Azernews.Az

By Vusala Abbasova

Kazakhstan and Great Britain expanded their mutual cooperation by signing a range of bilateral agreements in various spheres during the visit of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to the United Kingdom (UK), according to the Kazakhstan Ministry of Investment and Development.

As many as 24 agreements in the oil and gas industry, geology and subsoil use, energy, and environmental protection, in addition to education, space activities, innovation, and the financial sector, worth a total of $3.8 billion, were signed during the visit.

The sides also reached an agreement on investment cooperation and the improvement of civil services and civil aviation.

As part of the agreements, Kazakhstan plans to intensify co-operation in the oil and gas industry with PSA, Independent Power Corporation, William Hare Limited, and Worley Parsons Ltd.

In the field of geology and subsoil use, Kazakhstan will tie up with Rio Tinto and the International Committee of CRIRSCO, while in the pharmaceutical industry, it will cooperate with Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC.

The sides discussed a range of issues, including bilateral economic cooperation, the Syrian war, the conflict in Ukraine, the refugee crisis in Europe and Kazakhstan’s progress on political and societal reform on providing for a more permissive environment for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The sides also signed agreements on mutual legal assistance, particularly a memorandum of understanding between Kazakhstan’s Agency for Civil Service Affairs and Anti-Corruption and the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of the United Kingdom, and an agreement on the participation of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland in EXPO 2017 in Astana.

Following the meetings, President Nazarbayev announced that the United Kingdom has already invested $12 billion in Kazakhstan, under the development of bilateral relations, to date, as well as there being more than 500 joint ventures of the two countries.

In his speech, Nazarbayev said that Kazakhstan is entering a new stage of economic development, highlighting plans to create an International Financial Centre in Astana.

He also stressed the importance of the participation of British companies in this project.

"We welcome the businesses and we are creating exceptional conditions for this," he added.

There was also signed a “landmark” memorandum of understanding (MoU) by the CityUK, Kazakhstan’s National Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The MoU will cover all aspects of financial and professional services, as well as will develop the work to assist Kazakhstan’s intentions to develop Astana as it becomes an international financial centre.

The United Kingdom is among the top 10 investors in Kazakhstan. From 2005 until the first quarter of 2015, the United Kingdom has invested $11.5 billion, while the volume of Kazakh investments in the United Kingdom during the same period amounted to $5.5 billion.

Investment include those from large companies, such as British Gas, Shell, AMEC, Invensys, BAE Systems, Rio Tinto Mining, Metaco LLP, SUN Group, and United Chemicals Management LLP.

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