiyuz, Head of the Department for Improving the Investment Climate of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Alexey Sim, etc.

Within the framework of the event, the participants discussed a wide range of issues of assistance to Kazakhstan in the development and implementation of policies to strengthen the diversification of production, exports and employment.

During the webinar, the head of the group of the OECD Division for Work with the countries of Eurasia, Pelin Atamer presented a presentation containing in particular the results of the review of the work of the API of Kazakhstan. They also discussed the possibilities of regional cooperation between investment promotion agencies to increase the volume of investments attracted to the region.

At the same time, in his speech, the Managing Director of the Investment Promotion Department «KAZAKH INVEST» Zhandos Temirgali underlined the important role of attracting investment for the formation of a new economic model of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

«As we focus our efforts on recovery and growth after the pandemic, we aim to significantly increase the volume of FDI and fixed capital in the economy. As such, we have introduced new measures to match some of the most competitive capital destinations around the world. One of Kazakhstan's bold initiatives to attract investors and improve the investment climate is the introduction in January 2021 of a new instrument - the strategic investment agreement. Strategic investors now have the opportunity to directly enter into an investment agreement with the Government. This agreement defines the types of investment preferences, the conditions and the procedure for their provision», - added Zhandos Temirgali.

Also during the discussion, representatives of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency and the Turkish Investment Authority shared their experiences and conclusions on ways to mitigate the current impact of the pandemic on FDI.

Following the online meeting, the parties exchanged views on the prospects for cooperation between the API and new opportunities to attract foreign investment during the pandemic.