Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin presented a new initiative during the roundtable “Kazakhstan Riding the Wave of Reforms” held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington.

As the Deputy Prime Minister noted, Kazakhstan is consistently implementing reforms in key sectors to create conditions for sustainable and high-quality economic growth.

“We are implementing a strategy of proactive economic growth aimed at expanding the investment base, developing new industries, and supporting export-oriented sectors. At the same time, the institutional foundation is being strengthened through reforms in the fiscal and tax sphere, the corporate sector, investment policy, and infrastructure development,” Serik Zhumangarin said.

Advisor to the President – Chairman of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms Aset Irgaliyev outlined the key directions of the country’s development, emphasizing that the ongoing reforms are aimed at forming a coherent and sustainable economic policy. He noted that the public sector plays a crucial role in implementing the transformations, ensuring a systemic approach and coordination of reforms initiated at the level of the President.

It was highlighted that the country’s economy demonstrates steady dynamics. In recent years, annual GDP growth has consistently exceeded 5%. In 2025, it reached 6.5%. Goods production increased by 8.7%, and the services sector grew by 5.2%.

Investment remains the key driver of growth. In 2025, fixed capital investments grew by 13% and reached $43.6 billion (22.7 trillion tenge). Gross inflow of foreign direct investment amounted to $20.5 billion, up 14.4%.

In 2026, growth continues. Despite a temporary decline in oil production due to the incident at Tengiz and restrictions on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, the economy continued to expand: in the first quarter, GDP grew by 3%, driven by manufacturing (8.5%), transport (12.8%), and construction (14.8%).

High macroeconomic stability is maintained. International reserves have increased by 23.8% since the beginning of 2025, reaching $129.5 billion, including $62.9 billion in assets of the National Fund. In addition, Kazakhstan maintains a low level of public debt: for more than ten years, the debt-to-GDP ratio has remained stable at around 25%. As of January 1, 2026, public debt stood at approximately $73 billion, or 22.8% of GDP.

The Government is focusing on economic diversification. The new growth model envisages strengthening the role of manufacturing and high-tech industries. The share of processing in GDP has grown from 11.3% in 2010 to 12.7% in 2025, while the share of the extractive sector has almost halved — from 19.5% to 11.9%.

It was noted that Kazakhstan is also improving its positions in international rankings: in the Economic Complexity Index, the country rose from 87th to 55th place between 2020 and 2024.

To accelerate investment growth, it is planned to increase their share in GDP to 23% by 2029. This will attract an additional $120 billion and bring the total investment volume to $400 billion over five years.

Priorities include raw material and agro-product processing, metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical industries, the gas sector, pharmaceuticals, and high value-added segments of the agro-industrial complex.

The implementation of these projects should increase labor productivity — a key factor in overcoming the middle-income trap.

“The policy of proactive economic growth implies a shift from passive investment attraction to the active formation and launch of projects. We focus on the needs of specific sectors and attract strategic partners with technologies and expertise,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted.

Within this policy, 12 areas have already been identified in the food sector and 24 in the non-food sector. The overall portfolio includes 274 projects worth over 700 billion tenge.

Special attention is paid to the development of the city of Alatau, which will become a new growth point with a special management regime and its own financial model. Tax incentives, a “one-stop-shop” principle, international standards, and enhanced investor guarantees are planned to be introduced in the city.

By 2050, this is expected to increase the region’s GRP by $40–50 billion, bring the population to 1.8 million people, and create about 1 million jobs.

World Bank representatives supported the ongoing reforms during the discussion, while noting the need to maintain a balance between growth rates and the economy’s capacity, as well as to consider productivity dynamics and inflation risks.

#Economy #Investments #Serik Zhumangarin

• 
• 
• 
•