Focus on strengthening strategic partnership confirmed at the Kazakh-British Intergovernmental Commission

London, December 9, 2020 - The seventh Plenary Session of the Kazakh-British Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation (IGC), co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Almas Aidarov and British Minister for International Trade Ranil Jayawardena was held online. Meetings of the IGC Working Groups were also held online from November 10 to December 3. In total, over 100 people participated in the event.

The participants, including more than 20 representatives of the British business community, reviewed the results of the IGC's activities over the past year, and outlined the main directions for the further development of multifaceted bilateral cooperation. Among other things, the meeting focused on the prospects for interaction in the energy, financial and mining sectors, healthcare and education in the context of COVID-19.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Aidarov highlighted that despite the difficult epidemiological situation in the world caused by the pandemic, direct investments from the UK grew by 33%, and that Kazakhstan seeks to attract not only foreign direct investments, but also new knowledge and technologies. In this regard, he called on representatives of British business to take an active part in the Digital Kazakhstan program.

“The economy is rapidly diversifying towards digitalization, transport, logistics, agribusiness, manufacturing, energy and mining... Despite impressive achievements, Kazakhstan is not planning to stop and has already set new goals for long-term sustainable development. The establishment of the Supreme Council for Reforms chaired by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and advised by former EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti is another important step towards our bright future,” he added.

In turn, Minister Jayawardena emphasized the potential of Nur-Sultan to become an international commercial hub. He expressed confidence that British businesses could play a key role in providing goods, services and financing needed to achieve this goal, including advanced architecture, digital technology, healthcare, education, financial services and renewable energy.

“We must strengthen and deepen our relationship. We must build cleaner, more diversified and more sustainable economies of the future, taking advantage of the new technologies that are transforming our planet. And together we will be able to promote free trade and international investment around the world,” Minister Jayawardena emphasized.

Minister Jayawardena also stressed that British businesses are very interested in investing in the agribusiness of Kazakhstan.

The IGC held meetings of five Working Groups on finance and financial services, education, subsoil use, energy and healthcare.

Participants in the Financial Services Working Group discussed global initiatives for green and sustainable finance, green finance in the banking sector and green technologies.

Representatives of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) spoke about the active development of their work, including in green finance. They informed the UK of the adoption of the Strategy for Regional Leadership in Green Finance, as well as the development of schemes and rules for issuing green bonds based on international standards.

The main topic of the meeting of the Energy Working Group was sustainable field development and renewable energy sources. The participants noted that large oil companies in Kazakhstan are diversifying their asset portfolios in favor of environmentally friendly and low-carbon energy sources. In this regard, the companies intend to integrate renewable energies into oil and gas operations, carry out organizational reforms to support technological change, and carry out decarbonization campaigns at the subsidiary and contractor levels. The meeting emphasized the strategic goal of Kazakhstan to ensure a 50% share of renewable sources in the total volume of energy generation by 2050.

The Working Group on Subsoil Use discussed the positive trends in the development of the industry in Kazakhstan after the adoption of the new Code on Subsoil and Subsoil Use developed taking into account the best foreign experience. In addition, its participants discussed the draft of a new Environmental Code of Kazakhstan designed to improve environmental regulation, introduce new directives on environmental impact assessment, and facilitate the use of the best available technologies and automated environmental monitoring.

The discussions of the Education Working Group were built around the further development of education post-COVID. In particular, the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan has prioritized such topics as the establishment of EdTech in Kazakhstan, creation of interactive educational Internet platforms, as well as development of digital education in Kazakhstan.

Representatives of the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) and the British Council spoke about their experiences in the digital education development, as well as the steps taken to ensure lifelong education under quarantine restrictions in the United Kingdom.

During the event, the British company Twig and the Kazakh company Bilim Media Group presented the first joint successful platform www.twig-bilim.kz, which is rapidly gaining popularity among Kazakhstani schoolchildren and students. The parties agreed that the demand for such platforms in the digital era of human development will inevitably grow at a faster pace.

The Healthcare Working Group was briefed on the implementation of the 2020-2025 State Program for the Development of Healthcare of Kazakhstan. The Program plans to build 18 new hospitals in Kazakhstan financed through a public-private partnership.

Participants of the regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission and bilateral negotiations compared notes on the main aspects of trade and economic interaction and confirmed the parties’ interest to further expand the Kazakh-British strategic partnership in the difficult post-COVID conditions.

Following the event, the parties signed the Protocol enshrining long-term plans for the further expansion of bilateral cooperation.