Investment and Kazakhstan

by Duygu Erdemgil

Last week the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative hosted a US-Kazakh Investment forum, chaired by Mike Delaney, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, and moderated by Eric Stewart, the U.S. Chamber’s Senior Advisor for Europe & Eurasia. The two featured speakers were Kazakhstan Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Umarov and Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake. Umarov stressed that Kazakhstan has come a long way in the last decade, and that the Kazakhs are eager to diversify their economy. He stated that the priority sectors for attracting foreign investment in Kazakhstan are agriculture, construction, pharmaceuticals and tourism.

Assistant Secretary Blake mentioned that Central Asia has a growing importance for the Department of State. To that end, Secretary Clinton will be traveling to Astana before the end of the year. In addition, President Obama has donated $100,000 from his Nobel Peace Prize to John Hopkins University’s Central Asia Institute for  programs focusing on education for girls in the region. Undoubtedly, the Obama Administration has a growing interest in the Central Asian nations, especially due to their geostrategic importance.

U.S. corporate participation at the event was strong and diversified across several sectors.  It was a good opportunity for these companies to interact with the Kazakh decision makers. Overall the event was a positive step towards expanding commercial relations with the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan which show progress towards the goals we focused on in a recent U.S. Chamber conference.