President Nazarbayev holds bilateral meetings in Davos

DAVOS. January 30. KAZINFORM /Aigul Tulekbayeva/ A working program of the Kazakh delegation within the 39th session of the World Economic Forum was very intensive. Kazakhstan?s President Nursultan Nazarbayev held informal meetings with leaders of some states. The sides defined directions of bilateral relations and discussed different problems face-to-face; Kazinform reports.

The session gathered all world politicians: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and others. The forum is a good generator of opinions, ideas, issues of political and business elite, a good platform for contacts establishment. A group of foreign companies entered a list of persons who wished to have a business breakfast with the President. They are heads of companies who play a big role in international economy and work in the market of oil and gas, investments, petrochemistry and etc. ?Total S.A.? Chairman Thierry Desmarest, ?Soros Fund Management? Chairman George Soros, ?Royal Dutch Shell? Chairman Jorma Ollila, potential investors from the USA, Great Britain, Korea, Germany, and the Netherlands met with the President. Leading economist from the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness (Harvard Business School) Michael Porter noted that he was in many countries, but Kazakhstan has its differences: geographical location, political stability and existence of qualified human resources. The Kazakh side, in its turn, said that despite the world financial crisis ?the republic has strategy on economic stabilization. We think of future, not focusing on something, the crisis is not eternal?. Following the results of the meeting the participants were invited to Astana, where they can meet with heads of the ministries, departments and akimats (administrations). Our country is interested in output of high value added products in the spheres of oil and gas, petrochemistry, metallurgy and agriculture. As is known, Kazakhstan allocates USD 1 bln for re-equipment and holding of system measures in the branch within its anti-recessionary programme. Within the framework of the forum the Head of the State attended a session of Energy Summit ?Oil & Gas Geopolitics ? A Map in Transit? and held a number of bilateral meetings. The President met with Prince Andrew Duke of York. The Head of the State thanked him for the support of the Kazakh-British society and the Kazakh-British Technical University. N.Nazarbayev noted striving of the country to develop cooperation with Britain. The British investments to Kazakhstan formed USD 12 bln. Within a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was discussed. The Head of the State met with Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. We strengthen cooperation in trade-economic and humanitarian spheres. N.Nazarbayev noted that Turkish President Abdullah Gul plans to construct a medical center under the Ahmet Yesevi University. Within the meeting with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Thomas Mirow N.Nazarbayev emphasized that investments of the Bank are very important for the country, and we plan to work jointly in all directions of cooperation.