ASTANA (TCA) — The 8th meeting of the Kazakh-Italian Intergovernmental Working Group for Industrial and Economic Cooperation and Exchange (IWG) was held in Rome on February 16, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
The host country was represented by the Italian co-chairman, Italian Vice Minister of Economic Development, Ivan Scalfarotto.
“For us, Italy is one of the main trade partners in Europe and a leading investor,” said Yerlan Khairov, chairman of the Investment Committee at the Ministry for Investment and Development of Kazakhstan. “The foreign trade turnover amounted to $9.6 billion between Kazakhstan and Italy at the end of 2017, which is 13.5% more than in the same period of the previous year. Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union. It is a single market without customs borders with a capacity of more than 180 million people, with foreign trade turnover of about $1 trillion. Therefore, I propose to perceive Kazakhstan as a platform for production for the subsequent access to large markets of Eurasia, China, Central Asia and the Middle East.”
During the event, the parties discussed intensification of interaction between business and banking circles, the development of the legal framework, cooperation in energy, industry, agriculture, and humanitarian spheres. The culture and tourism industry was noted as a promising area of cooperation.
On the same day, at the end of the IWG meeting, the Kazakh Embassy in Italy, in conjunction with the General Confederation of Italian Industry and the ICE, held a business forum to present Kazakhstan’s economic opportunities, attended by representatives of the largest Italian companies and business associations.
Italian companies have used the opportunity of participation in the Expo-2017 exhibition in Astana to establish cooperation with Kazakhstan in the new sphere – green technologies.
