Kazakh Foreign Minister discussed cooperation with the European Investment Bank

Nur-Sultan, May 6, 2021 – Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi held online talks with the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Teresa Czerwińska.

The parties discussed the prospects of economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and international development institutions in the post-crisis period, including through the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The parties paid particular attention to the issues of lending to Kazakhstan's small and medium businesses, the development of agriculture, regions, digital technologies, transport, and green projects, as well as Kazakhstan's plans to decarbonize the national economy and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

It was emphasized that the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the European Union and the new EU Strategy for Central Asia expand the opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation between Kazakh and EU institutions.

Tileuberdi informed the partners about the main areas of the current development of the Kazakh economy, the implemented socio-economic transformations, and measures to improve the investment climate.

The EIB representative praised Kazakhstan's efforts to counter the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed hope for continued constructive cooperation with the Government of Kazakhstan and the quasi-public sector to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The European Investment Bank is a lending institution of the European Union. In addition, the EIB and the EU are members of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In 2010, Kazakhstan and the EIB signed a Framework Agreement regulating the Bank's activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Since the signing of the first loan, the European Investment Bank has invested a total of about EUR 1 billion in Central Asian countries, including about EUR 400 million for the needs of the Kazakh economy.