Kazakhstan president set for working visit to Qatar, says ambassador

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will pay a working visit to Qatar from December 6-7 and is slated to hold a special session during the upcoming Doha Forum 2024, a top diplomat has said.Ambassador Arman Issagaliyev made the announcement Tuesday during a press conference where he highlighted the main achievements that Kazakhstan and Qatar accomplished this year.He also discussed Tokayev’s participation in the Doha Forum and provided details about "Born Bold” – Kazakhstan’s recent international promotion campaign.Issagaliyev said that the working visit is aimed at further developing Kazakh-Qatar strategic partnerships, including international co-operation.Bilateral meetings will be held during the visit, which the envoy said will also discuss the implementation process of the agreements reached during the mutual high-level visits this year, as well as consider ways to further enhance partnerships in all fields of mutual interest.During the Doha Forum, Issagaliyev said that Tokayev would hold a special session where he would share his vision on ways of countering modern threats by increasing attention to the role of middle powers."The participation of the President in the Doha Forum is driven by Kazakhstan’s long-term strategic plans to accelerate innovation and facilitate technological progress,” the ambassador said.He noted that Kazakhstan is set to increase its volume of innovative products to "$5.5bn” this year, adding that the country has created innovation centres nationwide, including the Astana Hub and TechGarden, to promote the development and commercialisation of ideas.In his annual address to the nation on Just Kazakhstan: Law and Order, Economic Growth, Social Optimism, delivered in September this year, Tokayev called for the strengthening of the connection between top universities and the real sector of the economy to synchronise innovation policy with the country’s scientific and technological priorities."This will spur sector-specific innovations and unlock the potential of applied science in universities,” Issagaliyev said. "In this regard, I would like to applaud Qatar’s achievements in line with the National Development Plan until 2030 aimed at developing the state’s ecosystem of innovation, which is an integral part of Qatar’s sustainable growth model.”"We are confident that Qatar has every opportunity and vast resources to become the leading innovation hub in the scale of the Middle East and internationally,” the envoy added."Taking into account the rapidly rising IT (information technology), telecommunications, and artificial intelligence (AI) in Qatar with its ambitious strategy to further bolster its position worldwide,” Issagaliyev continued, "– we attach great importance to developing joint IT projects, as Kazakhstan also enjoys the leading position worldwide in introducing cutting-edge technologies in public, financial, education, and many other services, provided by Kazakhstan’s blooming unicorn IT companies.”According to the envoy, the Doha Forum has become a "unique and global platform” for open discussions on the most pressing challenges and opportunities.He said the forum’s theme of The Innovation Imperative "is well-timed” amid rapid developments in international policy, world economy, and security architecture that require innovative and new approaches."We are confident that the Doha Forum will further bolster Qatar’s prominent position as the unique diplomacy hub,” Issagaliyev said. "A significant component of the visit will be the signing of economic agreements aimed at further implementation of joint projects in various fields, including energy.”"We expect that the president will hold several meetings with the heads of Qatari companies in this regard,” the ambassador said. "Overall, we expect that His Excellency’s visit to Doha will be another step towards strengthening the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and Doha.”