(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Minister of National Economy of the Republic Kazakhstan Alibek Kuantyrov affirmed the existence of a common vision for the future of co-operation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the State of Qatar, stressing that the distinguished relations pave the way for a new phase of economic and trade partnerships.
In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Kuantyrov said the that visit of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to Kazakhstan and his participation in the Astana International Forum is an important opportunity to discuss all ways to enhance co-operation.
He pointed out that His Highness the Amir's participation at the Forum at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan demonstrates close and brotherly relations of the Heads of the two countries.
He explained that Kazakhstan considers Qatar to be a respected member of the international community playing an important role in the global arena, noting that there is a common desire to strengthen bilateral co-operation relations.
Kuantyrov said that the visit of His Highness the Amir to Astana last October and the visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Doha in June last year contributed to raising the level of coordination and co-operation, as well as signing agreements and MoU in investment, education, regional co-operation, trade, health, and other fields.
He stressed that the visit of His Highness the Amir and his participation in the Astana International Forum will be a catalyst for more co-operation in the areas that were previously discussed, in addition to initiating discussions in new areas and projects that will make a quantum leap in the partnership between the two sides.
He explained that the current economic indicators, such as the volume of trade exchange and investment growth, show that there is an increasing pace; therefore, there is great hope for the future, especially with the increase in the volume of trade exchange between the two countries.
Kuantyrov stated that trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Qatar in January-April 2023 increased 14.2 times and amounted to $1.9mn. Trade between the countries was $6.6mn last year, showing an increase of 4.8% over the same period of 2021 ($6.3mn).
The gross foreign direct investment to Kazakhstan from Qatari investors amounted to $13.1mn in 2022 (a three-fold increase compared to 2021 - $4.4mn), he said, adding that from 2005 to 2022, $56.6mn investments were attracted to Kazakhstan.
He stressed that the post Covid-19 pandemic indicators show that there are trade and economic cooperation potential that was not yet been fully realized. Thus, there are many prospects to increase trading indicators, he said, envisaging increasing potential of Kazakh products to Qatar in 60 commodity items worth about $243mn.
In this regard, Kuantyrov said "together with the Qatari side we are working on co-operation in joint projects in the mining sector, production of food products and others. For example, creation of a joint investment company, implementation of projects in the mining complex, joint assembly of electric buses "Falcon Euro Bus", a milk processing plant construction together with the "Dinara Group", construction of a tourism complex on the Caspian Sea and other projects." He added that his country is working very hard to attract investors, as it is the undisputed leader in attracting FDIs in Central Asia. According to the results of the first half of 2022 the share of Kazakhstan in the FDI structure was 24%.
He revealed that Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund 'Samruk-Kazyna' and the Qatar Investment Authority plan on creating a joint private equity fund, and promising investment projects with favourable conditions for Qatari investors shall be discussed, including special preferences and tax incentives.
Kuantyrov stressed that the countries of Central Asia have great potential that the world still has not realized yet, adding that the region's GDP has grown on average 6.2% annually, reaching $347bn in the past 20 years. The volume of accumulated investments from other countries is estimated at $570bn, and foreign trade turnover has increased sixfold since 2000.
He said "the countries of the region have received a historical chance to take advantage of their transit position, as well as opportunities to enter foreign markets through the emerging international transport corridors. Significant opportunities are associated with the coordinated development of the water-energy complex, including "green" energy."
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