What advantages await German business in Kazakhstan

New opportunities for Kazakh and German business in the post-pandemic environment were discussed at the 12th meeting of the Business Council of the two countries.

The meeting held in Nur-Sultan was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar, Deputy Co-Chairman of the Kazakh-German Business Council, Chairman of the Board of the Baiterek Holding Aydar Arifkhanov, Chairman of the Board of Atameken NPP Ablai Myrzakhmetov, representatives of national companies and business communities of the two countries, ambassadors.

In his welcoming speech, Roman Sklyar noted the importance of the topics discussed, and spoke about the opportunities that German business will receive by investing in Kazakhstan.

- Kazakhstan is ready to provide ample opportunities to investors fr om Germany for the implementation of promising projects: in the energy sector, in green economy projects, in agriculture (200 million hectares, 2nd place in the world in arable land per capita), in mechanical engineering and other areas of manufacturing industry, healthcare and other areas that will be discussed today. We are open to all new initiatives and proposals, – noted Roman Sklyar.

Aydar Arifkhanov, in turn, added that Kazakhstan occupies the leading places in the world in terms of deposits of rare earth metals and is located in geographical proximity to the regions of Eastern Siberia and India rich in mineral resources. In addition, Kazakhstan's participation in the Eurasian Economic Union made it possible to ensure freedom of movement of goods, capital, services and labor.

- These advantages may be of interest to Germany in terms of implementing plans for digitalization and the transition to "green energy". In this regard, it will be advisable to organize the work of the second in Asia German Competence Center in the city of Nur-Sultan. In this regard, the initiative of the Kazakh side has already been supported by the Eastern Committee of the German Economy and the Federal Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Foreign Trade of the Federal Republic of Germany, - emphasized the head of the Baiterek holding.

Michael Harms, Chief Executive Officer of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy, listed the areas in which Germany is interested in working with Kazakhstan in the future. In particular, he supported the creation of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

- President Tokayev announced an impressive plan of economic reforms in Kazakhstan, wh ere there are many topics for our closer cooperation. This concerns issues of tax and customs administration, the role of small and medium-sized businesses, regional cooperation, the "green" economy, the Law on Industrial Policy ... Just last year, with our Ministry of Economy, we developed an industrial strategy and are ready to share our experience. – assured Michael Harms.

He expressed interest in studying Kazakhstan's experience in the banking sector, which, in his opinion, is more digitalized than in Germany.

Further, representatives of big business in Germany, such as Knauf AG, Herrenknecht AG, SAP, Siemens Energy AG and CLAAS Global Sales GmbH, shared their ideas and suggestions, who expressed their readiness to cooperate with Kazakhstan in various industries, including advanced training.