Central Asia and Japan are Steadily Developing Trade and Economic Relations
As part of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the countries of Central Asia, Tokyo hosted a large-scale event Central Asia Investment Forum 2022, organized by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Kazakh delegation was headed by Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerulan Zhamaubayev.
The forum brought together representatives of the governments of Central Asian countries, Mongolia and Japan, international experts, industry experts and representatives of the EBRD, as well as the Japanese business community. Panel discussions were held on topics such as green energy, infrastructure development, ensuring the integrity of transport and logistics corridors, etc.
As part of the event, meetings were held with the largest Japanese financial and industrial corporations, among which Mitsubishi Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, Marubeni Corporation, Canon Medical Systems, MUFG, Sojitz Corporation and others. Ruslan Ibraimov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board spoke about the investment potential of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the preferences provided by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and invited Japanese businesses to actively expand investment cooperation.
It is worth noting that in November this year. The Japanese Parliament decided to establish the Parliamentary League of Friendship with the countries of Central Asia.
Japan is one of the major foreign investors in the economy of Kazakhstan with a total investment of over $7.7 billion since 1993. The list of Kazakh-Japanese investment projects consists of 21 projects totaling $1.6 billion. To date, 11 projects worth $700 million have already been successfully implemented.
According to EBRD forecasts, Central Asia's GDP will grow by 4.3% in 2022 and by 4.8% in 2023. The economies of the region are showing high resilience to the current geopolitical adversity, opening up markets and improving the overall business environment.
