Baiterek Strengthens Strategic Cooperation with the United States

Timur Onzhanov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Baiterek National Managing Holding, took part in the anniversary business conference “C5+1: Unlocking Investment. Unleashing Prosperity,” organized by the U.S. Department of State. The event took place during the official visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the United States and was dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the partnership between the Central Asian countries and the United States.

The conference was attended by representatives of government bodies, national companies and private businesses of Kazakhstan, including Samruk-Kazyna JSC, AIFC, Freedom Holding Corp., KAZ Minerals PLC, Air Astana, Kaspi.kz, Bilim Media Group, ERG, Beeline Kazakhstan, BTS Digital, and others. Kazakhstan co-moderated a session on the development of the digital economy, during which issues of digitalization, cybersecurity, and the implementation of innovative technologies in cooperation with American partners were discussed.

During the visit, special attention was paid to industrial and technological cooperation. In Washington, a strategic agreement was signed between the Ministry of Industry and Construction of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Baiterek National Managing Holding, AgromashHolding KZ JSC, Eurasia Group AG, and John Deere Walldorf International GmbH on the establishment and development of industrial cooperation worth USD 2.5 billion. The document provides for the localization of John Deere agricultural machinery production at AgromashHolding KZ in Kostanay and Turkistan, the construction of three service centers, the creation of new jobs, the development of competencies among domestic specialists, and the establishment of Kazakhstan as a regional John Deere hub for supplying spare parts to CIS countries. As part of the agreement, Baiterek will provide preferential financing for the purchase of John Deere equipment.

According to the Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Baiterek National Managing Holding, the signed agreement will be an important step in expanding industrial cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United States and will contribute to the development of domestic mechanical engineering.

“This partnership is considered a strategic foundation for creating a sustainable production ecosystem aimed at developing technologies, employment, and the country's export potential. Today, Kazakhstan remains the main destination for investments in Central Asia, accounting for more than 60% of the region’s GDP. Special attention should be given to strengthening cooperation with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), which implement public–private partnership projects abroad. Baiterek will continue to play the key role of the Government’s financial institution, supporting national projects and creating new drivers of growth for Kazakhstan’s economy,” said Timur Onzhanov during the panel session.

During the session, he also presented Kazakhstan’s investment opportunities and spoke about Baiterek’s transformation into a full-fledged investment institution that covers all stages of the investment cycle — from project structuring to implementation. In his remarks, Timur Onzhanov emphasized that the Holding focuses on supporting priority sectors — industry, entrepreneurship, the agricultural sector, housing construction, and infrastructure development.

As a result of the Head of State’s visit to the United States, 29 bilateral agreements worth approximately USD 17 billion were signed between Kazakhstan and the United States. The documents cover the sectors of industry, energy, digitalization, education, and science. Among them are an agreement between Air Astana and Boeing for the supply of 18 new aircraft, a partnership between Tau-Ken Samruk and Cove Capital for the development of tungsten deposits, projects by Freedom Holding Corp. and NVIDIA on creating a regional artificial intelligence center, as well as memorandums with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Oracle, Visa, and other international companies.