Kazakh Industry Minister to visit Washington, New York

ASTANA. November 22. KAZINFORM On December 5-10, Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and New Technologies, Asset Isekeshev, will visit Washington D.C., New York City and San-Francisco to hold meetings with the key members of the U.S. Government and senior executives from leading U.S. companies.
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Deputy Prime Minister Isekeshev will lead a powerful public and private sector delegation consisting of more than 10 high-ranking representatives of the Central Asian nation's nationally owned companies and development institutions such as Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund, Kazakhstan Railways, Kazakhstan Development Bank, United Chemical Company, Agricultural Holding KazAgro, Kazakhtelecom, among others, the Kazakh Embassy in the US said.  

The goal of the event is to raise awareness among American investors about Kazakhstan's economic growth potential and its increasing attractiveness for long-term investments into the strategic non-extracting sectors of the country's economy including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery, metallurgy, information technologies and telecommunications. The Deputy Prime Minister's visit is a part of the Kazakhstan Government's five year program to accelerate industrial and innovative development, provide economic incentives for foreign direct investment and open the doors of the country's economy to the international community in order to build stable, progressive and mutually beneficial partnerships.

Kazakhstan's economy is among the most dynamic and vibrant in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, which consists mainly of former Soviet states. Since 1993, Kazakhstan's GDP has increased 10-fold, from $11 billion to $150 billion USD in 2011. In the first half of 2012, Kazakhstan's economy, the largest in Central Asia, grew by 5.6 percent (year-on-year). According to the International Monetary Fund, Kazakhstan was ranked 53rd among 182 countries in terms of GDP production in 2011. With its current $11,500 USD GDP per capita, the country's economy is projected to grow 6% in 2012.

The Deputy Prime Minister's delegation is designed to build upon the remarkable economic, trade and investment cooperation between the Kazakh and U.S. public and private sectors, which is the key pillar of the two countries' strategic partnership. American Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake highlighted the significant economic progress of the country during his recent remarks at an Atlantic Council conference celebrating two decades of Kazakhstan's independence and Kazakhstan-US diplomatic relations. "For 20 years, Kazakhstan has attracted considerable international investment that has created jobs and prosperity [for its people]. Kazakhstan stands out in the region for substantially reducing poverty and laying a solid foundation for the creation of a real middle class," he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister's first meetings are scheduled in Washington D.C. on December 6, then in New York City on December 7-8 and San-Francisco on December 9-10.

The delegation's visit is being organized by Kazakhstan's national export and investment agency, Kaznex-Invest, in partnership with the New York-based Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU). BCIU is a business association dedicated to promoting dialogue between the business and government communities. Co-organizers of the event are the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Washington, D.C. and the US-Kazakhstan Business Association.

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