ASTANA (TCA) — Kazakh Invest, the national agency for attracting investments in Kazakhstan, is taking part, for the first time, in the X Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona (Italy) on October 19-20.
The organizers of this annual business event are the Conoscere Eurasia Association, the Roscongress Foundation, and the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The main theme for discussion this year is ‘Greater Eurasia as a driving force in the current international geopolitical and economic context’. The event’s agenda focuses on key problems concerning economic development in Greater Eurasia, including such themes as EU–EEU cooperation, the development of the energy, financial, transport, and infrastructure sectors, inter-regional cooperation, and information and digital technologies.
Acting Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Invest Birzhan Kaneshev spoke about the prospects of investing in the economy of Kazakhstan, as well as the work of the national company to attract foreign investment and support investors, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
“Kazakhstan is the link between the largest markets of Eurasia. Kazakhstan’s membership in the EEU (Eurasian Economic Union) provides additional opportunities for investors to enter the market with more than 180 million consumers,” Kaneshev said.
Kaneshev highlighted the possibilities of ten Special Economic Zones (SEZ) of Kazakhstan, which have already become a center for attracting international investment in the country. SEZs provide unique privileges for investors, such as central and regional support, special tax and customs regimes, ready infrastructure and simplified rules for hiring foreign employees.
The Forum is attended by Mayor of Verona Federico Sboarina, President of the Foundation for Worldwide Cooperation Romano Prodi (Prime Minister of Italy 1996–1998, 2006–2008; President of the European Commission 1999–2004); Chairman of the Board of Directors at Rosneft Gerhard Schröder (German Federal Chancellor 1998-2005); State Secretary of the Union State of Russia and Belarus Grigory Rapota; Glencore International CEO Ivan Glasenberg (Switzerland); Chairman of the Board at Eni, President of BusinessEurope, and Chairman and CEO of Marcegaglia Holding Emma Marcegaglia; Pirelli Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera; Banca IMI President Gaetano Miccichè; Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo; and Swan Insights Managing Director and Executive Director of the Big Data Analytics Lab at Bisnode Marcus Hartman, among others.
“The Verona Forum is ten years old. It began as a purely Russian–Italian event, which addressed such issues as the development of bilateral trade and economic relations. A decade later, the Forum has turned into a major European platform, where big business discusses key issues related to economic cooperation in Greater Eurasia, from Lisbon to Vladivostok. I would venture to say that there is simply no other event like it in the Old World,” Conoscere Eurasia Association President Antonio Fallico said.
