Kazakhstan and OECD: strategy for economic diversification and increasing competitiveness
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with the support of JSC NC KAZAKH INVEST, organized a webinar on «Stimulating diversification and establishing links between foreign direct investment and small and medium-sized businesses». Within the framework of the OECD Program, work was done to collect and systematize information on the activities of investment promotion agencies in the countries of Eurasia, including a comparison of their working methods with the methods of the API of the OECD countries.
JSC «NC «KAZAKH INVEST» took part in this study, which was a decisive step in creating a dialogue mechanism for interaction between the Investment Attraction Agencies of the Eurasian countries and the OECD.
During the meeting, which was held within the framework of the implementation of the two-year OECD Program, issues on reforming policies that hinder the competitiveness and diversification of FDI and SMEs were raised.
«Improving the efficiency of attracting investments in the missing industries is one of the key directions in the implementation of the strategy of diversification of the economy of Kazakhstan, aimed at increasing the volume of attracting domestic and foreign investment and the development of SMEs. In my opinion, Kazakhstan has everything necessary to oversee the discussion of opportunities for regional cooperation in order to attract investment to Central Asia and the Caspian region», - said head of the group of the OECD Division for Work with Eurasian countries, in her speech. Pelin Atamer,
At the same time, in his speech, Zhandos Temirgali, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of JSC «NC «KAZAKH INVEST», noted that the comparative analysis of the activities of the API conducted by the OECD became an important basis for adjusting approaches to attracting investments, especially during the period of economic recovery after the pandemic.
«The entire region can benefit from strengthening its position as a place for investment. Other Central Asian countries are becoming promising areas for investment, contributing to a more balanced development of the region. The rapid development of other Central Asian countries will ensure stable economic growth and regional connectivity. We believe that our region with 70 million consumers will achieve much better results with coordinated joint positioning on the global investment map», - added Zhandos Temirgali.
It is worth noting that the OECD program is to assist the government of Kazakhstan in implementing the strategy of economic diversification aimed at increasing the volume of attracting domestic and foreign investment and the development of SMEs. This strategy includes the development of human capital for the spread of digital technologies, increasing the efficiency of attracting investment in non-primary industries, as well as the competitiveness of the agri-food sector.
