NUR-SULTAN (TCA) — On July 1, upon the invitation of the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov begins his official visit to the United States, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said.
During the two-day visit Minister Atamkulov will meet with senior officials of the US Administration, State Department as well as representatives of business and expert communities. During these meetings the foreign minister will discuss issues of Kazakhstan–US enhanced strategic partnership, political, trade, economic, and cultural cooperation.
The visit will also be focused on further development of business ties between the two countries. During the past few years, there has been a high dynamics of the US FDI into Kazakhstan’s economy. In 2018, its volume amounted to US $5.3 billion, 44.7 per cent more than in 2017 ($3.6 billion).
Today the US is one of the key trade and economic partners of Kazakhstan. Given the US leadership in innovations and high technologies, Kazakhstan aims at attracting the world’s best practices and knowledge. These as well as other specific issues will be discussed during the minister’s talks with major US companies.
The United States is among the leading investment partners of Kazakhstan. Since 1991, American business has invested about $47 billion into the economy of Kazakhstan.
According to the Statistics Committee of the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, about 160 representative offices of US companies and over 350 Kazakhstan-US joint ventures operate in Kazakhstan.
In recent years, American companies such as Primus Power, Spancrete, Uber, Starbucks, McDonalds and Netflix have entered Kazakhstan’s market.
On May 15, 2019, the 3rd Annual Kazakhstan-US Business Forum “Competitive Kazakhstan” was held at Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry. Heads of the ministries of foreign affairs, agriculture, health, and others, as well as the heads of 28 major American companies, including Coca Cola, Gilead, HP, Microsoft, and Valley Irrigation took part in the Forum.
American investors have implemented a number of projects in mining, engineering, and manufacturing in Kazakhstan.
Chevron has implemented a project for the production of pipe fittings in the Atyrau region. The plant produces a new type of valves and fittings, the main features of which is a long life-span.
In Nur-Sultan, with the participation of General Electric Transportation, a plant was built for the production of new generation GE Evolution locomotives, which are distinguished by low fuel consumption and high ecological purity. The launch of the plant opened a new direction for the export potential of Kazakhstan and made it possible to supply innovative products to the countries of Central Asia.
At present, the Investment Committee of Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry, in cooperation with Kazakh Invest national investment promotion company, is developing about 20 projects with the participation of US capital in agro-processing, pharmaceutical industry, and renewable energy.
