The International Tax and Investment Center report and investment opportunities of Kazakhstan presented
Nur-Sultan - Washington D.C., December 10, 2020 - A report of the International Center for Taxation and Investment (ITIC), titled “Foreign Investment in Central Asia: Actors and Drivers”, was presented. The report is authored by Ariel Cohen, a renowned American expert on international relations in security and energy of Eurasia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and James Grant, Research Fellow at ITIC.
The authors paid significant attention to assessing the potential and possible risks for the countries of the Central Asian region, the prospects for their further growth and increasing the stability of national economies in order to improve the life of the region's population.
Mr. Cohen noted the importance of the World Bank's programs, which contributed to the transformation of the region in terms of providing access to crediting, simplifying border trade procedures, tax and customs regimes and strengthening the rights of minority shareholders. The report noted the successes of Kazakhstan, as well as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the 2020 Doing Business ranking in comparison with previous years.
The experts recommended continuing the course towards diversifying the economy with a decrease in the share of the raw materials sector, reducing corruption and investing in the development of human resources and infrastructure.
As part of the event, Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Almas Aidarov presented the country's investment opportunities and shared his vision on the further development of key areas of Kazakh-American trade and investment cooperation.
In his speech, he expressed gratitude to ITIC and the authors of the report for their interest in researching trade and economic issues of the region. He also informed the participants about additional measures and priorities in the implementation of Kazakhstan's investment policy, in particular, about the introduction of a new instrument, a strategic investment contract. The Deputy Minister urged American investors to more effectively use the potential of investment cooperation between the two countries and invited them to take part in the implementation of joint projects in agriculture, food security, development of transport and logistics chains, digital technologies and others.
The event included over 100 representatives of leading American companies, expert community and academia. The participants discussed various issues of bilateral cooperation, and focused on significant resources and potential of the region to eventually become an important trade and economic hub.
The International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC) is an independent, nonprofit research and education organization founded in 1993 to promote tax reform and public-private initiatives to improve the investment climate in transition and developing economies. ITIC serves as a clearinghouse for information on best practices in taxation and investment policy.