On Tuesday, June 6, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov held negotiations with the Head of the International Monetary Fund mission in our country Nicolas Blancher.

The parties discussed in detail the current situation and measures for the development of real, fiscal, financial sectors of the economy of the republic, the priorities of economic policy of Kazakhstan in the medium term, the implementation of structural reforms announced by the Head of State, as well as measures aimed at addressing the effects of climate change.

The Prime Minister stressed that Kazakhstan and the Fund have established close ties that cover a wide range of economic issues. In particular, a comprehensive assessment of the country's financial sector is in full swing, and the opening of the IMF Regional Center for Capacity Development for the Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia in Almaty is planned in the near future.

"I am sure that cooperation between Kazakhstan and the IMF can be taken to a new level," Alikhan Smailov said.

As the Prime Minister noted, despite the external challenges, the economy of Kazakhstan maintains a positive growth rate: in January-April it was 5%. In addition, last year the Republic attracted a record $28 billion worth of foreign direct investment over the past 10 years.

However, the Government continues to work systematically to further develop the national economy. So, in order to reload the fiscal policy this year, the new Tax and Budget Codes have been developed, which will help to reduce the non-oil deficit to 5% of GDP.

"Through the implementation of a set of measures it is planned to ensure the growth of currency assets of the National Fund up to $100 billion by 2030," Alikhan Smailov stressed.

He also added that Kazakhstan is implementing a phased transition to alternative energy sources and improving the energy efficiency of the economy.

For his part, Nicolas Blancher noted the significant progress of Kazakhstan in strengthening economic policy, fiscal and financial sectors.

"Economic activity this year is very high. We see that inflation is going down and we want to note the effective measures taken by the Government and the National Bank of Kazakhstan to gradually bring it under control. Kazakhstan has been exposed to multiple shocks over the past three years but we see that the country has managed to withstand them sufficiently," Nicolas Blancher said.

He added that the International Monetary Fund plans to continue supporting Kazakhstan in implementing development reforms.

"We are ready to develop our strategic partnership through a variety of ways and formats, including our Capacity Development Center in Kazakhstan, which will help both your country and the entire region," Nicolas Blancher emphasized.

#Alikhan Smailov #Bilateral meetings #Economy #International Cooperation