Kazakh Foreign Ministry comments on situation in Ukraine

One of the priorities of the Government is to create the most comfortable investment climate. This will help attract foreign direct investment into the real economy and ensure the implementation of important projects for the country, create new jobs. Over the past six years, the volume of foreign direct investment attracted to the country amounted to about $130 billion. At the same time, the measures initiated by the Head of State to increase the attractiveness of non-resource industries are yielding results - foreign investment in the non-resource sector amounted to $72.7 billion, that is, foreign partners began to invest more in the processing industry," Olzhas Bektenov stressed.

This year construction works are planned above the level of last year, it is 13 thousand kilometres. Of these, projects on 9.5 thousand kilometres are fully funded," Karabayev reported.

• Construction of a new line Kyzylzhar - Moyinty;
• Modernisation of the Altynkol - Zhetygen section with construction of double-track inserts and Beineu - Mangystau section with construction and extension of receiving and delivery tracks;
• Introduction of modern autoblocking systems on the Kyzylzhar - Saksaulskaya, Shalkar - Beineu, Kandyagash - Tobol, Alimbet - Nickeltau and Aksu - Degelen - Zhana-Semey sections;
• As well as the reconstruction of 53 railway stations.

In general, the implementation of these projects will achieve a total multiplier effect over 20 years in the form of tax revenues and other payments at the level of 11 trillion tenge. Implementation of the projects will provide contribution to GDP growth at the level of about 0.4%-1% in the period of 2025-2029," Karabayev said.

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This year the work in all these areas will be strengthened. Thus, the volume of preferential lending to the WPR will amount to 700 billion tenge. Taking into account the early financing of the sowing season of the current year, which started in November last year, today more than 1.8 thousand agricultural enterprises have already been financed for 206 billion tenge. This year it is planned to provide coverage of at least 8 million hectares of sown areas," Aidarbek Saparov said.

Last year, 7 SPK attended this programme. Today, only 4 SPKs are actively participating in the programme. In this regard, we ask to instruct regional akimats to strengthen the work on financing of agrarians through SPKs," Aidarbek Saparov emphasised.

The plan consists of 160 diverse measures, the financing of which is envisaged at the expense of the republican and local budgets, as well as extra-budgetary sources. It provides for the construction of 42 reservoirs, reconstruction of 37 hydraulic structures and 14,000 kilometres of irrigation canals," Nurzhigitov said.

Realising the need for large-scale investments in the development of the water sector, in 2024, the ministry has carried out a lot of work to attract a loan from the Islamic Development Bank in the amount of $2.7 billion. The project is planned to be implemented in two stages: the amount of agreement of the first stage is $1.1 billion," Nurzhigitov informed.

In 2025, it is planned to implement 98 projects worth 173.7 billion tenge, which is 73% more than the level of 2024, including 6.5 billion tenge at the expense of the EBRD, 24.4 billion tenge - IDB. In turn, at the expense of the envisaged funds in the amount of 70.8 billion tenge by the end of the year it is planned to complete 12 group water pipeline projects, which will provide 153 villages with quality drinking water with a population of 423 thousand people," Nurzhigitov said.

Thus, the implementation of all planned initiatives, will make it possible to accumulate and save up to 10 billion cubic metres of water by 2030. In the long term, this will ensure water security of the country, increase agricultural productivity and support environmental sustainability," Nurzhigitov summarised.