ASTANA (TCA) — On November 24, the Hague hosted the Kazakh-Dutch Business Forum within the framework of a joint Business Council meeting attended by officials and business communities of Kazakhstan and the Netherlands. The event was organized by the Ministry of Investment and Development of Kazakhstan, KAZNEX INVEST National Agency for Export and Investment, and the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers VNO-NSW, the Ministry of Investment and Development reported.
The participants of the forum were welcomed by Daniyar Berlibayev, co-chairman of the Joint Business Council from the Kazakh side, Executive Vice-President of KazMunaiGas national oil and gas company, and Sean Rooney, co-chairman of the Joint Business Council from the Dutch side and VP Government Relations, Royal Dutch Shell.
The Business Forum was attended by representatives of more than 50 companies operating in such sectors as agriculture, food processing, horticulture, water resources, energy, chemicals, light industry, infrastructure and logistics.
Today the Netherlands is one of Kazakhstan’s most important economic partners, heading the list of countries investing in Kazakhstan.
The Chairman of the Committee on Investment of the Ministry of Investment and Development of Kazakhstan, Saparbek Tuyakbayev noted that “The inflow of direct investments from the Netherlands to Kazakhstan’s economy since 2005 has amounted to USD 67.3 billion. We welcome the participation of Dutch businesses in the projects of development of domestic high-technology and export-oriented production in accordance with the priorities of Kazakhstan’s industrial and innovation policy”.
The Deputy Chairman of KAZNEX INVEST, Askhat Beisenbayev said: “As of 1 November 2016, there are 1,178 enterprises with the participation of Dutch capital registered in Kazakhstan. We highly appreciate the willingness of the Dutch side to expand trade and economic and investment ties between the two countries, and will make every effort to achieve this goal.”
Following the Business Forum, a joint Business Council Agreement was signed between the Kazakhstan International Chamber of Commerce and VNO NCW Netherlands.
From 2008 to 2015, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and the Netherlands amounted to USD 5.1 billion.
