Official visit of Alikhan Smailov to UAE: Agreements for $900 million signed

Alikhan Smailov, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, held negotiations with the representatives of the business community of the United Arab Emirates during his official visit to the United Arab Emirates.

The investors were presented a list of new 40 investment projects totaling more than $ 6.5 billion in industries such as mining and metallurgical complex, agriculture, oil and gas, construction and others.

Thus, Alikhan Smailov met with Musabbeh al-Kaabi, CEO of Mubadala group. Mubadala is a state investment and development company which occupies the 13th place in the world ranking of sovereign wealth funds with estimated assets of $285 billion.

The Prime Minister noted that the Government of Kazakhstan is interested in expanding cooperation in a number of areas.

"We have serious potential in the areas of energy, chemical industry, agriculture, mining and metallurgical complex. In this context, I would like to propose to participate in the implementation of new projects specially prepared taking into account the current situation in the world," Alikhan Smailov said.

According to him, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) is actively developing today. As part of increasing its capacity by attracting private investment, it is planned to build a shipyard on the shore of the Caspian Sea.

The Prime Minister also outlined the prospects of launching joint projects in the agriculture, energy and banking sectors.

"The Government of Kazakhstan continues to improve the investment climate. Despite the crisis in the world, the inflow of foreign direct investment in our country in the first quarter of this year grew by 54% to $6.8 billion," Alikhan Smailov said, encouraging foreign partners to use all the available opportunities for the cooperation.

In turn Musabbeh al-Kaabi noted that the Mubadala company is actively seeking opportunities for the launch of investment projects in Kazakhstan. In particular, there is an interest in the cooperation in the areas of green energy, finance, mining metallurgy, oil and gas.

Then, the Prime Minister held negotiations with Mohammed Al Suwaidi, ADQ Managing Director and CEO of. ADQ is one of the largest holding companies in the region with direct and indirect investments in more than 90 companies.

"The scope of your holding company is very broad and covers sectors such as agriculture, industry, logistics, healthcare and others. All these directions are priority for us", Alikhan Smailov noted.

Baiterek Holding has now compiled a list of potential projects in the agricultural sector worth $100 million. In this regard, Prime Minister suggested that the leadership of ADQ consider the possibility of participation in their implementation, including the development of the sugar industry.

"Today, when there is a rise in food prices around the world, such projects are of particular importance," Alikhan Smailov said.

For his part, Mohammed Al Suwaidi thanked the Kazakhstan delegation for presented opportunities, noting particular interest in the pharmaceutical industry, the production of food products, the development of logistics routes and renewable energy.

Besides, Alikhan Smailov held a meeting with Abdulla bin Lahej, the Chairman of "Ayana Holding" company, during which the sides discussed issues of the construction projects implementation.

A number of bilateral commercial documents in various sectors of the economy for a total amount of $900 million were signed in the presence of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan as a result of the meetings. They include:

  • A SmartCity&Adtech integrated solution contract between Citix LLP and The Gulf Foundation to implement a project to create innovative and IT solutions in the UAE;
  • A memorandum of understanding between "BI Group" and "International Community Schools" for the construction of a private school in Astana;
  • A memorandum of understanding between Erudite Business LLP and International Community Schools for the construction of a private school in Aktobe;
  • An export contract for the supply of meat products to the UAE between KazakhAgroExport LLP and Health Plus General Trading LLC;
  • An export contract for the supply of lamb meat to the UAE between Optograd LLP and Laser Meat Trading Est;
  • A Memorandum of Understanding between RGP KazStandard and GulfTIC on cooperation in the certification of Kazakhstan products for export to the Gulf, as well as other documents.

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