Key issues of interstate cooperation were discussed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov and the Minister of Cabinet Affairs of the UAE Mohammed Al Gergawi, El.kz cites primeminister.kz.
Within the framework of the meeting in Astana, the parties considered the prospects for increasing trade and economic cooperation, issues of investment cooperation, steps to share experience in public administration, etc. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two countries.
Prime Minister emphasized that the United Arab Emirates is one of the main trade and economic partners of Kazakhstan in the Persian Gulf region. Thus, at the end of last year trade turnover between the countries amounted to $633 million. In the near future there is an opportunity to increase this figure to $1 billion by expanding the nomenclature of mutual trade.
As Alikhan Smailov noted, investment interaction is also supported by new projects. In particular, there is a consistent increase in the inflow of Emirati investments in Kazakhstan: last year by 27% to about $420 million.
"In the first half of the year, this figure increased more than 3 times and has already exceeded $400 million. We are open to further cooperation in all priority areas and are ready to provide comprehensive support to Emirati investors in the implementation of their initiatives," the Prime Minister said.
He also added that today between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the UAE actively develops cooperation in the field of public administration. In February, on the margins of the World Government Summit in the city of Dubai, a relevant Memorandum was signed.
"We highly appreciate this opportunity to exchange experience and are interested in studying the best practices of the Emirates to improve the efficiency of the state system," Alikhan Smailov said.
In turn, Mohammed Al Gergawi emphasized that the United Arab Emirates attaches great importance to the development of relations with Kazakhstan.
"We see positive results in the economic sphere. Of course, we share a great potential. In addition to economic development, we also see friendship between our peoples, an increase in the number of tourists. We hope that all these indicators will continue to grow," he said.