In the International Center of Greenhouse Horticulture "World Horti Center" in the city of Naaldwijk, a Kazakhstan- Netherlands Investment Roundtable was held with the participation of officials and representatives of the business community.

The guests were welcomed by Bouke Arends, the Mayor of Westland Municipality, Puck van Holsteijn, acting Director of the World Horti Center, Mirjam Boekestijn, Directors of Dutch Greenhouse Delta, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture Jan-Kees Goet, Nature and Food Quality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Secretary General and Special Envoy Frederik Vossenar.

According to Bouke Arends, the Mayor of the Municipality of Westland Kazakhstan and the Netherlands over the past three decades have established strong and reliable cooperation in the political, economic, and cultural spheres. The countries have great opportunities to expand the implementation of joint projects in the agribusiness, exploration, mining, metallurgical, and electrical industries.

Ardak Zebeshev, Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan emphasized that the Netherlands is the number one investor in the economy of Kazakhstan. Over the past 30 years, direct investment has amounted to about $110 billion, and this figure is increasing every year. The Netherlands is one of the five largest trade partners of Kazakhstan. Moreover, in recent years, the volume of trade has been steadily increasing. Today, more than 900 companies with Dutch capital operate on the Kazakhstani market.

Meirzhan Yussupov, Chairman of the Management Board of “NC “KAZAKH INVEST” JSC presented investment opportunities of Kazakhstan. The strategic location of Kazakhstan in the center of Eurasia, an abundance of natural resources, and a favorable investment climate will provide an opportunity for the implementation of projects in various sectors of the economy, and especially in the agro-industrial complex. In addition, the country offers comprehensive government support measures, as well as a relatively affordable and skilled workforce. In addition, he stressed access to the world's largest markets is one of the main advantages.

At the end of 2021, the Netherlands retained the status of the largest in the European Union and the second in the world (after the United States) exporter of agricultural products and food. This was told by the speakers from the Dutch side, acting. Mirjam Boekestijn, Directors of Dutch Greenhouse Delta and, Marco Hoffman, Deputy Secretary-General of the Naktuinbouw Phytosanitary Service. Niyaz Koshkimbayev, Managing Director of “Baiterek” NMH” JSC, and Azamat Aldiyarov, Managing Director of Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund spoke about financial instruments for business development in Kazakhstan.

The participants of the Investment Roundtable as part of the event visited the greenhouses of the World Horti Center and got acquainted with the stands, which provided information about the activities of Dutch companies that work in the field of water and energy-saving technologies, biosecurity and nutrition, IT and solutions based on artificial intelligence.

As a result of the roundtable, bilateral documents were signed between MJ Tech and the Union of Greenhouses of Kazakhstan on cooperation in implementing a project for the production of irrigation equipment, between Royal GD and the Republican Veterinary Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan and a tripartite Memorandum between Karaganda Agricultural Experimental Station LLP, "Kazakh Research Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry" LLP and the Dutch "Royal Eijkelkamp".

In addition to the foregoing, the Kazakh delegation in the cities of Naaldwijk, Rotterdam, and The Hague held bilateral meetings with representatives of the local business community.

Thus, following the results of negotiations with the Management of the Investment Fund "Invest International" (finance) Els Hantijs, an agreement was reached on the formation of a National Pool of Investment Projects with the participation of Dutch companies for their further financing in terms of supporting export and project financing from the Government of the Netherlands.

For reference: Invest International was established in October 2021, it is a private company financed by public funds. The main shareholders of Invest International are the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

For developing country governments, Invest International provides access to Dutch government funds for infrastructure projects in developing countries. Support includes export finance, project finance, and value chain finance.

At the same time, a meeting was held with the management of MJ Tech (technologies in the agribusiness) Jurian Van Den Bremor, who noted that Kazakhstan can serve as a hub for neighboring countries, given its favorable strategic location, and hopes that the next international project for the production of fogging systems high pressure used in horticulture, agriculture and industry will be in Kazakhstan.

For reference: The MJ-Tech family company is a developer, manufacturer and supplier of high pressure fogging systems used in horticulture, agriculture and industry. The company provides full support: from concept, design, production of its parts to assembly, as well as testing before delivery, installation and commissioning.

The company's products are used in more than 50 countries. However, in 2021, we opened production in Canada. The company is exploring the possibility of opening production in Kazakhstan.

Alfred Geitenbeek, the director of Royal Eijkelkamp (equipment for the agribusiness) reiterated his intention for further cooperation, in particular, the possible launch of compost production in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

For reference: Royal Eijkelkamp has been developing, manufacturing and supplying solutions for soil and water research projects around the world since 1911.

The company is a leader in developing solutions for soil and water projects related to food security, urbanization and soil pollution.

Marketed in 5 continents and over 90 countries, the company offers a wide range of products and solutions ranging from field measurement equipment to smart sensors, from Edelman augers to ultrasonic drilling rigs. The company is interested in establishing compost production in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

There was also a meeting with the leadership of the Port of Rotterdam and familiarization with the port infrastructure. The Port of Rotterdam is by far the largest deep-water port in Europe and one of the ten largest ports in the world. Today, the volume of maritime traffic averages 460 million tons, the number of ships calling at the port of Rotterdam every year is 30 thousand only in the maritime sector and 105 thousand inland navigation vessels.

The program of the Kazakh delegation in the Netherlands ended with a meeting with the Deputy Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration Garth Schofield. Established in 1899, the PCA is an intergovernmental organization that provides the international community with a variety of dispute resolution services.

It should be noted that the organizers of the events from the Kazakh side were the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and KAZAKH INVEST, from the Dutch side World Horti Center and Dutch Greenhouse Delta.