The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin held meetings with Regional Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Agris Preimanis and Permanent Representative of the World Bank in Kazakhstan Ato Brown.
At the meetings, issues of deepening cooperation with international financial institutions further and promising areas of interaction in the process of building a sustainable, balanced and diversified economy and structural reforms in Kazakhstan were discussed.
Askar Mamin and Agris Preimanis discussed strategic areas of cooperation in the energy sector with a focus on renewable energy sources, infrastructure and transport, support for small and medium-sized business through the financial sector and others. In addition, reforms in the public-private partnership, tariff policy in regulated sectors, as well as transformation processes and privatization program were considered.
During the conversation with Ato Brown, the implementation progress of the Partnership Framework Strategy and the Joint Economic Research Program was reviewed. Special attention was paid to the draft Country Partnership Strategy for 2019-2024, in particular, issues of improving the quality of human capital, private sector development, the investment climate and trade, as well as the modernization of transport infrastructure and regional development prospects.
Tourism, agribusiness, industrialization, digital innovations, transport and logistics and the development of regional infrastructure are considered among the priority sectors for cooperation. At the same time, the parties designated the priority of cooperation in the framework of the Joint Economic Research Program with an emphasis on long-term projects aimed at achieving the goals of the Development Strategy of Kazakhstan until 2025.
Over the years of cooperation, the EBRD has financed 253 projects for a total of € 7.676 billion in Kazakhstan. The current portfolio of EBRD projects consists of 123 projects totaling $2.75 billion.
The World Bank’s project portfolio includes 22 projects, including 7 current projects (outside the framework agreement) and 15 projects under the Partnership Framework Agreements, according to Primeminister.kz.
