GOVERNMENT: Unemployment level decreases in Kazakhstan, labour productivity grows
This week, Prime Minister Karim Massimov met with US State Secretary John Kerry, who arrived in Kazakhstan for the first official visit. The sides discussed a wide range of issues of the Kazakh-American cooperation and the relevant issues of the international agenda. K. Massimov noted that the visit of J. Kerry would be a good impetus for development of closer strategic partnership between the two countries, especially in trade and investment spheres.
Besides, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan also received Minister of Azerbaijan Zakir Gassanov this week. The interlocutors discussed the relevant issues of development of bilateral military and technical cooperation.
First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev met with Deputy Prime Minister of China Zhang Gaoli in Beijing. The sides touched upon the process of fulfillment of the agreements reached during the talks between President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev and President of China Xi Jinping early in September. Besides, B. Sagintayev and Z. Gaoli discussed signing of the program of cross-border cooperation for 2015-2020 and establishment of the interregional forum between Kazakhstan and China.
In order to implement the set by the presidents of the two countries tasks on increasing the bilateral trade turnover to 40 billion US dollars by 2020, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan proposed to consider an opportunity of forming a special working group focusing on increasing the volume of mutual trade and adoption of the required Road Map. Besides, the sides reached an agreement on removal of barriers by China for import of Kazakhstani agricultural products.
As B. Sagintayev informed, upon completion of the talks the responsible bodies of China were given instruction to resolve the issue of delivery of beef and mutton from Kazakhstan to China.
The participants of the sitting of the Kazakh-British intergovernmental commission held within the official visit of the Head of State to Great Britain also reached an agreement to implement 40 projects in the energy, oil and gas spheres, agriculture and on construction of a plant on production of medical equipment.
The Ministry of Investment and Development informed this week that Kazakhstan joined the top 50 countries in terms of the labour productivity and the top 20 in terms of its growth.
Implementation of the State Program on Accelerated Industrial and Innovation Development gave an impetus for development of the national economy and became one of the key drivers of the growth of many important indicators. 72 of 223 of the indicators were fulfilled or over fulfilled, and 19 another indicators showed significant improvement compared to 2008. The real GDP growth made 35.6 percent thanks to the measures of support rendered to business.
According to the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development, the positive dynamics in reduction of the unemployment rate has been registered in the country over the last 9 years. The number of the unemployed reduced from 625 thousand people in 2006 to 449 thousand people in the second quarter of 2015. At the same time it was noted that in case the prices for oil and other raw materials Kazakhstan exports remain the same the number of vacancies in the labour market will reduce.
In 20014, over 167 thousand people were employed within the implementation of the Employment Road Map-2020.
The Government jointly with the UNDP also starts a new project on transition to sustainable development of cities. Implementation of this project is quite timely under the current economic conditions. 15 pilot cities and towns of Kazakhstan were selected for implementation of project.