Olzhas Bektenov discusses investment cooperation with CII meeting participants
Images | primeminister.kz
In Astana, within the framework of the work of the meeting of the Council of Foreign Investors, chaired by Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, held a number of meetings with participants of the meeting at the government level. They discussed issues of co-operation in the implementation of joint investment projects, cooperation in the oil and gas industry and energy sector, primeminister.kz reports.
At the meeting of Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov with the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Odile Renaud-Basso considered the prospects of the EBRD's participation in major infrastructure projects, including within the framework of the National Infrastructure Plan until 2029. In total, with the participation of the EBRD in Kazakhstan successfully implemented more than 300 projects worth more than $ 11 billion, one of the largest is BAKAD. Attention is paid to co-operation in the field of SME support and implementation of PPP projects. In this area, the EBRD is financing the construction of a 630-bed multi-profile hospital in Kokshetau.
The Government is currently working on the preparation of a pool of large-scale turnkey PPP projects with the involvement of international financial institutions. In addition, the issues of decarbonisation of the economy and joint implementation of projects in the transport and logistics sector, including those aimed at the development of the Middle Corridor, etc. were considered.
During the collective meeting with the representatives of the world's leading energy corporations, topical issues of co-operation in the oil and gas sector were considered. The meeting was attended by the Executive Vice President of Shell Plc. Peter Costello, Senior Vice President for Conventional and Heavy Oil Production at ExxonMobil John Whelan, Senior Vice President for Asia-Pacific at TotalEnergies Exploration&Production Charles Fernandez, Director for Exploration and Production of Natural Resources at Eni S.p.A Luca Vignati.
The companies are part of the NCOC consortium involved in the development of the Kashagan field, the country's largest offshore oil and gas project. Representatives of oil and gas companies noted the wide opportunities for the implementation of investment projects and emphasised the commitment to further expansion of long-term cooperation in the oil and gas sector. The Government of Kazakhstan reaffirmed its readiness for an open and constructive dialogue in addressing all open issues. Following the discussion, the participants of the meeting emphasised the importance of timely implementation of further stages of field development (2A and 2B).
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
relevant news
Training of IT specialists, export of information technologies, AI training: Government considers IT industry development issues
Images | Depositphotos
Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev at the Government session reported on the ongoing work on the development of the IT-industry, primeminister.kz reports.
In particular, he reported that in 2024 the IT-industry of Kazakhstan continued its dynamic growth. The number of IT-companies reached 18 683. Growth of 16% over the last three years. Over the same period, the average monthly salary of IT-specialists increased by 54%. It reached 673 thousand tenge, reflecting the high demand for qualified staff and competitive labour conditions. Employment in the IT sector increased by 12 per cent. It reached 187 thousand people.
According to the Minister, the Astana Hub international technology park was launched in 2018. Today it confirms its role as a centre for the development of IT startups in Kazakhstan. The technopark has united more than 1.5 thousand participants. Among them 1102 Kazakhstani and 437 foreign companies. The total revenue of the participants totalled 1.2 trillion tenge. Growth of 31 times over the last five years. Export revenue for the three quarters of this year reached 143 billion tenge. Annual growth is already more than 10 times in four years. Thus, the minister noted, Astana Hub continues to strengthen its position as the leading technology park in the region.
At the same time, the development of regional hubs has become a key element of the innovation ecosystem. To date, there are 17 such platforms operating across the country. They actively promote the development of local startups and entrepreneurship. All programmes for the development of startups and the IT industry are available to regional IT hubs. It is planned to connect another hub in Petropavlovsk by the end of the year. Thus, regional hubs are becoming an important driver of IT industry development in Kazakhstan. This should contribute to the discovery of talents and creation of a strong innovation ecosystem, the Minister added.
Also, Kazakhstan has created a "Single Window" of the national innovation system. Most measures of state support for IT-specialists, innovators and scientific figures are displayed here. A mobile application is also available.
The portal ensures transparency and efficiency in the distribution of state support measures. Today it is used by more than half a million people annually. The portal can be said to have become a single window similar to EGOV.
In addition, conditions are being created to attract talented professionals from all over the world. The Expat Centre operates on the basis of MFCA. It serves as a single window for foreign specialists to receive state services.
Along with this, a special visa for IT-specialists - Digital Nomad Visa - has been launched in fulfilment of the Head of State's instruction. It allows obtaining an electronic visa under simplified procedures.
Another programme Digital Nomad Residency is also being actively worked on. It simplifies the procedure for obtaining a residence permit online. It is planned to be launched next month.
In order to implement the Head of State's instruction, the Tech Orda programme has been launched, which aims to train 20,000 IT specialists by 2025 by stimulating private IT schools. Over the last 3 years, about 82 thousand IT specialists have been trained. Private IT schools have trained more than 16 thousand specialists. Work in this direction is carried out within the framework of providing the labour market with qualified personnel.
Zhaslan Madiyev, by the way, cited successful stories of Tech Orda programme graduates, who from absolutely other industries were able to move to the IT sphere.
The Minister also noted that it is necessary to draw attention to the development of IT-industry of the world professional community.
From 3 to 5 September 2024 for the first time in Kazakhstan, Astana hosted the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Digital Inclusion and Transformation. The conference was attended by 186 delegates from more than 30 countries. The total number of participants exceeded 1,500. One of the key outcomes was the adoption of the Astana Ministerial Declaration, which defines further steps to accelerate digital transformation in the region.
From 15 to 20 September 2024, Kazakhstan hosted the ICPC - the largest student world championship in sports programming. This strengthened the country's position as the IT hub of Central Asia. Out of 73,000 participants from 110 countries, 142 teams from 50 countries made it to the finals. The MUIT team entered the top 30 best teams in the world.
In addition, such significant events as the Digital Bridge International Forum and Digital Almaty have been organised since 2018. They annually attract more than 30 thousand participants.
Another important point is the export of IT services. Kazakhstan is showing rapid growth in this matter. In 2023, the volume of exports reached $529 million. In the first half of 2024, this figure was $306 million.
We are confidently moving towards reaching the mark of $1bn by 2026 according to the Head of State's instruction. Today IT services from Kazakhstan are exported to 86 countries. This confirms the high demand for our digital solutions and our ability to compete at the global level," the Minister said.
For example, Astana Hub together with Google for Startups annually conduct a 12-week accelerator programme Silkway Accelerator. Startup projects from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and other countries take part in the programme. The beginning of a long-term partnership between Astana Hub and Draper University within the Hero Training programme was laid.
The Silicon Valley Residency Programme and AlchemistX Accelerator accelerator programmes were also launched in order to successfully enter the US market. The programmes provide startups with access to leading experts and investors in Silicon Valley.
In addition, the international network is also expanding. Three international IT hubs are now successfully operating in the US, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. All these initiatives help attract talent and open new opportunities for Kazakhstani startups for international co-operation.
Digital developments in the field of GovTech are reaching the international level. In 2023-2024, exports totalled 1.36 billion tenge. Kazakhstan exports e-government solutions to countries such as Tajikistan, Togo, Sierra Leone. The main exported products are Smart Data Ukimet, Smart Bridge and GOV.KZ.
Kazakhstan is also the leader in the region in terms of the volume of venture capital deals. Last year alone they reached $80 million. Significant investments were attracted by companies such as CITIX, Hero's Journey, Higgsfield AI and others. Some of these companies have already reached a valuation of $100 million. These achievements, said the Minister, confirm that Kazakhstan is becoming a key centre of innovation in the region.
In order to fulfil the Head of State's instruction, work is underway to open an Artificial Intelligence Centre in Astana. The Centre's mission is to contribute to the AI transformation of Kazakhstan by attracting talent from across the region. It is planned to train thousands of specialists, hundreds of startups and dozens of research projects in the field of AI every year.
Separately, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry is proposing a comprehensive approach to training the population in AI technology.
We plan to train 1 million people within five years. Namely 500 thousand schoolchildren, 300 thousand students, 90 thousand civil servants, 80 thousand entrepreneurs and 30 thousand other categories of population. We are currently working on launching educational projects, including the TUMO creative technologies centre for schoolchildren. Also in October this year we opened the first in the region artificial intelligence school TomorrowSchool to train specialists in the field of AI," Zhaslan Madiyev said.
All these initiatives, he said, will help develop the country's human capital, identify talents and promote the development of the IT industry.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
Railway industry development: 2.8 thousand km of roads repaired and 143 passenger cars renewed by Government
The Government session chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov considered the issue of development of the railway industry and transit potential, primeminister.kz reports.
The Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev reported on the dynamics of transportations and infrastructure projects, the Chairman of the Board of NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy JSC Nurlan Sauranbayev also made a report.
According to the Ministry of Transport, for 10 months of this year, the volume of freight traffic increased by 3.5% to 263.4 million tonnes. Domestic traffic grew by 9.7% to 156.2m tonnes, while the volume of transit traffic remained at last year's level at 22.4m tonnes.
Large-scale infrastructure projects are being implemented in the country as part of the tasks set by the President to develop the transport and logistics industry. Since last year, more than 2.8 thousand kilometres of railways have been repaired. Renovation of rolling stock continues. As reported by the Chairman of the Board of KTZ Nurlan Sauranbayev, this year alone 185 locomotives and 143 passenger cars have been purchased. In 2028, the fleet of passenger cars will exceed 3 thousand units, which will meet the needs of the country in full.
Prime Minister stressed the need to step up efforts to modernise the industry. Special attention should be paid to railway stations and station infrastructure for today about 90% of them are in need of repair.
The Head of State has set specific tasks to make Kazakhstan a full-fledged transport and logistics hub. The railway industry has a significant development potential and plays a key role in increasing domestic and transit cargo traffic. To achieve these goals, we are modernising existing and building new railways and logistics centres, as well as renewing rolling stock. This makes it possible to significantly improve the efficiency of the country's transport system and its capacity. As a result of the measures taken by 2029 the volume of transit traffic will increase from 28 million tonnes to 45 million tonnes, including transit will increase to 2 million twenty-foot containers," Olzhas Bektenov stressed.
The importance of increasing the competitiveness of Kazakhstani routes on international transport corridors was noted. Prime Minister instructed to complete all procedures for the provision of quality and prompt public services at the border to date has already carried out integration of tax and railway information systems.
The Ministry of Transport and KTZ have been assigned the task to develop specific mechanisms for the implementation of priority infrastructure projects with the identification of sources of funding. At the same time, it is necessary to provide support measures for private carriers, experiencing difficulties in the renewal of rolling stock. Also, the head of the Government instructed to accelerate the improvement of the infrastructure of the port of Aktau for the growth of transshipment of railway cargo and increase the potential of maritime transportations. The Ministry of Transport and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy to ensure the completion of construction of the container hub and dredging of the port in 2025.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
Increasing enrolment in education and health services, eliminating additions and combating the shadow economy: Government considers digital projects
Images | primeminister.kz
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov held a working meeting on the introduction of digital technologies in the spheres of education, healthcare, tax and customs administration as part of the implementation of the tasks set by the Head of State in his Address, primeminister.kz reports.
The positive experience of digitalisation of social services for the population was discussed on the example of the pilot introduction of voucher financing of pre-school organisations and the Social Wallet project.
The system of voucher financing gives access to the state order to all pre-school education institutions provided they meet the requirements, provides an opportunity for parents to independently choose a kindergarten, and ensures the transparency of the process according to the principle: "the money follows the child, not the educational institution".
Deputy Prime Minister Tamara Duisenova informed about approbation of the project in preschool organisations of Taraz, Shymkent and Turkestan cities. It was noted that preliminary results show the real effect of the planned transformation. For example, in Taraz, more than 23 thousand children over two years old, who had been on the waiting list for several years, have already been provided with places in kindergartens. 19 city kindergartens, which previously did not receive the state order, are included in the list. In just 2 months, 600 million tenge of budget funds were saved due to financing on the basis of children's attendance. In Turkestan, 740 vouchers were issued during 2 weeks of the project implementation, and the queue to kindergartens has been practically reduced to zero. There are also positive results in Shymkent. In general, today it is planned to launch the project in cities and districts of these regions with further scaling up throughout the country.
726 state pharmacies operating under polyclinics, or 100 per cent of their total number, are connected to the Social Purse project. A total of 947,000 prescriptions have been processed and dispensed, or more than half. The use of the Social Wallet for free meals for children of the relevant categories is being implemented in 215 schools in Astana, Mangystau, Akmola and West Kazakhstan regions. In 2025, it is planned to distribute sports and creative orders, as well as vouchers to holiday camps through the Social Purse.
When considering the results of labelling of medicines, the Prime Minister was reported on full integration of accounting systems of more than 5.5 thousand subjects. Automated monitoring of the movement of labelled medicines is carried out from the manufacturer to the end consumer. As of today 88.5 million medicines have been labelled.
Olzhas Bektenov noted that the introduction of digitalisation should be aimed at eliminating imputations, improving the efficiency of public services to residents and budget spending. Akims of the regions have been instructed to ensure the implementation of the pilot project on voucher financing. It is also necessary to equip schools with hardware and software complexes integrated with the Social Purse. Ministries of Healthcare and Finance together with Kazakhtelecom should strengthen control and prevent the sale of unlabelled medicines in circulation.
Attention is also paid to the digitalisation of tax and customs administration, planning and budget execution. Deputy Minister of Finance Aset Turysov reported on the work done to implement digital solutions and plans to launch new projects. The Ministry of Finance is implementing the Online Budget Monitoring project, aimed at traceability of state budget execution, strengthening control over effective planning and spending. While earlier checks were carried out manually, the system now processes more than 150 million payments. The Internal State Audit Committee analyses and takes preventive measures in terms of risky payments. As part of this work, more than 4 billion tenge has already been returned to the budget.
The Tapsyru service has been launched in pilot mode to redistribute state property and save budget funds. The platform allows organisations to form a single register of unclaimed property with further simplification of the procedure of transfer from balance sheet to balance sheet and the mechanism of joint agreements. As of today, Tapsyru has 721 participants and more than 313 thousand assets.
In addition, in 2025 it is planned to launch the Unified Personal Cabinet of Entrepreneur portal, which will unite access to personal accounts of the information systems of the Ministry of Finance. The single interface is aimed at solving the problem of disparate services and duplication of data. In addition, it will significantly simplify the processes of management of business situations and interaction between government agencies and entrepreneurs.
Prime Minister stressed that the ongoing work on the implementation of digital solutions should have a real effect in the fight against the shadow economy, increase the efficiency of tax and customs administration, as well as ensure rational planning and spending of budgetary funds.
As a result of the meeting, the responsible government agencies and departments were instructed to accelerate the work on the full and high-quality launch of all projects.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
Kazakh Foreign Ministry comments on situation in Ukraine
The Embassy of Kazakhstan operates as usual in Ukraine, Aibek Smadiyarov, official spokesperson of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said Friday, Kazinform News Agency reports.
According to our information, the foreign diplomatic corps continues its work in Kyiv, with no plans to evacuate citizens. There have been no evacuation requests and there are no plans to arrange special flights at this moment, said Aibek Smadiyarov, while talking about the situation in Ukraine. 'As you know, military activities in Ukraine have been underway for more than one year. According to our estimates, there may be around 300 citizens of Kazakhstan staying in the country. However, it’s difficult to give the exact number due to the situation in the country'.
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry added that earlier Kazakhstani nationals, staying in Ukraine, were advised to leave the country.
Smadiyarov noted that Kazakhstani diplomats are ready to provide all necessary assistance to their compatriots, assuring to act as the situation evolves.
Earlier it was reported that Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gave urgent tasks over the escalation of the situation in Ukraine.
Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov held an operational meeting today to fulfill the tasks of the Head of State to take urgent measures in order to ensure security at the key military and civilian objects over the situation in Ukraine, involving the Defense, Interior, Emergencies, Foreign Affairs, Healthcare, Transport, Energy, Industry and Construction, National Economy and Finance Ministries.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
Kazakh Government to allocate KZT 10 bln to buy grain from farmers
At the Agriculture's Workers Forum, the Head of State assigned the Government to buy grain directly from farmers through the ProdCorporation in a volume sufficient to keep reasonable market prices. Kazakh Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparbayev revealed the Kazakh Government will allocate 10 billion tenge from the reserves to acquire 150,000 tons of grain, Kazinform News Agency reports.
It will be bought through the ProdCorporation to restore the plunge in the grain purchasing process.
He said five export contracts worth 20 million US dollars have already been concluded.
Besides, grain shipping subsidy rules are to be adopted soon. Subsidies are expected to reduce freight charges to the ports of the Black Sea, the Baltics, Southeast Asia, etc., to make the country’s grain competitive in Europe, Africa, Caucasus, and other promising markets.
As earlier reported, the country’s first-ever Agriculture Workers’ Forum took place in Astana on November 15. The Minister highlighted Kazakhstan harvested a record-high 26.7 million tons of grain in 2024.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.