EU invests over 10 bln dlrs in Kazakh economy in 2010 - FM

TANA. November 24. KAZINFORM Last year European Union countries invested over ten billion dollars in the economy of Kazakhstan, becoming "a leading trade and investment partner" of that Central Asian republic, Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov said at an international conference on the results and new horizons of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Europe.

According to the foreign minister, at the present moment the European Union accounts for half of Kazakhstan's foreign trade and one third of investments in the country. "Foreign trade turnover between Kazakhstan and the European Union made up 25.4 billion dollars alone in the first half of 2011. From 1993 to 2010 gross inflow of direct investments from EU countries in the economy of Kazakhstan made up over 52 billion dollars, including over ten billion dollars in 2010 alone," the press service of the Kazakh foreign minister quoted him as saying in a speech at the conference.

According to Itar-Tass, the minister reminded the audience that last year the European Investment Bank came on the Kazakh market, and Kazakhstan "is the third biggest (after Russia and Norway) major supplier of energy resources to EU among non-OPEC member states".

He also added that "over the past three years Kazakhstan has signed strategic partnership treaties with France, Italy, Spain and Turkey". "The intergovernmental program of action within the framework of partnership for the sake of the future has been signed with Germany. The German Season in Kazakhstan has ended successfully," Kazykhanov said.

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