Kazakh - Ukrainian business forum “Ukraine – Kazakhstan, Central Asia” took place in Nur-Sultan
The forum was organised by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Kazakhstan, KAZAKH INVEST, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Ukraine, Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Association of Exporters and Importers “ZED”.
The event was attended by the representatives of business community, state and regional authorities of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, business associations, investment companies, financial institutions, credit organisations and media.
During the event, presentations were given by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Kazakhstan, the representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KAZAKH INVEST, the UCCI, the Ukraine-Asia Trading House as well as the heads of small and medium enterprises of Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
According to the representative of KAZAKH INVEST Diana Ablyakimova, the business forum indicates great attention paid to further development and enhancement of mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of investment, trade and economy.
“For Kazakhstan, Ukraine is one of the important strategic partners. Hence, we attach great importance to the cooperation. We aim to further maximize the potential of Kazakh-Ukrainian cooperation in the field of investment. And we have all the necessary mechanisms for this. Today, Kazakhstan demonstrates a high level of investment potential holding a leading position among Central Asian countries in terms of investment attraction,” - said Diana Ablyakimova during the event.
In turn, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Kazakhstan Ivan Kuleba emphasized the importance of involvement of business in economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
“Such actions will intensify the economic cooperation between the two countries. Ukrainian business welcomes the reforms of the Government of Kazakhstan. To date, Kazakhstan has created the most favourable conditions for attracting investment. Ukrainian business is interested in the investment incentives available today in Kazakhstan, including establishment of joint ventures with Kazakh partners. Ukrainian companies can become partners for Kazakhstan’s businesses in this regard,” - added Ivan Kuleba, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Kazakhstan.
During the event, KAZAKH INVEST and the UCCI signed an agreement on joint activities to promote and implement investment projects in Ukraine and the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The purpose of the forum is development of trade and economic relations between Kazakhstan and Ukraine, optimization of transport and logistics infrastructure between the two countries as well as promotion of advanced technologies, IT projects, innovations and investments, establishment of business contacts, signing of mutually beneficial agreements as well as analysing problematic issues. The event also covered the industry sections, namely “Industrial Products and Technologies”, “Agriculture, Food Products”, “IT Technologies, Innovations and Services”.
For reference: FDI inflow from Ukraine to Kazakhstan increased from $ 0.8 million in 2005 to $ 53.4 million in 2018 (for Q1 2019 - $ 14.2 million). In general, between 2005 and Q1 2019 Ukrainian businessmen invested $156.6 million of direct investments in Kazakhstan. At the same time, investments of Kazakh business in Ukraine amounted to $490.5 million. Today, 1,559 companies with participation of capital from Ukraine are registered in Kazakhstan, 898 of which are actively operating.
