Pavlodar Forum: Attracting investment to Kazakhstan’s emerging IT sector

Pavlodar is one of the leading regions of Kazakhstan, and is now the site of the Invest Pavlodar Front Office, a ‘one stop shop’ for investment activities. The creation of this office was announced by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yermek Kosherbayev, at the international “Modern Information Technology in Business” forum held in Pavlodar on August 16, 2019.

The forum was attended by Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, Askar Zhumagaliyev, Regional Akim Bulat Bakauov, and representatives of the regions of Kazakhstan as well as foreign companies.

As part of the forum, the Deputy Foreign Minister chaired a working meeting held with the Akimat and other representatives of the region involved in attracting investment. At the meeting, it was noted that the Foreign Ministry was actively working to harmonize the three levels of the investment system, the key element of which being the front offices created across all regions of Kazakhstan.

Mr. Kosherbayev informed the event’s participants of the need for the region to develop a sectoral focus, in order to more effectively target international investors. A potential focus could be the IT sector, in which there is increasing activity in Pavlodar. During the working trip, the Deputy Foreign Minister also visited various enterprises in Ekibastuz, including the railway equipment factories LLP Prommashkomplekt and LLP RWS Binding. During the visit, the production process and issues constraining the further development of these enterprises were discussed.