The Kazakh-Slovak business forum was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan within the framework of the 10th Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation meeting, DKnews.kz reports.
The event was organized with the support of JSC “NC “Kazakh Invest” and the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency SARIO and brought together more than 80 representatives of leading Kazakh and Slovak companies.
The forum’s main topic was the development of bilateral cooperation in priority economic sectors, including energy, industry, agriculture, transport, logistics, and education. It has become an essential platform for discussing new opportunities and establishing contacts between the two countries’ business communities.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roman Vassilenko, Chairman of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan NCE “Atameken” Murat Karimsakov, Chairman of the Board of JSC “Export Credit Agency of Kazakhstan” Allen Chaizhunussov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Invest Madiyar Sultanbek, Deputy General Director of the JSC “Center for Development of Trade Policy “QazTrade” Assel Yegemberdiyeva and others spoke at the forum from the Kazakh side.
On the part of Slovakia, Deputy Minister of Economy Vladimir Shimonyak, CEO of SARIO Robert Shimoncic, and CEO of the Slovak Export-Import Bank Rastislav Podhorets acted as speakers.
Opening the plenary session, Deputy Minister Vassilenko thanked the forum organizers, the Kazakh and Slovak business communities, and the Akimat of the Akmola region for their active participation in strengthening bilateral ties. He stressed that today’s forum demonstrates Slovakia’s deep interest in expanding comprehensive cooperation with Kazakhstan.
“Kazakhstan is ready to expand the mutually beneficial partnership further. The presence of such a significant delegation of Kazakhstani entrepreneurs indicates serious intentions on our part. Among the key areas, I would like to highlight energy, industry, defense, agriculture, transport and logistics, and education. Since independence, the total volume of Slovak investments in Kazakhstan has amounted to just over 21 million US dollars. I am sure this figure will increase significantly in the coming years” Roman Vassilenko
The Kazakh diplomat also stressed Kazakhstan’s interest in transferring Slovakia’s best practices in water resources management, standardization, and nuclear energy.
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Invest Madiyar Sultanbek gave the forum participants a detailed overview of Kazakhstan’s investment climate, emphasizing the country’s attractiveness to foreign investors.
“We are the largest platform for foreign direct investment in Central Asia, with a total investment volume exceeding 431 billion US dollars since 1991. In 2023, our GDP amounted to 264 billion dollars. Kazakhstan has 14 special economic zones that provide tax benefits and simplified business conditions. Slovak companies can take advantage of more than 200 ready-made investment projects, and we invite them to cooperate to achieve mutual success” Said the Deputy Chairman of Kazakh Invest
At the end of the forum, representatives of the two countries agreed to strengthen investment cooperation further. They also held numerous bilateral meetings in the B2B format, which laid the foundation for specific business projects in the future.
In general, the business forum was an essential step towards creating new business ties and knowledge exchange, emphasizing Kazakhstan and Slovakia’s desire to expand economic and investment cooperation, which is especially important in global economic changes.
