Askar Mamin chaired sitting of Council for improving investment climate

The meeting of the Council for Improving the Investment Climate (CIIC), chaired by Prime Minister Askar Mamin, considered the issues of developing the competitive environment in Kazakhstan’s economy in accordance with the requirements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Strategy2050.kz refers to the Prime Minister’s press service.

Minister of National Economy R. Dalenov, as well as Ambassadors accredited in Kazakhstan: the USA - W. Moser, Great Britain - M. Gifford, Canada - N. Brousseau, European Union - Sven-Olov Carlsson, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Canada in the EU and Europe - S. Dion, representatives of the OECD, the consulting company Ernst&Young, etc. made reports on the state and prospects of economic competition in Kazakhstan, as well as proposals for improving policies in this area.

“First President of Kazakhstan, Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev and Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, consider the development of the competitive environment and antitrust law as one of the priority areas of economic policy”, A. Mamin said.

The measures taken by Kazakhstan to develop competition and business climate contributed to the growth of the country's economy by 4.4% for 10 months this year, as well as to increase the position of Kazakhstan in the ratings of the EBRD, IMF, ADB, World Bank and the World Economic Forum. The issue of raising the status of Kazakhstan in the OECD Competition Committee is being considered.

The Prime Minister noted that in order to reduce the role of the country in the economy by the end of this year the number of activities in which companies with state participation are allowed to participate will be reduced by more than 30% - from 347 to 240.

Askar Mamin informed that of the 864 assets of the Comprehensive Privatization Plan for 2016–2020, about 500 have now been privatized, which has increased the productivity and efficiency of infrastructure management, management in the construction, mining, agricultural, processing and other sectors.

The head of Government emphasized that one of the priorities of the economic policy of Kazakhstan is the development of small and medium-sized businesses.

“From 2005 to 2018, the share of SMEs in the country's economy almost tripled - from 10.5% to 28.4%. By 2025, we intend to bring this figure to 35%. There is a lot of work to achieve this goal”, the Prime Minister said.