WEEKLY REVIEW. Kazakhstan expands cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank
On Monday, Minister of Labor and Social Protection Serik Abdenov chaired a session with reps of East Kazakhstan regional department for control and social protection in Ust-Kamenogorsk. He announced ministry's plan to develop the social strain map that would outline the sore points: enterprises in default, enterprises with invisible employment. The map would cover issues that raise concern among the population.
Minister of Industry and New Technologies Asset Issekeshev and Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani, President of the Islamic Development Bank, signed a Country Partnership Strategy for 2012-2014 on Monday in Astana. The IDB Group will promote the development of transport, energy, agriculture sectors, as well as non-oil and gas industries, science and technology, diversification, financial sector, and interregional cooperation. The Country Partnership Strategy between the Kazakh Government and Islamic Development Bank Group for 2012-2014 provides more than USD 1 billion of investments into Kazakhstan's economy.
Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov delivered a speech at the 7th Eurasian Forum 'KAZENERGY' on Tuesday (October 2). He confirmed the Government of Kazakhstan worked on to improve the investment climate in the country and diversify the ways of hydrocarbon export. The Head of the Kazakh Government met with Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani at the house of government the same day. At the meeting the sides debated the prospects for development of bilateral cooperation and the implementation of joint projects in energy, transport and agro-industrial sectors.
Vice Prime Minister Krymbek Kusherbayev noted it was necessary to map out the long-term rules of interaction between the business and the government at the seminar on 'Social Security and Mass Media' on Wednesday. Darkhan Mynbai, Minister of Culture and Information, in his turn, added that it was crucial to develop a well-defined scheme governing the coverage of labor and other social conflicts by mass media.
Prime Minister Akhmetov chaired the session of the Government the same day. The session focused on the draft Agro-Industrial Complex Development Program for 2013-2020.
Bakytzhan Zhumagulov, Minister of Education and Science of Kazakhstan, and Finland's Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb on Thursday reached agreement on establishing the cooperation between educational organizations of Kazakhstan and Finland.
At the Kazakh-Finnish Business Forum on October 4, Minister of Environmental Protection Nurlan Kapparov declared 40 Kazakhstani enterprises were to introduce waste management systems in 2013.
On Friday at the enlarged session of the Nur Otan faction Kazakh Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov made public the key economic targets. According to him, since the beginning of the year despite the escalation of the crisis in Europe and slowing down of the economy in the EU countries and US the country's economic progressive advance continues. The GDP since the beginning of 2012 rose by 5.6%. The country's macroeconomic and financial stability remained. Inflation for the past 9 months reached 3.9% against 6.2% in 2011. The national reserves with account of the National Fund means starting this year increased by USD 10.9 bln to make USD 83.8 bln. The income of Kazakhstanis increased as well. The average salary grew by 12.7% for January- July exceeding KZT 98 000. The unemployment dropped to 5.2%.