We need to shift away from resource dependence – President
Building a strong economic base remains an unchangeable task for the Central Asian countries. This is what President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev says in his article “The Renaissance of Central Asia: On the path towards sustainable development and prosperity” for Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper, Kazinform News Agency reports.
“Building a strong economic base of multilateral interaction, undoubtedly, remains an unchangeable task for our countries. Today, thanks to joint efforts of the region’s countries and strong economic potential, Central Asia is turning into the space of enormous opportunities in trade, investments, science and innovations,” the article reads.
According to the Head of State, the territory of the Central Asian countries is 3,882,000 square meters and its population is more than 80 million people. The region’s GDP is nearly $450 billion. Almost 20% of the global uranium reserves, 17.2% of oil and 7% of natural gas reserves are concentrated in the region. Central Asia leads in coal production and electricity generation, holding the 10th and 11th places in the world respectively.
"The complementarity of our economies enables to ensure their sustainability to the external shocks and diversify commercial and production cycles. Effective implementation of joint economic projects might promote this process," says Tokayev.
In his opinion, our economies need technological development.
“We need to shift away from the dependence on resources. Digitalization and creative industry which encompass media, film industry, music, design, education, and IT, can become growth points of economy. The countries of the region have enormous potential for the launch of joint projects in this area. The boom in digital and creative industries will contribute to consistent transition from resource-based economy to intellectual production. I am confident that Central Asian economic cooperation may become, if not the main, then at least one of the key sources of growth for our national economies,” the President concludes.
