Tokayev’s visit to NYC so far: Meetings with world leaders, captains of industry
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is in New York for a working visit as he is expected to deliver a speech at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly. On top that, the visit will see him attending the first-ever C5+1 presidential summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, Kazinform reports.
President Tokayev’s agenda in NYC has been quite packed so far. On Day 1, September 17, the Head of State met with President and CEO of Wabtec Rafael Santana to discuss reconstruction of the railway industry in Kazakhstan, production of locomotives using hydrogen technologies and their components, creation of an engineering center as well as technology transfer.
The Kazakh side welcomed Wabtec’s plans to invest about $1 billion in the transport and logistics industry, a step that will greatly contribute to the development of Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
The same day the Head of State held talks with Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup, the only US bank represented in Kazakhstan and one of its leading partners for international investors, praising its plans to finance a number of important projects in Kazakhstan’s transport and logistics sector.
On September 18, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had meetings with a number of American captains of industry as well as international leaders.
During the meeting with Executive Vice President of Mastercard Nicola Villa focused on many issues, paying utmost attention to Mastercard’s decision to choose Almaty as a regional center in the CIS, Central and Eastern Europe to develop its consulting business.
Mastercard will not only promote Kazakhstan’s GovTech solutions abroad, it has an ambitious plan to launch the Strive program in Kazakhstan to digitalize business and help more than 300,000 SMEs improve their competencies and assist the National Bank of Kazakhstan to bring to life the Digital Tenge project.
Joint investment projects in geological exploration, mining and metallurgical industries were in the spotlight of President Tokayev’s meeting with Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm. He announced the leading global mining group’s plans to expand operations in Kazakhstan and briefed the Head of State on the progress of cooper exploration projects in Kostanay and Karaganda regions.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev went on to meet with Vice President of Amazon Corporation Susan Pointer to focus on the potentially beneficial cooperation in the development of cloud technologies and construction of data centers and ways Amazon can help Kazakhstan become a regional IT hub.
GE Healthcare is planning to localize production of ultrasound machines with subsequent production of CT scanners, angiographs and mammographs in Kazakhstan. It was revealed at the meeting with its President of GE Healthcare for Europe, Middle East and Africa Rob Walton on the margins of President Tokayev’s trip to New York.
GE Healthcare also intends to create a Centralized National Digital Archive of Clinical Images of Kazakhstan to simplify the management of patient data and help the country reduce the cost of services as well as open GE Healthcare Academy on the basis of the Astana Medical University this October.
President Tokayev met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly where the sides touched upon priority areas of Kazakhstan’s comprehensive cooperation with the UN.
“Kazakhstan and the UN continue their cooperation on strengthening peace and security, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring human rights. For us, Kazakhstan is a privileged partner that is a pillar of multilateralism, a promoter and defender of peace at the global level, emphasized António Guterres, welcoming the Kazakh leader in New York.
For his part, President Tokayev underlined the UN’s exceptional role in addressing the most relevant issues of our time and shared his visit of further improving the Organization’s activities.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also held a meeting with President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi at the UN Headquarters in New York. The Kazakh President called Iran Kazakhstan’s ‘strategic partner in the Caspian Sea region’. The sides agreed to strengthen transit and transport links given the great potential of using the railway Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran. Tokayev also emphasized the importance of the construction of a Kazakh trade terminal in the port of Bandar Abbas.
While in New York, President Tokayev also met with a host of European leaders, for instance Hungarian President Katalin Novak. Commending the strategic partnership the brotherly nations had established, the Head of State highly appreciated Hungary’s active stance and valuable contribution toward strengthening Turkic cooperation.
He went on to invite his Hungarian counterpart to attend the 10th anniversary summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Kazakhstan this November.
During the meeting with Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar, the Head of State said Kazakhstan considers Slovenia ‘an important partner’ of the country in the European Union and invited President Musar to take part in the Astana International Forum next year.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and his Finish counterpart Sauli Niinistö exchanged views on topical issues of international politics, including the context of UN reform at their bilateral meeting. The Kazakh leader pointed out that Finland is the largest trade partner of Kazakhstan among the countries of Northern Europe. Sauli Niinistö, in turn, expressed readiness to continue beneficial cooperation between Helsinki and Astana.
Prospects of strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan and Estonia in various spheres were discussed in New York as well. President Tokayev and his Estonian colleague Alar Karis reiterated mutual aspiration to further deepen cooperation in areas of common interest and exchanged invitations for mutual visits.
