ASTANA (TCA) — During his official visit to the United Arab Emirates on January 15, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with the business community of the UAE in Abu Dhabi, the President’s press service reported.
The meeting was attended by heads of the leading UAE companies.
Nazarbayev stressed that the UAE is one of Kazakhstan’s key partners in the Middle East, and invited UAE companies to actively participate in implementation of Kazakhstan’s industrialization program, assuring that his country is prepared to provide its in-depth capital investment support.
“In priority sectors investors are exempt from corporate income tax and land tax for 10 years, property tax – for 8 years. The Foreign Investors Council has been functioning for 19 years in order to support foreign companies,” the President said.
Nazarbayev also said that there are 10 special economic zones and 20 industrial zones in Kazakhstan.
“We are interested in the UAE vast experience in industrial zones development. We are ready to place such zones under management of Emirati companies,” Nazarbayev said.
He said to the Emirati businesspeople that Kazakhstan is carrying out a large-scale campaign for privatization of major state-owned enterprises, as part of which about seven hundred assets are offered for sale.
“These are shares in mining and metals, oil and gas industry, energy, transport and communication infrastructure facilities. We would welcome Emirati companies to participate in privatization,” the President of Kazakhstan said.
Nazarbayev said that there are about 200 joint ventures with UAE capital in Kazakhstan, with projects being implemented in agriculture, industry and energy.
He also emphasized the implementation of “Abu Dhabi Plaza” bilateral investment project in Astana, worth $1.6 billion.
Earlier that day, Nazarbayev met with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to discuss cooperation in trade, economic, investment, energy, cultural and humanitarian spheres.
