Governor of Astana International Financial Centre in Kazakhstan, Kairat Kelimbetov, yesterday stressed his country’s keenness to establish various partnerships at different economic levels with Qatar and increase bilateral trade exchange.
In an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the sidelines of his current visit to Doha, Kelimbetov praised the high level and strong Qatari-Kazakh relations that were crowned by mutual visits at the highest level of leadership, which would open the way for enhancing bilateral co-operation and exchange of experiences and knowledge in many fields that would serve the development of both Kazakh and Qatari economies.
He pointed out that the purpose of his visit to Doha comes within the context of establishing a platform for mutual understanding on how to develop and promote trade between the two countries; establish bilateral investment partnerships and support increasing Qatari investments in Kazakhstan.
The visit also aims to follow-up Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB) HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani’s visit to Kazakhstan at the head of a delegation comprising several officials in the Qatari financial and banking sector.
In this regard, Kelimbetov stressed his country’s endeavour to pave the way for Qatari investors to benefit from the opportunities in Kazakhstan, pointing out that the Astana Financial Centre serves as a platform to protect the rights of foreign investors in the financial sector, to be a centre for arbitration and establish means of enhancing the financial regulatory authorities.
The Astana International Financial Centre operates according to a similar legal framework being implemented by the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), he said, noting that such a factor would support the joint investment environment and allow Qatari investors to enter into investment partnerships in Kazakhstan and achieve good gains.
The centre seeks to develop various basic rules that support the advancement of the financial business sector in Kazakhstan, including asset and property management, insurance and re-insurance, Islamic finance and financial markets.
He expressed his belief that these procedures would be an opportunity in the future for the Qatari banks to enter into partnerships with investment banks in Kazakhstan.
Qatari investors can also benefit from the Kazakh government’s project to establish its own financial market (Kazakhstan Stock Exchange), as it will begin to take operations on the privatisation of its affiliates and sovereign funds such as oil, gas and the production of uranium companies to be included in the new stock market, he added.
Kelimbetov stressed the importance of opening a direct air route between Qatar and Kazakhstan, which would in turn improve trade and investment between the two countries, calling on Qatari investors to invest in agriculture and tourism sectors thanks to the great Qatari companies’ experience.
He noted that the Kazakh government is considering an open skies policy paving the way for Qatar Airways to enter the Kazakh market and take advantage of these opportunities.
He hailed Qatar’s great experience, especially in oil and gas production sector, particularly LNG, petrochemicals and gas, expressing his country’s desire to benefit from it in the future.
Governor of Astana International Financial Centre in Kazakhstan, Kairat Kelimbetov.
