In Which Sectors does Kazakhstan Intend to Attract Swiss Investors?
The Swiss business intends to continue investment cooperation with Kazakhstan. This was reported by investors during the online webinar "Recent Events, New Developments", organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Switzerland, with the support of the Swiss Joint Chamber of Commerce.
The event was attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Switzerland Alibek Bakayev, Chairman of the Committee on Investments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Ardak Zebeshev, Chairman of "NC" KAZAKH INVEST" JSC Meirzhan Yussupov, President of the Joint Chamber of Commerce of Switzerland Marcel Pawlicek and more than 100 representatives of Swiss business.
In his welcoming speech, Marcel Pawlicek emphasized the importance of direct communication in solving the pressing issues of investment cooperation between the two countries. In turn, the Kazakh Ambassador to Switzerland Alibek Bakaev spoke about the current status of relations and provided details of the events that occurred in Kazakhstan earlier this year.
At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Trade and Integration, Co-Chairman of Kazakhstan-Switzerland Intergovernmental Commission Bakhyt Sultanov made a video address.
"Switzerland is of interest to Kazakhstan as an investor in many industries. The Government of Kazakhstan is making every effort to further improve the business climate and investment attractiveness of the country. We will continue to develop our contacts and invite you to mutually beneficial cooperation," reads the video message.
Ardak Zebeshev, Chairman of the Committee on Investments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, briefed the audience on the main investment indicators of Kazakhstan. Further, confirming the intentions of the Kazakh side to fulfill all of its obligations, he drew attention to their reciprocity: "Creating the best framework conditions for investors, we look forward to the timely implementation of investment projects with the involvement of advanced technologies and the creation of permanent jobs.
In turn, the Chairman of the Board of "NC" KAZAKH INVEST" JSC Meirzhan Yussupov said that Switzerland is an important economic partner of Kazakhstan in Europe. According to him, the countries have managed to build strong relationships based on trust, mutual respect, and shared priorities. These relations are underpinned by a reliable partnership in ensuring global and regional security, dynamic trade cooperation as well as political and people-to-people ties.
"The year 2021 was very productive in terms of creating new investment projects between Kazakhstan and Switzerland. During the investment forum organized during the visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Geneva last November, 17 documents worth more than $300 million were signed, all of them at various stages of implementation. Thus, the pool of "NC "KAZAKH INVEST" JSC currently has 37 projects with the participation of Swiss capital for a total of $8.2 billion. We also have great prospects for the implementation of projects in the field of food production, transport, and logistics, machinery, pharmaceuticals, green projects, etc.," said Meirzhan Yusupov.
At the end of the webinar the "Q&A" session was held, where investors could ask questions and get comprehensive answers. By the way, more often businessmen were interested in the procedure of visa-free regime resumption, attraction of foreign specialists, creation of joint ventures, and cooperation with Kazakhstani partners.
For reference: Switzerland holds third place after the Netherlands and the USA by the volume of direct investments in the Kazakhstani economy (over $1.9 billion for the 9 months of 2021). The total volume of Swiss FDI in the Kazakh economy, since 2005, exceeded 29 billion U.S. dollars. THE TOTAL VOLUME OF SWISS FDI IN KAZAKHSTAN'S ECONOMY SINCE 2005 EXCEEDED $29 BILLION. 300 Swiss companies and joint ventures are active in Kazakhstan.
