A Kazakh trade delegation offers investment opportunities to Saudi investors in the Asharqia Chamber
Berk Arian, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the Kingdom, said that the investment climate in Kazakhstan has become encouraging, especially in the fields of industry, agriculture, mining, and trade, stressing that it is an opportunity for Saudi investors.
Arian explained during his presidency of a Kazakh trade delegation that visited the Sharqiya Chamber, and met a number of Saudi businessmen led by the President of the Eastern Chamber Abdul Hakim bin Hamad Al-Ammar Al-Khaldi at the Chamber’s headquarters on Sunday 22 December 2019 Kazakhstan, after only 28 years since its independence, has made tremendous progress in its economic growth. Its gross domestic product has exceeded the limits of 300 billion dollars.
He added that Kazakhstan has become 25th in the world for the ease of doing business based on the "ease of doing business" report issued by the World Bank. Kazakhstan enjoys a strategic location linking large, fast-growing markets in China and South Asia, to Russia and Western Europe by road, rail, and port on the Caspian Sea.
He noted that Kazakhstan - the ninth largest country in the world by area - has developed around 12 special economic zones and 22 industrial zones. The country has put 77 proposals for investment in front of companies abroad.
He said that Kazakhstan now owns 210 million hectares of arable land that produces different types of crops such as wheat. Kazakhstan is one of the 10 largest wheat producers in the world.
He recalled that Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the major tourist destinations in the world. This Central Asian country is the largest landlocked country in the world. There are a host of majestic canyons, deserts, arid plains, huge glaciers, and ancient structures, making it a destination all year round.
For this part, member of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Chamber Nasser Abdel Aziz Al Ansari said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan celebrated this year the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two friendly countries, explaining that the two countries have identical culture and traditions and have similar views on current regional and international issues, as well as the presence of Similarities in the plans, programs, and initiatives adopted in both countries for macroeconomic development with a special focus on industrial development, as the Saudi Vision 2030 and Kazakhstan's 2050 development strategy aim to diversify the economies in both the two countries.
Al-Ansari indicated that there are promising investment opportunities for Saudi investors and their Kazakh counterparts in the energy, petrochemical, tourism, agricultural, logistics and waste management sectors in both countries.
He focused on the importance of the eastern region of the Kingdom, which is the heart of the Kingdom's energy activities, as most of Saudi Arabia's oil discoveries took place in the region. He pointed out that there is a huge energy project with an area of 50 square kilometers known as King Salman Energy City in the region to enhance the Kingdom's position as a global energy center.
